The World Poker Tour is finally heading to the Lone Star State. The company announced on Wednesday that it will bring the WPT Prime series to the Lodge Card Club in Round Rock at the end of September.
The series will start on Sept. 28 and conclude on Oct. 13. The $1,100 buy-in WPT Prime Lodge Championship with a $1 million guaranteed prize pool is the highlight of the series. The first starting flight gets underway on Oct. 9 and the tournament concludes on the series’ final day, Oct. 13.
This marks the tour’s official debut in Texas. Thanks to the numerous card clubs opening across the state, Texas’ poker scene has seen more growth than any other U.S. market over the last few years.
Since the WPT is the brand behind ClubWPT Gold, an online poker room using a sweepstakes casino model to operate in the US, it’s possible the site could host online satellites into the championship event.
World Poker Tour Makes Texas Debut At Poker Player-Owned Room
Poker players with ties to ClubWPT Gold own the Round Rock card club. Poker pros and ClubWPT Gold ambassadors Doug Polk, Andrew Neeme and Brad Owen were a major part of the initial ownership group. The group purchased a club in San Antonio in March 2024.
Then, Ethan “Rampage” Yau and Nikhil “Nik Airball” Arcot jumped on board in March. WPT CEO Adam Pliska was pleased to see the tour venture into the state for the first time.
“We are thrilled to partner with The Lodge for the first time and bring the WPT experience to the heart of Texas,” Pliska said. “The Lodge is a standout venue with an incredible community of passionate poker players.
A WPT Prime trophy will be up for grabs and the event offers players the chance to accrue WPT player of the year leaderboard. The schedule includes a range of tournaments and satellites leading up the championship event.
That includes the “Half Milly,” a $400 buy-in tournament with a $500,000 guarantee. The WPT will release more details on the series in the coming weeks.
The Lodge has a hefty tournament schedule and England’s James Seaton won the Lodge Winter Championship in March for $250,706.
Photo courtesy of WPT
