It's been almost a year since PokerStars revived the North American Poker Tour at Resorts World in Las Vegas and they're returning again in November with more events and another shot for players to earn a seat on The Big Game on Tour.
The series returns from Nov. 1-10 with 36 events spread across 10 days on the Las Vegas Strip. The buy-ins range from $250-$25,000 with a $5,300 Main Event from November 5-10. Other highlights on the schedule include the $550 NAPT Mystery Bounty ($300K GTD) from Nov. 1-4, the brand new $1,100 RunGood Open ($400K GTD) from Nov. 4-5, a $25,000 Super High Roller from Nov. 4-6, and the Women's Event with a $300 buy-in and a $30,000 guarantee on November 5.
In addition to the outsized schedule, players have a chance to earn their spot in The Big Game on Tour, a show in which one "Loose Cannon" is chosen to compete against the pros in a cash game where they can walk away with the profit from a $50,000 buy-in.
On the last episode of NAPT Las Vegas
The 2023 edition of the NAPT was a return to form for the North American-based PokerStars series after a 12-year absence and the $1,650 Main Event drew 1,095 entries. French player Sami Bechahed outlasted them all and went home with the trophy and $268,945.
Bechahed beat a final table of notables that included Nick Schulman, David Coleman, and Sergio Aido before he wrapped up the title against Jonathan Borenstein in heads-up play.
The series was full of headlining winners, like Womens champion Kyna England and Eli Elezra, who won the $5,300 8-Game. Last year's series also saw Jesse Lonis continue his red-hot run with the top prize of $187,600 in the $10,300 Super High Roller. The victory put an exclamation mark on a year that included wins in the PSPC Warmup in the Bahamas, two WSOP rings, and the $10,100 PLO event at the Aria High Roller series.
Be the Loose Cannon
Players will have a chance to add their name to the list of NAPT legends when The Big Game on Tour returns to Las Vegas to tape another run of episodes. Last year's Nikki Limo against Phil Hellmuth, Jennifer Tilly, Arden Cho, Alan Keating, and Lex Veldhuis before Lily Newhouse sat down against the likes of Maria Ho, Phil Laak, Michael Ian Black, Dave Krosky, and Sam Grafton.
The show started in 2010 and a second season was filmed just before Black Friday in 2011. The shutdown of online operators in the US put an end to the series until a return was announced in 2023.
This year's edition will feature four-time Super Bowl Champion Rob Gronkowski and sports media personality Nick Wright, with other players set to be announced over the coming weeks.
Players can earn a spot in the final auditions in a series of qualifiers starting on Oct. 30. Registration will open on Oct. 30 at 1 pm for all three flights, with the first one starting later that day at 4 pm. Another qualifier flight kicks off the next day at 11 am and a final flight will be held on Nov. 4 at 10 am.
The qualifiers will be a freezeout format and it will play like a "win your seat" satellite with one in five players moving on to the audition if they spin their 10K starting stack up to 50K. Players need to have a PokerStars Live account to participate and the event is expected to reach capacity quickly, so it's recommended that you arrive early to sign up.
