Gaming Guru

Horseshoe Poker Tournament a Preview of November 9?

The biggest and richest poker tournament ever held in the Midwest is coming to Horseshoe Casino Hammond October 15 - 28 when players from around the world will gather there for the World Series of Poker Circuit Event.

Last year's tournament, which was far and away the most successful on the national tour, had more than 6,000 players and a total prize pool of $3.5 million. This year, tournament officials are projecting over 8,000 players will be competing for a prize pool of well over $4.5 million.

Buy-ins will range from $150 up to $10,000 for the no-limit hold'em final during the 14-day spectacle, which will encompass 11 showcase events in addition to a variety of nightly tournaments and satellites.

There are some significant changes from last year, including making the 3-Day No-Limit Hold'em Main Event a $1,600 buy-in instead of the $5,000 buy-in that it was in previous years.

"It will get a lot more people involved," said Jason Newman, Horseshoe's poker room manager. "Another change is that all of the national circuit events are being tied together so that there's a player point system in place."

A cumulative ranking system throughout the season will award points for each official WSOP Circuit "Ring" open event. There will be four different ways to automatically qualify for the Circuit National Championship, which will be held at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas in May of 2011. The $1-million event will be televised nationally and award a coveted WSOP gold championship bracelet to the winner.

Horseshoe will also host the first of four regional WSOP Circuit Championships. This 4-day $10,000 buy-in event will start on October 25. The final nine players in each regional will be awarded an automatic seat in the national championship.

Because of the major money that is involved and the fact each regional will be given two hours of national television coverage, Horseshoe just may be playing host to some of the biggest names in professional poker.

"I've had quite a few calls," Newman said. "The tournament director I bring in for our event is currently involved with the European Poker Tour, which attracts many top pros. When I spoke with him recently he said that our event was 'quite the buzz'. We are expecting not only a good turn out in the number of players but I think we're going to get some pretty high profile players as well."

The timing is perfect for the Horseshoe tournament to be a tune-up for the acclaimed "November 9", the final table of players for the 2010 World Series of Poker which will be held Nov. 6 & 8 in Las Vegas, where they will be competing for a $29-million prize pool, of which the winner will earn $8.9-million.

Up to 140 poker tables will be used to accommodate the event, which will be held in The Venue, the property's multi-faceted entertainment facility. Additional room is available in the casino's giant World Series of Poker dedicated poker room.

Registration will re-open Thursday, Oct. 14 in The Venue from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Registration hours Oct. 15 – 27 will be 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in The Venue.

Horseshoe Casino's World Series of Poker Circuit event schedule and complete information can be found at www.chicagohorseshoe.com.