Canada’s live poker tournament scene has been gaining momentum over the past years but the one thing still missing is an internationally acclaimed tournament series. It’s been four years that the World Poker Tour has been knocking on Canada’s door calling for a tournament stop in the country. Finally, someone was bold enough to accept the challenge – Playground Poker Club answered the call.
Barely two years old, the popular Playground Poker Club is already undergoing a major expansion that will see its capacity more than double, making it the largest poker room in Canada.
The last WPT Canada event was the North American Poker Championship held in Niagara Falls and a phenomenal success. Even though people are still talking about the event, the Fallsview Casino shied away from hosting future WPT’s. The event brought some of the biggest names in the poker world to Canada. For American players, playing large tournaments in Canada is a boon as there are no withholding taxes on winnings by Canadian casinos unlike in the U.S. where casinos withhold a big chunk of your winnings.
The inaugural WPT Montreal Main Event is set to take centre stage the weekend of November 23rd to 27th.
WPT Montreal will initially carry a smaller buy-in than its predecessor, the $10K at Niagara but the plan is to eventually scale up. WPT Montreal will be a $3,300 buy-in event with two Day 1’s. There will be a cap of 500 players per day to a maximum of 1,000 players. The starting stack will be 30,000 chips with 60 minute blinds.
A number of side events are also on the program including a $1,000 Deepstack, $500 Pot Limit Omaha, $300 6-way No Limit Hold’em, among others. Several of the events will be awarding bracelets in addition to the prize money. The winner of the main event will also win a championship belt and bracelet.
There are already more than 200 players confirmed and you can also expect to see some famous names in the poker world. Conservative numbers estimate a prize pool exceeding $1.2 million and based on that first place payout would exceed $300,000.
The main event winner will also get a $25,000 seat to the WPT World Poker Championships at the Bellagio.
WPT Montreal satellites will be running live at Playground up to the WPT and well as qualifiers on PartyPoker.net.
Here is the WPT Montreal tournament schedule.
| Date | Event | Time | Tournament | Buy In | Notes | Stack | Blind Level | Bracelet or Belt |
| Nov. 15th | #1 | 7:30pm | No Limit Hold’em Re-entry Day 1a* | $135 + $15 | 50k Guaranteed | 20,000 | 30 Min. | |
| Nov. 16th | #1 | 7:30pm | No Limit Hold’em Re-entry Day 1b* | $135 + $15 | 50k Guaranteed | 20,000 | 30 Min. | |
| Nov. 17th | #1 | 12:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Re-entry Day 1c* | $135 + $15 | 50k Guaranteed | 20,000 | 30 Min. | |
| #2 | 7:30pm | No Limit Hold’em Win the Button | $100 + $10 | 20,000 | 20 Min. | Bracelet Event | ||
| Nov. 18th | #1 | 12:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Deepstack Re-entry Day 2 | $135 + $15 | 50k Guaranteed | 45 Min. | Bracelet Event | |
| #3 | 2:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Ante Up | $100 + $10 | 20,000 | 20 Min. | Bracelet Event | ||
| #4 | 8:00pm | WPT Satellite – No Limit Hold’em Rebuy/Add on | $100 + $10 | 6 Seats Guaranteed | 5000/10000 | 20 Min. | ||
| Nov. 19th | #5 | 7:30pm | No Limit Hold’em 6 Max | $300 + $30 | 25,000 | 20 Min. | Bracelet Event | |
| Nov. 20th | #6 | 8:00pm | Pot Limit Omaha 8 or better | $300 + $30 | 25,000 | 20 Min. | Bracelet Event | |
| Nov. 21st | #7 | 12:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Deepstack Day 1 | $1000 + $100 | 25,000 | 45 Min. | ||
| #8 | 8:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Deepstack Turbo | $110 + $10 | 25,000 | 15 Min. | Bracelet Event | ||
| Nov. 22nd | #9 | 12:00pm | WPT Satellite – No Limit Hold’em Re Entry | $100 + $10 | 2 Seats Guaranteed | 13,000 | 20 Min. | |
| #7 | 12:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Deepstack Day 2 | $1000 + $100 | 45 Min. | Bracelet Event | |||
| #10 | 8:00pm | WPT Satellite – No Limit Hold’em Re Entry | $330 + $30 | 6 Seats Guaranteed | 20,000 | 20 Min. | ||
| Nov. 23rd | #11 | 11:00am | WPT Montréal Day 1a* | $3000 + $300 | 30,000 | 60 Min. | ||
| #12 | 8:00pm | WPT Satellite – No Limit Hold’em Re Entry | $330 + $30 | 20,000 | 20 Min. | |||
| Nov. 24th | #11 | 11:00am | WPT Montréal Day 1b* | $3000 + $300 | 30,000 | 60 Min. | ||
| Nov. 25th | #11 | 11:00am | WPT Montréal Day 2 | $3000 + $300 | 60 Min. | |||
| #13 | 6:00pm | Pot Limit Omaha 3 Lives | $500 + $50 | 3 x 10,000 | 30 Min. | Bracelet Event | ||
| Nov. 26th | #11 | 11:00am | WPT Montréal Day 3 | $3000 + $300 | 60 Min. | |||
| #14 | 12:00pm | No Limit Hold’em Deepstack Bounty | $180+$20+$100 | 25,000 | 30 Min. | Bracelet Event | ||
| Nov. 27th | #11 | 4:00pm | WPT Montréal Day 4 | $3000 + $300 | Final Table | 60 Min. WPT Bracelet & Belt | ||
| *These events allow players to re-enter on another day 1 even if they have finished a previous day 1 with chips. In the event that a player makes it past more than one day 1 with chips, the player will start day 2 with their largest stack while all others will be forfeited. | ||||||||
Ya baby ! in going
Any hotels you recommend? How far is downtown from the poker room?
The Club is located less than twenty minutes south of downtown Montreal
D-town is about 15 min away driving
is m.sexton going to be there
Don’t think so.
The heat is on, look on the playgroundpoker.ca for more details, Antonio, Phil Laak, Isabelle Mercier, Jonathan Duhamel and many more pro.
I am just so thankful and am so excited to be participating in the main event. To top it all off it is my wife and my thirty-sescond wedding anniversary on the 27th!