Two days of the Golden Nugget Winter Classic were canceled this week when the Downtown Las Vegas cardroom pulled the plug after a low turnout during the opening weekend.
The annual winter series — scheduled to run from January 4-18 — will resume its normal tournament schedule on Wednesday after the events on January 6-7 were canceled in an announcement from the cardroom on Sunday afternoon.
The impacted days include the two opening flights of a $50K NLH tournament, as well as the Big O and H.O.R.S.E. Championships, both with $20K guarantees.
Low weekend turnout
The cancelation of events on Monday and Tuesday came just a few hours after registration closed on Sunday in the $340 Big O tournament with just 24 players — around $3,000 short of the $10K guarantee. Simultaneously, Sunday's $340 H.O.R.S.E. event, another $10K guarantee, had just 24 players on the first break.
Winter Classic resumes Wednesday
The series will try to get it going again on Wednesday with a $200 buy-in that guarantees $10K at 11 am. The nightly NLH tournaments also continue with $130 buy-ins and $2,500 guarantees most nights at 7 pm.
Later in the week, the Free Poker Network will make its annual visit — bringing hundreds of players from poker clubs around the country to Downtown Las Vegas to play in a series of qualifiers that lead to a $100K Main Event on Sunday, January 12.
The final week of the Winter Classic will offer a $20K Seniors event and several other five-figure guarantees in the lead-up to the big $250 finisher with four flights and a $100K guarantee from Jan. 16-18.
