Borgata Winter Open Taken Off WPT Schedule

Rumors have been flying for months that the Borgata Winter Open may not be a part of the second half of the World Poker Tour’s Season VII schedule.  Those rumors have now been confirmed in a press release from the World Poker Tour, stating that the popular $10,000 tournament will not be taking place and will be removed from its schedule.

In the past, the Borgata represents two stops on the tour, one in September and one in January.  The September stop this year which boasted an impressive $5 million guarantee had a less than impressive field of 516, a big drop from 2007’s field of 560.  Likely due to the sluggish economy and competition from other venues, the Borgata was forced to put up a $50,000 overlay to cover the guarantee.

Last year’s Winter Open attracted a field of 507 players and Gavin Griffin was its champion, winning more than $1.4 million.  The Borgata has always been one of the highest draws on the World Poker Tour, competing against such well known locales such as Bellagio, Foxwoods, the Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino, despite the shrinking fields.

It still remains unknown if either of the Borgata tournaments will return to the schedule for the World Poker Tour Season VIII.

Despite the controversy, the Borgata Winter Open will go on as planned though buy ins have been reduced and some dates have been changed.  The new series will end with a $3,000+$200 buy in main event, there will be 75  minute blind levels and each player will kick off play with a whopping 50,000 in chips.  The event is scheduled to run from January 25-29.  Organizers are still working out how much the guarantee will be for the event but tournament director, Tab Duchateau has tossed around numbers in the range of $1 million to $2 million.  Expect to see more details about the series shortly.

During its press release, the World Poker Tour also announced a few date changes for the remainder of the Season VII schedule.  The changed dates are shown below:

Southern Poker Championship at the Beau Rivage in Biloxi, Mississippi
Jan. 14-17

Los Angeles Poker Classic (LAPC) at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California
Feb. 21-26

WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, California
Feb. 28-March 2

Bay 101 Shooting Star at Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, California
March 16-20

Foxwoods Poker Classic at Foxwoods Resort in Mashantucket, Connecticut
April 4-9

WPT World Championship at Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada
April 18-25