The 2019 Ante Up Poker Tour $250 Main Event Kicks Off Tonight at Tampa Bay Downs
The first Ante Up Poker Tour stop of 2019 brings players to the racetrack of Tamp Bay Downs which also boasts a luxurious 23-table poker room. While the festival has been taking place since the beginning of the week with multiple side events each day, the $250 Main Event is set to get underway at 6 p.m. EST this evening.
The tournament will consist of five starting flights, one on February 7th, and two on February 8th and 9th. An eventual champion will be crowned on February 10th on the last day of the festival. Not only will the winner reap in the rewards of a $60,000 guaranteed prizepool, but they will also be featured on the cover of Ante Up Magazine in March and earn a spot in the Ante Up World Championship Main Event in July.
While the poker room at Tampa Bay Downs has been running satellites for this event since the beginning of the year, they have also been running aggressive promotions to give daily tournament players numerous chances to win satellite seats or even Main Event seats.
When the action finally gets underway, players will begin with 25,000 starting chips with the blinds at 100/100. A big blind ante will be introduced in the second level and will continue throughout. The levels will be 30-minutes in length for all Day 1s and increase to 40 minutes on the final day. There will be a 10-minute break after every four levels with play ending after a total of 14 levels.
Late registration will remain open until the start of level nine. Players will be given the option of unlimited re-entries until that point or may re-enter for subsequent Day 1s. Should a player bag chips on multiple starting flights, only their best stack will be brought forward to the final day.
| Day | Date | Time | Entries | Advanced |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day 1A | Thursday, February 7th | 6 p.m. | - | - |
| Day 1B | Friday, February 8th | 1 p.m. | - | - |
| Day 1C | Friday, February 8th | 6 p.m. | - | - |
| Day 1D | Saturday, February 9th | 1 p.m. | - | - |
| Day 1E | Saturday, February 9th | 6 p.m. | - | - |
| Day 2 | Sunday, Februrary 10th | 1 p.m. | - | - |
The PokerNews live reporting team will be on site for the entire Main Event to bring you all of the live updates as the action unfolds.