The North American Poker Tour is the most recent tour to have been introduced to the annual poker itinerary. It started in January, 2010 and has already gained a recognition for having great exciting matches on show.
It is an event that has mainly attracted American players such as Phil Ivey, Jason Mercier, Greg Raymer and Barry Shulman but seeing the tournament’s exciting events and locations, it is just a matter of time before European players follow the American players leads.
The prize money on offer isn’t as large as the amounts on the European Poker Tour but that is not a surprise given that the tour is still relatively in its infancy. Each event usually has a winning prize pool of between $400,000 and $800,000. The total prize funds rarely breach the $4 million. The debut event totaled more than 1,500 buy-ins but since then the participant numbers have dropped because the buy-in amounts have fluctuated from $4,000 to over $25,000 in some events.
The NAPT is televised by ESPN, so poker fans around the world can get a piece of its magic.
PokerStars sponsor the tournament, which means qualification is open to everyone who can afford it online. The NAPT freeroll satellites are also available on a daily basis on Poker Stars site and this allows people the chance to have a shot at qualifying for the main events.
The events are staged at a number of venues around North America. The debut season of the NAPT took in such destinations as Atlantis Resort, Bahamas, The Venetian, Las Vegas and The Bicycle Casino, Los Angeles. It really does take place in the more glamorous locations and the potential of the tournament is huge. It is surely only a matter of time and seasons before some of the big names start throwing their names into the hat and make the North American Poker Tour their priority poker tour.
Harrison Gimbel is the man currently famed with winning the largest first prize pot on the tournament. With over 1,500 participating and a buy-in of $10,000 Gimbel saw his total winnings come to over $2.2 million at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure leg of the NAPT at the Atlantis Resort, Bahamas.
