Once Prominent LAPC Main Event Registration Closes with Just 50 Entries
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Balakrishna Patur won the 2020 LA Poker Classic Main Event for $1,015,000, beating out 490 entrants in what was arguably the most prestigious non-World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament in the U.S. at the time.
That was, however, the last year the World Poker Tour (WPT) partnered with Commerce Casino in Los Angeles to host the $10,000 buy-in major poker tournament. Since then, the event has seen such a rapid decline that registration in the 2026 edition closed on Monday with just 50 entries. Yes, 50. First place will be paid $158,030 of the $465,000 prize pool.
To put things in perspective, David "ODB" Baker won this same event (minus the WPT branding) in 2019 for $1,015,000, nearly triple this year's entire prize pool. So, what exactly happened to this once-prominent poker event that attracted pros and recreational players from all over the world? We asked some Los Angeles pros that same question.
What Happened to the LA Poker Classic Main Event?
The LA Poker Classic Main Event was a rare event in that it was one of just three tournaments among the WPT schedule each of the tour's first 18 years. That partnership, however, ended after COVID. But it doesn't appear to be the only reason for the massive decline in attendance.
"It's unfair to compare WPT and WSOP-sponsored events to non-sponsored ones, but the falloff in the Commerce Main is definitely more drastic than expected," Los Angeles poker player Derek Kwan said.
Kwan said post-COVID poker in Los Angeles "took a lot longer in general to recover than most major stops across the country." He explained that many within the local poker community believed that the poker rooms, at the time, wanted to focus more on more lucrative table games instead of poker, especially tournaments. The recovery, while long, did start to turn around with Commerce hosting the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) the past couple of years and Parkwest Bicycle Casino also having some big events.
"But poker still felt like a second-class citizen," Kwan said. "The LAPC specifically has lost its luster. It was the flagship event for Commerce, but right now feels almost no different than any other non-WSOP series during the year. Marketing has not been great, very little social media promotion, no media coverage, and nothing to try and make the Main Event, or the series overall, feel 'special.' Commerce also seems overly sensitive to overlays, which leads to lower guarantees and further contributes to lack of excitement and atteendance."
The Main Event once had a $5 million guaranteed prize pool. In 2023, the tournament promised at least $1 million in the pot, and Alex Petrosian won it for $401,650, beating out a field of 181 entrants. That was the last year the event had a guaranteed prize pool.
Gus Hansen, months before poker went mainstream thanks to Chris Moneymaker's WSOP Main Event win, was the inaugural WPT LA Poker Classic Champion in 2003. He took down the prestigious tournament for $532,490, beating a field of 136 entrants. The field skyrocketed to 382 entries the next year, and Antonio Esfandiari won it for $1,399,136.
It got even bigger in 2005 when current world champion Michael Mizrachi won his first major poker title for $1,859,909 in a field 538 entrants. The 2026 LA Poker Classic Main Event pales in comparison to past editions, and not just the WPT era fields. This year's version is the lowest turnout in tournament history.
"LA has some local regs who will play 10k's, but the lack of a guarantee with tons of competition better options this weekend, it's just gonna suffer," Matt Salsberg, a WPT champion, said. "They should have had guarantees on their satties for LAPC. Like in year's past, a satty would get 70 seats."
Salsberg pointed to the WPT Venetian event currently running in Las Vegas, a four-hour drive from LA, as one of the reasons why the LAPC Main Event had such low turnout.
"Plus, California withholds 7% tax, so to get non-residents is an issue. Plus, there's also an EPT Paris, a Wynn series and a big WSOP in Cherokee this week," Salsberg argued.
The Los Angeles pros seem to agree that the timing for the LAPC Main Event and the lack of a guaranteed prize pool were the main contributing factors for low turnout. But this was long considered one of the must-play tournaments in the world each year. Few other events outside the WSOP have the longstanding tradition and prestige of the LAPC Main Event. It appears, as Kwan said, that luster has been lost, at least for now.
Los Angeles Poker Classic the Past Decade
| Year | Entries | Winner | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017* | 521 | Daniel Strelitz | $1,001,110 |
| 2018* | 493 | Dennis Blieden | $1,000,000 |
| 2019* | 546 | David "ODB" Baker | $1,015,000 |
| 2020* | 490 | Balakrishna Patur | $1,015,000 |
| 2021 | 69 | Michael Liang | $175,300 |
| 2022 | 119 | Huy Lam | $300,280 |
| 2023 | 181 | Alex Petrosian | $401,650 |
| 2024 | 139 | Wesley Haymond | $279,450 |
| 2025 | 145 | Michael Nia | $308,270 |
| 2026 | 50 | ? | $158,030 |
*Denotes a WPT year.
