Women in Poker Initiatives Will Be at the Forefront During WPT World Championship
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The World Poker Tour (WPT) is taking the poker community's desire to bring more women into the game seriously, and you'll see exactly what we mean by that next month during the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.
While the tour is currently focused on its $5,000 buy-in bestbet Scramble event in Jacksonville, next month, all eyes will be on Las Vegas for what is going to be a historic series. Action starts Nov. 29 and the series runs through Dec. 23, just in time for Christmas. There are many major events on the schedule, none bigger than the $10,400 buy-in WPT World Championship, the first ever $40 million guaranteed poker tournament.
Ladies First
During the huge series, the World Poker Tour has multiple events planned exclusively for women. Not only that, but there will be a strong focus on showcasing women in poker on live-stream.
So, what are those events we're talking about? The first one is the biggest of them all, and that is the Dec. 6-8 WPT Ladies Championship, back for a second straight year. During the 2022 WPT World Championship series, the $1,100 buy-in tournament attracted 578 entrants, generating one of the largest ladies-only prize pools ever — $560,660.
Lina Niu took it down, defeating Olga Iermolcheva heads-up to win $105,136. This year's Ladies Championship final table will be live-streamed on WPT.com Dec. 8.
“We greatly appreciate the incredible support of the players who participated in last year’s Ladies Championship and are looking forward to an even bigger event this year,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “We salute the many woman pioneers in this industry and are happy to be part of meaningful events that support our continued admiration.”
The second event will be the Ladies Mimosa Meet-Up Game (MUG), which kicks off Dec. 8 prior to the start of the Ladies Championship final table. Poker pro and commentator Jamie Kerstetter will host the MUG inside the Wynn poker room. Last year's event had over 150 players in the cash games.
On Dec. 14, the WPT will live-stream a Ladies Cash Game from 4:00-10:00 p.m. PT. There will also be an invite-only viewing party in the VIP Passport Lounge on Day 2 of the Ladies Championship (Dec. 7). Select members of the Poker League of Nations (PLON), Poker Power, Women’s Poker Association (WPA) and Women in Poker Hall of Fame (WiPHoF) can attend.
Full 2023 WPT World Championship Series Schedule
| Dates | Tournament | Buy-In | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov. 29 | Limit Omaha/8 | $600 | $60,000 |
| Nov. 29-Dec. 4 | No-Limit Hold’em | $600 | $1,000,000 |
| Dec. 3 | No-Limit Hold’em 8-Max | $10,000 | |
| Dec. 4-7 | Mystery Bounty No-Limit Hold’em | $1,600 | $2,000,000 |
| Dec. 4-6 | Seniors Championship (55+) | $1,100 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 4 | No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 5 | No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 6-8 | Ladies Championship | $1,100 | $250,000 |
| Dec. 7-12 | WPT Prime Championship | $1,100 | $5,000,000 |
| Dec. 8 | 8-Game Mix | $2,200 | $200,000 |
| Dec. 12-21 | WPT World Championship | $10,400 | $40,000,000 |
| Dec. 12-13 | HORSE Championship | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 13 | Pot-Limit Omaha | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 15 | No-Limit Hold’em Turbo ($500 Bounty) | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 16 | No-Limit Hold’em Progressive Bounty (PKO) | $3,000 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 17-18 | Limit Omaha/8 Championship | $1,100 | $100,000 |
| Dec. 17-20 | No-Limit Hold’em | $3,000 | $3,000,000 |
| Dec. 17-18 | No-Limit Hold’em High Roller | $25,700 | |
| Dec. 18-19 | WPT Big One for One Drop | $1,000,000 | |
| Dec. 19-23 | No-Limit Hold’em | $1,600 | $2,000,000 |
| Dec. 19-20 | Seniors High Roller (50+) | $10,000 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 19 | No-Limit Hold’em 6-Max | $3,000 | $500,000 |
| Dec. 20-21 | Dealers Choice Championship | $3,000 | $200,000 |
| Dec. 20-21 | WPT Alpha8 | $50,000 | |
| Dec. 21 | Pot-Limit Omaha | $10,500 | |
| Dec. 22 | No-Limit Hold’em | $1,100 | $200,000 |
| Dec. 23 | No-Limit Hold’em | $1,100 | $100,000 |
*Images courtesy of WPT
