By james art PokerStars Live returns to the US from November 1-10 with the second stop of the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Las Vegas at Resorts World Casino. Players can expect an even bigger run than last year with tournament buy-ins ranging from $250 to $25,000.
The action is highlighted by a $5,300 Main Event that includes a $3 million guaranteed prize pool, a significant increase over last year’s $1,650 entry fee. This will likely result in an even larger field.
Players can also look forward to several other events including: $550 Mystery Bounty (November 1-4); $25,000 Super High Roller (November 4-6); $10,300 High Roller (November 8-10) and $550 PokerStars NAPT Cup (November 8-10).
Here’s a look at everything planned for this year’s series, as well as a look back at last year’s winner.
A Look Back at the 2023 PokerStars NAPT
The 2023 series saw the resurgence of the PokerStars NAPT after the series was shut down in 2011 following a federal government crackdown on wide-open online poker in the U.S. The brand has now returned and found a good niche in the November poker schedule.
In 2023, Sammy Bechahead, a former poker dealer from Costa Mesa, California, came out on top in the Main Event. He topped a field of 1,095 players for $268,945 and the second-biggest cash of his career.
“It was definitely the highlight of my young professional career,” says Bechahead Casino.org. “To be able to win it against top players like the ones I’ve faced at the final table before felt like a huge achievement. This year I will be attending, despite the fact that I now live in Paris. I still had to book my flight to Vegas and come defend my title!”
The profits were good for Bechahead, whose wife was expecting a baby at the time. He says the extra money helped bring the baby boy into the world a month later. Those heading to Sin City for this year’s NAPT can expect a great experience, Bechahead says.
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“Pokerstars really knows how to put on the best poker events,” he says. “I drove on the morning of the last day without booking a hotel and thought about going back home as soon as I dropped, but I never did. So it was last minute and disorganized (on my part).”
The NAPT champion saw much of his poker tournament a bit up and down as well, but was able to overcome some setbacks on his way to the title.
“It’s really been a roller coaster tournament,” says Bechahead, who now has $1.5 million in live tournament earnings. “On Day 1 it took me four bullets (re-entries) to get to Day 2 and I was considering giving up and going home on the third.
“Day 2 started off amazingly, but by the end of the day I found myself with four big blinds and was out of it. And then he definitely won the most important flips, lost the not so important ones. I took the chip lead with eight players left and almost never lost it with three-quarters of the key hands going my way.”
Plenty of online qualifications
The US now has an individual approach to online poker, and PokerStars operates a shared liquidity platform in Michigan and New Jersey, as well as a tied platform in Pennsylvania. In addition, Stars also operates a ring rig in the Canadian province of Ontario.
This means that PokerStars can offer online qualifiers, attracting a wide range of players. That should continue this year and Resorts World Director of Poker Operations Leon Wheeler is pleased to see the synergy that comes from working with one of the world’s largest poker operators.
“I think we’ll have about 100 online qualifiers this year,” he says. “I’m very excited to host them, players who wouldn’t normally have a chance to play an event of this buy-in range – it’s nice to see.”
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Gronk cash game, added events and more
Along with regular tournament action, PokerStars will also be filming The big game cash game for television as part of the festivities, with NFL great Rob Gronkowski and sports media personality Nick Wright getting in on the action.
There are many more available, including several co-branded events. That includes a $1,100 RunGood Poker Series event on Nov. 4 with a $400,000 guarantee, the festival’s second largest.
The casino also hosts the Cardplayer Lifestyle Mixed Game Festival IX, which features three tournaments along with the cash game. Two of them come with $550 buy-ins and one with a $5,300 buy-in.
As with most PokerStars Liveseries, several events are active off the table. This includes a visit to the Sphere, a player party, go-karting, karaoke, Strat Tower visits and more. Players have something to look forward to – win or lose.
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