WPT Alpha8 Season 2 Premieres Tonight on FS1; WPT Foundation Pala Poker Open Announced
Tonight at 10 pm ET / 7 pm PT, Season 2 of World Poker Tour Alpha8, a series of super high-roller tournaments with buy-ins starting at $100,000, will premiere on FOX Sports 1.
Season 2 will kick off with the St. Kitts stop, which took place at Royal Beach Casino and Christophe Harbor, but don't expect to see WPT Alpha8 cohost Olivier Busquet in the booth. That's because Busquet allowed Raw Deal host Tony Dunst to join Ali Nejad in the Skybox so that he could actually play the event!
Meanwhile, former PokerNews hostess Lynn Gilmartin returns as the Alpha8 hostess and gives viewers an exclusive look into the lives of some of the world’s top poker players.
In coming weeks, the WPT Alpha8 will travel to the Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada and the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
“The WPT Alpha8 series is about creating unforgettable poker experiences for both the competitors and the viewers at home,” said WPT President Adam Pliska. “With buy-ins starting at $100,000, and reentries available, WPT Alpha8 events bring together an eclectic group of players to compete for enormous prize pools, and we are eager to showcase poker at the most elite level, with a few surprises, in Season 2.”
$100,000 guaranteed WPT Foundation Pala Poker Open
In other WPT news, Pala Casino Spa & Resort in Northern San Diego County in California will host a WPT Foundation Event from Sept. 11-13 to benefit Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC). The event will include appearances by WPT cast members Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten, and Gilmartin.
“Since its inaugural event in March of 2012, the WPT Foundation has helped raise more than $4 million for more than a dozen prestigious charity partners around the globe,” said Pliska. “We are thrilled to partner with Pala Casino Spa & Resort, and to give our players an opportunity to support Special Olympics Southern California and their efforts to enrich the lives of more than 19,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities in our local communities.”
The World Poker Tour is the premier brand in tournament poker and gaming entertainment.
The $100,000 guaranteed WPT Foundation Pala Poker Open will kick off on September 11, and $100 of each $1,100 buy-in will be donated to SOSC. The Pala Poker Open runs from September 4-13, and features an array of exciting events, including a WPT Foundation party in the Infinity Showroom on September 10.
“The World Poker Tour is the premier brand in tournament poker and gaming entertainment," added Pala Casino Spa & Resort CEO Bill Bembenek. "We are proud to host the Pala Poker Classic Main Event Presented by the WPT Foundation and to help the WPT Foundation support its charitable endeavors.”
Bill Shumard, President & CEO of Special Olympics Southern California echoed those sentiments: “Special Olympics Southern California is honored to be the beneficiary of the WPT Foundation Pala Poker Open Main Event. We provide free sports training, competition and health screenings to children and adults with intellectual disabilities, so every dollar raised helps us support more athletes and families.”
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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.
