Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open offering a $10 million guarantee on Main Event

As we near the home stretch of the 2013 World Series of Poker the poker community is now looking ahead to the start of the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour schedules, but also at an unprecedented $10,000,000 guaranteed tournament that will be taking place at Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, Florida in early August.

The Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open Main Event will feature a $5,300 buy-in with at least $1.5 million going to the winner of the tournament. The tournament series will begin on August 8, 2013 and run through August 29, 2013, with the Main Event taking place from the 22^nd to the 28^th. The full schedule for the tournament series can be viewed here: http://www.seminolehardrockhollywood.com/poker/SHPO.pdf

Pulling off a $10 million tournament is no easy feat, so the organizers have brought in some of the best minds in poker to insure a smooth ride. Among the people involved with the event is tournament director Matt Savage, who has been front and center in promoting the event and helping to bring in the 2,000 players needed to hit the guarantee.

Florida has become a major hotspot for poker tournaments since the state expanded their land-based gaming in 2010, with attendance for major tournaments in the Sunshine State have been among the best on the World Poker Tour over the past few seasons. Still, a $10 million guarantee is nothing to scoff at, and puts organizers in a difficult bind should the event fail.

Here is a look at the press release for the event:

HOLLYWOOD, Florida — (PRESS RELEASE) — Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood has announced it will host the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open August 8 – 29, 2013 carrying a $10 million Main Event guaranteed payout – the largest guaranteed payout in the world. The Main Event will be held August 22 – 28.

“This destination deserves a tournament like this,” said Larry Mullin, Seminole Gaming COO. “Ten million dollars was the right number for what would be most interesting to the player; designed for the player. The Hard Rock and the Seminole Tribe of Florida serve as a global brand that will always be striving to bring the best in games, hospitality and entertainment to South Florida. As that leader, we want to remind people about the great products we have.”

William Mason, Seminole Hard Rock director of poker, elaborated that the $10 million Main Event guarantee, which expects to award more than $1.5 million to the winner, will be part of a 33-event series in August. In addition, poker rooms at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, Seminole Casino Coconut Creek and Seminole Casino Immokalee will host satellite tournaments.

A $5,300 buy-in will secure a spot in this groundbreaking $10 million guaranteed Championship Event. The series will be highlighted by some other key events including Event #1 ($350 buy-in, $500,000 guaranteed prize pool) and Event #7 ($560 buy-in, $1 million guaranteed prize pool).

On-site registration for Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open is now open. (Registration fee is non-refundable.) To participate, players must obtain a free “Wild Card” at the Player’s Club or in The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise.

The Poker Room at Seminole Paradise offers poker players a comfortable setting with live sports action with its large 80″ LED TV and flat-screen televisions throughout the poker room. New 24/7 high stakes poker allows players to go “All In, All The Time.” The Poker Room includes more than 40 tables offering various games and tournaments of Limit and No Limit Texas Hold ‘em, Omaha Hi-Lo and 7-Card Stud.

For more information, please visit The Poker Room webpage. Follow The Poker Room on Twitter at @SHRThePokerRoom, hashtag #shrpo.