For the first time since 2011, PokerStars has brought its North American Poker Tour (NAPT) back to US soil, following a long hiatus prompted by the events of poker’s Black Friday and everything that followed.
Now, PokerStars is back in the US in style, and the first NAPT in 12 years has started at the luxurious Resorts World Las Vegas, with qualifiers for Event #1 – #1100 NLH Deepstack and the $1650 Main Event, promising big things to come.
Sunday, November 5, marks the first full day of NAPT action at Resorts, with Event #1 kicking off with a $125k guarantee, along with the $10,300 NAPT Super High Roller, first opportunities to qualify for the new edition of PokerStars Big Game on Tour, and much more.
While online opportunities to qualify for this stop of the NAPT at PokerStars are now over, the operator will be offering a range of satellites for upcoming stops in the weeks to follow, so head on over and sign up for a PokerStars account to keep on top of all the scheduled NAPT festivals, as well as other international events.
Poker Players Show Up in Force at Resorts World
Resorts World, one of the most luxurious and modern casinos on the Las Vegas Strip, was selected as the venue for the first edition of the new series of NAPT tournaments, and the casino has been abuzz with poker players showing up for the festivities, with plenty more scheduled to show up tomorrow when the first side events start.
The first day of action offered only satellites and cash games but already showed that the venue is more than ready to host such an event, with poker room staff ready to take on the hundreds of players scheduled for upcoming tournaments.
Real NAPT action starts tomorrow at noon, when players will convene to play Event #1 – #1100 NLH Deepstack, with more than a thousand entries planned for Day 1.
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NAPT Main Event Almost Upon Us
While PokerStars has scheduled over 30 events for this stop of NAPT alone, which will be played between today and November 12, the most attractive event of the festival will be the $1650 NAPT Main Event, which starts with Day 1A on Monday, November 6.
Six Day 1 flights will be available between November 6 and 8, each of them offering unlimited re-entries, giving players plenty of opportunities to make Day 2 and fight for their place in Day 3 and the Final Day, scheduled for Saturday, November 11.
The NAPT Main Event will pay out at least $1,500,000, but the massive interest and the number of online qualifiers for the NAPT could easily mean the guarantee gets shattered and we see well over $2 million in prizes by the end.
In either case, the NAPT Main Event will be one of the most exciting live poker events played on the American soil outside of the WSOP in quite a while, and seeing the PokerStars NAPT return is one of the best things that have happened for US players in many years.
Plenty of Action for All Caliber of Players
PokerStars has made sure that all poker players, both high rollers and those working with a tighter budget, have a good reason to show up for the first stop of the new NAPT season.
Over the next week, Resorts World will offer tournaments with buy-ins ranging from just $250 all the way up to $10,300, with Texas Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and Mixed Games all represented on the calendar.
Visiting poker fans and locals looking for some lower stakes action with big fields can look forward to these side events in the coming days:
- Event #1 – $1100 NLH Deep Stack ($125k Guaranteed): Nov 5 – 6
- Event #4 – $360 Women’s Event ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 5 – 6
- Event #11 – $550 Senior’s Event ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 6 – 7
- Event #12 – $550 PLO ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 6
- Event #17 – $250 NLH ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 7
- Event #20 – $550 8-Game ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 8
- Event #22 – $550 PokerStars Cup ($300k Guaranteed): Nov 9 – 11
- Event #27 – $1100 Mystery Bounty ($250k Guaranteed): Nov 11 — 12
- Event #30 – $250 NLH ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 11
- Event #31 – $360 NLH ($20k Guaranteed): Nov 12
While the selection of high stakes tournaments is understandably a bit more restrictive, several high roller events will take place over the course of the festival, including:
- Event #5 – $10,300 NAPT Super High Roller: Nov 5 — 7
- Event #16 – $5,300 Pot Limit Omaha: Nov 6 — 7
- Event #23 – $5,300 8-Game Mix: Nov 7 — 8
- Event #25 – $5,300 NAPT High Roller ($500k Guaranteed: Nov 10 — 12
For those players who prefer cash games over tournaments, Resorts World will be offering a variety of ring games, with blinds starting as low as $1/2, and going all the way up to the highest of stakes, with plenty of action guaranteed across the board.
Win Your Seats and Qualify for PokerStars Big Game
The first live NAPT qualifiers at Resorts World have already played out, with dozens of players making their way into the Main Event and the early $1100 Deepstack event that kicks off tomorrow.
Over the coming days, the venue will be offering daily satellites into the Main Event and select side events, with starting times at 11 am and 9 pm, and 10 seats guaranteed in each satellite.
If you are looking to get into the action at a reduced price, these events will be offering the best value, with plenty of tickets up for grabs.
On top of that, tomorrow is the first and only day you can look to qualify for the new edition of PokerStars Big Game, with freeroll satellites for the show offered at 2 pm and 6 pm on the first-come first-served basis.
While there is no buy-in for these qualifiers, the events will only take up to 90 players each, which means you will need to show up early and register for a seat. The tournaments will be played with a shootout format, which means you need to win your table to get a chance to be cast for the show.
Out of the 20 winners, PokerStars will select two players to play on the show as “loose cannons” with a $50k stake given to each of them to play cash games against some of the best players in the world.
If you are already in Las Vegas, make sure not to miss out on this one and check out the other events from a rich calendar of NAPT tournaments that will run over the following week.
