For almost 2 months, Las Vegas was the cornerstone of land-based poker, with the World Series of Poker being the highlight of June and July. Pretty much all those who have the skills, resources and the will to put them to the test bought in for one of the side events of the WSOP or paid the buy-in for the main event. Now that the action subsided and the name of the nine finalists was revealed, players need to look elsewhere for excitement and opportunity to win money.
There are a couple of tournaments still scheduled for August that are unfolding in the United States, with the WPT Legends of Poker being by far the most exciting one. Bicycle Club in Bell Gardens, California will be the gracious host for this event and the main tournament will set players back $3700. It will start on August 23 and will conclude one week later, so there is just enough time to raise the funds.
http://www.choctawcasinos.com/durant/entertainment/eventscalendar/tabid/169/vw/3/itemid/5131/d/20140717/Card-Player-Poker-Tournament.aspx has the details for another tournament that is to take place in the US, with a far more reasonable buy-in. One of the first major tournaments in Europa is the GUKPT Reading which is the perfect warm-up for those who are anxiously waiting for the European Poker Tour. The main event is the £550 No-Limit Hold’em, which is not prohibitive even for amateur players.
Action is every bit as intense in East Asia, where the Macau Poker Cup is scheduled for August, with the highlight of this series being the HKD$80,000 High Roller tournament. It will attract poker professionals from all the corners of the world, but the most participants are expected for the HKD$11,000 Main Event which starts on August 8.
On exactly the same date players traveling to Europe will get to choose between the UK & Ireland Poker Tour London which is hosted by the Hippodrome Casino and the Grosvenor UK Poker Tour. Both these tournaments are probably going to attract plenty of British players, as they will find it both convenient and entertaining to participate in events of such magnitude. The buy-ins are reasonable at £275, so once again the guaranteed prize pool is expected to be exceeded as a result of more players attending the event.
The European poker season officially begins with the Barcelona tournament scheduled for August 16, the first stop on the European Poker Tour. This event has a special signification, as it is the 100th tournament hosted by the EPT and will last 10 days, while making plenty of players rich. GUKPT Leeds tournament is scheduled for early September, with the £550 No-Limit Hold’em being the highlight of the series.