WPT Championship moving from Bellagio to the Borgata

After hosting the World Poker Tour’s season ending $25k Championship tournament for the past 11 years the Bellagio will bid adieu to the prestigious tournament which will now be held at the Borgata Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City New Jersey.

The news came out of left field yesterday, when the WPT sent out a press release (which you can read below) announcing the move to the Borgata. As described in the press release, the addition of the $25k Championship brings the number of stops for the WPT at the Borgata up to three for Season XII.

While no official reason was given, the move is likely a combination of a number of different factors, a few of which I’ve listed below:

• Attendance for the WPT Championship has been waning
• The Borgata is likely a less expensive venue
• WPT Borgata events have been some of the largest on the tour in recent years
• New Jersey’s soon-to-launch online gaming industry

In addition to the reasons listed above, perhaps the most important factor is the recent partnership in the New Jersey iGaming market between bwin.party (the owners of the World Poker Tour) and the Borgata Casino. If all goes to plan (and both entities are approved for a New Jersey iGaming license) Party Poker will be supplying the Borgata with their software for their online poker room.

Having the WPT Championship held at this casino would be tremendous marketing opportunity for the Borgata, as their New Jersey site (along with Party Poker’s worldwide room) could run a number of satellites for the $25k Championship, bringing casual players back into the mix.

A major issue for the WPT Championship over the years has been that the tournament field has become almost exclusively made up of poker pros. With less “value” more and more pros are skipping the tournament, so the addition of satellite winners which could once again make the WPT Championship a “good value” event.

Here is a look at the press release on the move from the WPT:

World Poker Tour’s Season XII World Championship Moving to Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa

Tournament Marks WPT’s Third Televised Event from Borgata in Season XII

Twitter: @WPT
Facebook.com/WorldPokerTour
www.WPT.com

Los Angeles, CA (September 17, 2013) – For the first time in its history, World Poker Tour’s prestigious, season-ending World Championship will be held outside Las Vegas at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Together with the currently running WPT^® Borgata Poker Open and January 2014’s WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open, this event will make Borgata home to three televised WPT tournaments in Season XII.

“We’re very pleased to name Borgata — now home to four of the five biggest tournaments in WPT history — the host of the Season XII WPT World Championship,” said WPT President Adam Pliska. “With Borgata’s well-deserved reputation for running world-class tournaments and providing unparalleled service to its players, we believe this venue is perfectly suited to host our season-culminating event. We look forward to working with the team at Borgata to bring the WPT World Championship to new heights.”

Along with the change of venue, World Poker Tour is pleased to welcome PartyPoker as the official sponsor of the Season XII WPT World Championship. “The partnership of WPT, PartyPoker, and Borgata brings together three of the most respected names in poker, and we look forward to making the World Championship more impressive than ever before.” Pliska said.

“We are extremely pleased to be growing our long-standing relationship with World Poker Tour and to be expanding our relationship with PartyPoker, especially as we look to launch Borgatapoker.com,” said Borgata’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Joe Lupo. “Adding the WPT World Championship Sponsored by PartyPoker is a welcome addition and an important new chapter in the history of this illustrious tournament.”

Borgata’s first televised WPT touranment of the year, the WPT Borgata Poker Open, is running now. With 1,189 entrants, this year’s event surpassed last year’s impressive turnout and genrated a massive prize pool of $3,923,700. Sponsored by ClubWPT.com, the tournament’s final table will be recorded on Friday, September 20 and will air on FOX Sports Network in March 2014. World Poker tour will return to Atlantic City for its second televised event of the season when the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open begins in January 2014.

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