Season 7 of the Pokerstars Latin America Poker Tour will launch in Chile on March 19 2014 and run for five days, the company announced Saturday.
Spokesman David Carrions said that the Tour hopes to build on the steadily growing popularity of the event; Season 6 was a major success, with players from 62 countries competing for prize pools in excess of $9.7 million.
Over 4,000 players contested the main events alone, with a thousand players qualifying in online satellites. The growth in unique players at the tournament has averaged 25 percent year-on-year, and total entries – including re-entries – were up 52 percent in 2013.
“We are committed to maintaining our re-entry proposal, along with improvements in the overall schedule after taking into consideration player feedback,” Carrions said.
“Our partners are committed to the festivals, and players are enjoying the repeated stops and similar dates. We have high expectations to continue to deliver an accessible tour with large fields and strong prize pools.”
Tournament director Michael Ward added that a $500 NLH Freeze-Out event with 30-minute levels has been included in the Season 7 schedule, along with a $500 NLH Deep Stack Turbo with a single re-entry.
“We have also standardised all main event buy-ins across the year at $1,700, except for the Grand Final at $3,000, and raised the buy-in of the NLH unlimited re-entry events from $500 to $1,100,” he said.
The 2014 venues and dates are as follows:
* March 19 – 23 at the Viña del Mar Enjoy Casino and Resort in Chile. Buy-in $1,550 + $150.
* May 30 – June 3, 2014 at the São Paulo Holiday Inn Anhembi, Brazil. Buy-in R$3,910 + R$490. This stop will present a new feature to the LAPT in the form of a special Brazilian stop from May 30-June 3, 2014, where LAPT and the Brazilian Series of Poker will combine resources to run a co-branded festival.
* July 23 – 27, 2014 at the Panama Veneto Wyndham Grand Hotel and Casino in Panama City. Buy-in $1,550 + $150.
* September 10 – 14 2014 venue to be confirmed. Buy-in $1,550 + $150.
* October 15 – 19, 2014 Atlantic City Casino in Lima, Peru. Buy-in $1,550 + $150
* November 26 – 30, 2014 Latin America Poker Tour Grand Final at Mantra Resort, Spa and Casino in Punta del Este, Uruguay. Buy-in $2,700 + $300.