One of the most historic stops on the World Poker Tour is returning to the schedule in 2027.
On Monday, WPT officials announced the Los Angeles Poker Classic is once again on the schedule. The festival’s $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event is once again a WPT event. It will run from Feb. 26 through March 3 at the Commerce Casino.
The broader series, which has continued to run even after the main event’s departure from the WPT, will kick off on Jan. 15 and conclude on March 7.
“The LAPC holds an incredibly important place in the history of the World Poker Tour,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “Our partnership with The Commerce Hotel & Casino helped create countless memorable moments over the years, and we are proud to return in Season 25 and build upon that remarkable legacy together.”
Perfect Attendance For 18 Years
For most of the WPT’s history, the LAPC main event was a staple on the tour’s schedule. The tour’s first 18 seasons had the $10,000 event on the schedule.
Aside from the first season, when Gus Hansen defeated 136 entries to win $532,490, the LAPC featured a seven-figure first-place prize.
Additionally, the event’s winners were constantly among the game’s best. Winning the tournament was a strong indicator the player had elite skill. Antonio Esfandiari, Michael Mizrachi, and Phil Ivey were among the early champions. Chris Moorman, Anthony Zinno, and David “ODB” Baker also earned titles in the post-Black Friday years.
Balakrishna Patur won the most recent WPT-branded LAPC main event. The field reached the final six in March 2020, and was scheduled to play to a champion during the summer for production purposes. However, the pandemic pushed the date back more than year later, and he officially won the event in May 2021.
He won more than $1 million for defeating a 490-entry field. It was the last time the LAPC was on the WPT Main Tour schedule.
| WPT Season (Year) | Entries | Winner | First-Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 (2003) | 136 | Gus Hansen | $532,490 |
| 2 (2004) | 382 | Antonio Esfandiari | $1,399,135 |
| 3 (2005) | 538 | Michael Mizrachi | $1,859,909 |
| 4 (2006) | 692 | Alan Goehring | $2,391,550 |
| 5 (2007) | 791 | Eric Hershler | $2,429,970 |
| 6 (2008) | 665 | Phil Ivey | $1,596,100 |
| 7 (2009) | 696 | Cornel Cimpan | $1,686,760 |
| 8 (2010) | 745 | Andras Koroknai | $1,788,001 |
| 9 (2011) | 681 | Gregory Brooks | $1,654,120 |
| 10 (2012) | 549 | Sean Jazayeri | $1,370,240 |
| 11 (2013) | 517 | Paul Klann | $1,004,090 |
| 12 (2014) | 534 | Chris Moorman | $1,015,460 |
| 13 (2015) | 538 | Anthony Zinno | $1,015,860 |
| 14 (2016) | 515 | Dietrich Fast | $1,000,800 |
| 15 (2017) | 521 | Daniel Strelitz | $1,001,110 |
| 16 (2018) | 493 | Dennis Blieden | $1,000,000 |
| 17 (2019) | 546 | David "ODB" Baker | $1,015,000 |
| 18 (2020) | 490 | Balakrishna Patur | $1,015,000 |
A Post-COVID Fall From Grace
The LAPC returned in 2021, but it was not part of the WPT schedule. Moreover, California was one of the strictest states regarding COVID regulations. As a result, a steep decline in numbers was expected.
The event only generated 69 entries. It was the smallest field since the event jumped from a $7,600 buy-in to $10,000 in 2003. Michael Liang took down the historically small field for $173,300.
Attendance gradually trended upward before peaking in 2023 with 181 entries. In 2026, there were just 50 entries and Alex Massman won $158,030.
| Year | Entries | Winner | First-Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 69 | Michael Liang | $175,300 |
| 2022 | 119 | Huy Lam | $300,280 |
| 2023 | 181 | Alex Petrosian | $401,650 |
| 2024 | 139 | Wesley Haymond | $279,450 |
| 2025 | 145 | Michael Nia | $308,270 |
| 2026 | 50 | Alex Massman | $158,030 |
Will A Return To The WPT Revitalize The LAPC?
Even as California COVID restrictions loosened, the turnout never recovered to anywhere near what it was under the WPT umbrella. The turnout in 2027 will certainly act as a litmus test for how attractive the WPT brand is to recreational players and traveling pros alike.
The LAPC main event got the most scrutiny, but it represented a disturbing trend for Los Angeles’ tournament poker scene. In a post-COVID world, tournaments were not a focus of the local card rooms. And that was reflected in the tournament’s turnout.
But the Commerce wasn’t the only Golden State casino taking events off the WPT schedule. Northern California’s preeminent poker room, Bay 101, took its Shooting Star main event off the schedule in 2017, before returning to the WPT last year.
Sacramento’s Thunder Valley Casino took a brief hiatus following the pandemic, but returned to the WPT in 2023. Another prominent Southern California card room, The Gardens Casino, also returned to the WPT in 2023, but it did not return when the tour switched its seasons to correspond with the calendar year in 2024.
