Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule

1. Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule 2020
2. Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule And Results
3. Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule Bracket

Joey Armadillo's poker tournament schedule and information, including starting times, buy-ins, prize pool guarantees, and freerolls. Attention Poker Rooms: Get your Real-Time Live Action on PokerAtlas! 2020/2021 WSOP.com Online Fall Circuit Series - $250 No-Limit Hold'em Turbo $50K GTD - Poker tournament results, including winners and their payouts and winnings.

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The 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open runs from January 14-31, 2020 at Atlantic City’s Borgata, and PokerNews will be on-site to live report the series in its entirety.

Highlights from the 25-event schedule include the $540+$60 Deepstack Kick-Off NLH, which offers five starting flights and boasts a $2 million guarantee; the $350+$50 buy-in, $1 million GTD Almighty Stack; a $3,000+$125 buy-in Heads-Up event; a Charity Series of Poker Tournament; a $5,000+$100 High Roller; and the $3,500 buy-in, $3 million GTD World Poker Tour Borgata Winter Poker Open Championship from Sunday, January 26 through Thursday, January 30.

“Poker Brat” is Defending BWPO Heads-Up Champ

One of the most entertaining and competitive tournaments on the Borgata Winter Poker Open schedule is the heads-up event. This year’s edition boasts a $3,000+$125 buy-in on Saturday, January 25, and while last year’s buy-in was a lesser $1,590, the defending champ is the one and only Phil Hellmuth.

In 2019, he navigated a 64-player bracket to win the BWPO Heads-Up title for $37,248.

Hellmuth’s path to victory – each step was a best-of-three format – began by defeating Wenhao Ying in the first round followed by Tim Reilly in the second. After that, he bested Travis Greenawaltt in Round 3.

In Round 4, Hellmuth dispatched Steven Sarmiento and then it was on to the finals against Joey Cappello in what turned out to be a three-hour affair.

According to updates from the event, the final hand took place in Level 6 (500/1,000) when Cappello got his last four bigs in holding queen-seven suited and Hellmuth called with king-nine offsuit. Cappello failed to improve and had to settle for second place and $18,624 in prize money.

“The man played amazing and certainly did not give his chips away,” said Hellmuth.

WPT First Visited Borgata Back in 2003

The World Poker Tour first visited Borgata back in Season II (2003) and the Borgata Poker Open remained a staple on the schedule ever since. The inaugural tournament had a $5,000 buy-in, while from Seasons III-VII it was doubled to $10,000. Starting in Season VIII, the price tag was lowered to $3,500 which is where it remains today.

'I realized the younger players are really good and they’re going to be doing better. I’m happy for the experience I had.'

Speaking of that first-ever WPT Borgata Poker Open, it was the late Noli Francisco topping a 235-entry field to win the tournament for $470,000. He beat a final table that included Carlos Mortensen, David Oppenheim, and Charlie Shoten.

Back in 2012, PokerNews caught up with Francisco, who was 72 years old at the time.

“I got lucky and it was very exciting. I think I reached my goal. I was so happy to win, I reached my goal,” he said of his victory. “I know it’s hard work, and I was happy. After that, I realized the younger players are really good and they’re going to be doing better. I’m happy for the experience I had, and now I live a contented life.”

Francisco went on to participate in Season II’s Battle of Champions Invitational which included Phil Laak, Antonio Esfandiari, Mel Judah and Hoyt Corkins. Unfortunately, Francisco came up one spot shy of victory when he finished as runner up to David Benyamine.

Tony Dunst’s Vintage Raw Deal

In Season X of the WPT, Raw Deal host Tony Dunst actually broke down the heads-up match between Francisco and Shoten.

The match is remembered as one of the strangest in WPT history, as evidenced by a few unorthodox hands. In one of the hands Dunst analyzed, Shoten called a raise to 70,000 with his 11-big-blind stack. Both players proceeded to check the flop and river, bringing about the river. At that point, Shoten checked his and Francisco went to bet with the inferior ; however, as he was cutting out chips, Shoten announced a call. The betting amount had yet to be determined, so Francisco bet and lost the minimum. “I said I call to stop you from betting,” Shoten explained after winning the hand.

As if things couldn’t get any stranger, in the very next hand, Shoten announced all in out of turn while Francisco was in the process of putting out a raise. “It’s my fault,” Shoten said. This time Francisco made the call with and was out in front of Shoten’s , but the board ran out and the latter doubled.

“Noli Francisco is not a man to be outgunned,” Dunst explained. “Noli is a man of resiliency. A man that doesn’t let one lost coin flip deter him.”

Sure enough, Francisco managed to recover and on a board min-raised Shoten’s 100,000 bet holding . Shoten, who held , responded by moving all in and Francisco called. The bricked on the river and it was all over, though you couldn’t tell it as both men stood staring at the board in a confused stupor.

Eventually, the situation sank in and Francisco celebrated by raising his hands in the air in what would become one of Season II’s most memorable moments.

Anthony Zinno’s Rise to Fame

Today, Anthony Zinno is one of the most accomplished and respected players in poker. He’s won three WPT titles, was crowned WPT Season XIII Player of the Year, and has a pair of World Series of Poker gold bracelets to his name. It’s an impressive résumé and it all began at Borgata.

Back in Season XII, he bested a 1,189-entry field to win an $825,099 top prize in the Borgata Poker Open after beating Vanessa Selbst in heads-up play. In the process, he denied her from becoming the tour’s first-evet female champ of a WPT open event.

It was an impressive performance, but did you know he nearly captured a WPT Borgata title the year before? In Season XII he finished 11th in the WPT Borgata Winter Poker Open for $39,821.

Allen Kessler Actually Won a Tournament at Borgata

Allen “Chainsaw” Kessler has had a lot of close calls when it comes to capturing WSOP gold, and while the bracelet continues to elude him, he can at least console himself with some coveted Borgata trophies.

That’s because back in 2010 he topped a 141-entry field to win the $400 Omaha/Stud Hi-Lo tournament for $14,744 and two years later beat a 170-entry field to win the $400 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo for $17,314.

At the 2013 Borgata Winter Poker Open, he also took down the $560 H.O.R.S.E. event for $15,107 – the 57th largest score of his career.

Be sure to follow live updates throughout the 2020 Borgata Winter Poker Open right here on PokerNews.

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In the summer of 2003, one man holding two cards changed the game of poker for millions of players the world over. Playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, an accountant and amateur player by the name of Chris Moneymaker found himself heads-up against pro Sammy Farha. Along with the top prize of $2.5 million and a gold WSOP bracelet, both men were competing for the World Championship of No Limit Texas holdem – all while ESPN cameras hovered nearby to capture every flop and fold.

On the final hand, Moneymaker famously flopped two pair and baited Farha into shoving all in with top pair – a hand you can watch here courtesy of those ESPN broadcasts. Just like that, a worldwide audience learned about the spectacle that is the WSOP Main Event, leading to the fabled “poker boom” of 2003 through 2006.

To commemorate the 15th anniversary of Moneymaker’s momentous win, ESPN’s award-winning “30 for 30” documentary series recently hosted a podcast with the man himself. You can listen to Moneymaker’s memories of his Main Event journey here, and for folks who prefer the written word, check out the PokerStars Blog for a full rundown of stories covering the “Moneymaker Effect.”

And if you’re anything like me, after immersing yourself in the mythology of Moneymaker’s impact on the WSOP for the last week, you’re probably dying to play some tournament poker for yourself. The only problem is, WSOP season doesn’t arrive again until late May, leaving tournament aficionados a good seven months until we can take Sin City by storm. But what if I told you world class poker tournaments are being hosted as we speak, from coast to coast and all points in between?

With that in mind, I present a personal list of my three favorite poker tours outside of the WSOP in Las Vegas:

Moneymaker lit the match that sparked the poker boom in 2003, but the World Poker Tour (WPT) was hosting televised tournaments one year earlier. Launched in 2002, the WPT has been turning TV fans into card sharks for nearly two decades and counting. And over that span, the list of poker legends to etch their name on the WPT Champion’s Cup is truly staggering.

If you’ve ever tuned into a WPT broadcast, you probably know all about former commentator and poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton. In addition to coining the unforgettable catch phrase “may all your cards be live, and your pots be monsters,” Sexton practically built the WPT from the ground up. Partnering with Vince Van Patten, Sexton served as a Vin Scully of sorts, a voice that instantly became synonymous with the game.

Sexton has since retired – but not before winning a WPT title of his own at the Montreal stop in 2016 – leaving the broadcast booth to Van Patten, poker pro Tony Dunst, and the multitalented anchor Lynn Gilmartin. But while the TV cameras and seven-figure payouts are reserved for WPT Main Events, the tour also hosts a full series of preliminary events that appeal to the masses.

Just take a look below to see how the recently concluded Borgata Poker Open – a regular stop along the WPT circuit that brings the action to Atlantic City – stacked up in terms of prelim offerings:

Typical WPT Series Stop Schedule

The following schedule highlights preliminary events, and the WPT Main Event, from the 2018 Borgata Poker Open:

As you can see, players have more than a dozen tournaments on tap before the WPT Main Event kicks off. Entry fees for the prelims range from $230 to $1,090, offering plenty of room for players of all bankroll level.

Just ask recreational player Rick Savela, who qualified for the 2016 Bay 101 Shooting Stars Main Event in 2016 via the free-to-play ClubWPT online app. As you can see here, Savela got to rub elbows with poker royalty like Phil Hellmuth himself – all while playing for life-changing money.

This amazing accessibility is part of what makes the WPT such a special circuit for amateurs, aspiring pros, and bona fide champions. As it turns out, that’s all by design, thanks to WPT president and chief executive officer Adam Pliska. A behind the scenes veteran of the WPT since 2004, Pliska has worked his way up to the top by consistently identifying ways to blend poker and entertainment.

In a 2016 profile published by PokerNews, Pliska explained how the WPT tries to bring recreational players in for an experience of a lifetime:

“We don’t want to just put on a tournament where you go and you play and either you cashed or you didn’t cash.Our goal is to make – whether it is the WPT champion or the first-time amateur player – feel like they’ve had some kind of journey, some kind of experience, from the moment they walked in. To the people they meet, to the opportunity that they had, to the moment they leave.

I think that’s our focus on that journey that makes a difference. When there’s just so many opportunities and you can go anywhere to play, you want to feel like this.”(Quote)

One of those recreational players who lived the dream is Dennis Blieden, who managed to top the field at this year’s L.A. Poker Classic WPT Main Event. Winning a WPT title and a cool million bucks is nothing to sneeze at, but to hear Blieden tell the tale, the camaraderie which comes with joining the WPT club was the real highlight of his tournament:

“By days 4 and 5, I was really having the time of my life. I knocked out Billy Baxter, Phil Hellmuth, and Anthony Zinno all on the same day which was just surreal.Billy and Anthony were both extremely nice, talkative, and class acts. Phil, not so much.

With about 15 players left Phil got moved to my table for the first time all tournament. I was under-the-gun and Phil was in the small, so I of course popped it up with the 4-5 offsuit. After he called and then check-folded the flop, I showed him the five-high bluff and instantly he exclaimed, ‘Oh what is this goofy shit? How are guys like you even still around?’

I couldn’t have been loving it more.” (Quote)

If you’re in search of a world class tournament series that rivals the WSOP, look no further than the WPT – which offers the following events* to close out Season XVII:

*Entries below describe WPT Main Events, but each stop along the tour hosts a series of preliminary tournaments, so be sure to check the event schedule for further details

Upcoming WPT Events in Season XVII

On a final note, while many WPT stops do take players to far-flung locales – it is the World Poker Tour, after all – recreational players who aren’t looking to travel abroad have plenty of opportunities stateside. Be sure to check into the WPT DeepStacks series, a sub-circuit that visits small casinos nationwide while offering more affordable buy-ins.

Speaking of affordable buy-ins, what could be better than chasing WSOP gold and glory for just $365 entry fee?That’s the appeal of the WSOP-Circuit (WSOP-C), a smaller tour spun off from the WSOP proper in Las Vegas during the height of the poker boom. The conceptual design of the WSOP-C is deceptively simple – bundle up the structures, atmosphere, and branding of the WSOP into a series of small casino stops.

WSOP-C players are the ultimate grinders, travelling each and every week to a different stop – most of which are held in local casinos falling under the Harrah’s brand. And because the price points for WSOP-C events are among the most affordable in the industry, recreational players have every chance to parlay a small buy-in into big bucks.

Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule 2020

Speaking of that Harrah’s Cherokee stop in North Carolina, take a look below to get an idea of how preliminary event scheduling shakes out on the WSOP-C:

Typical Series Stop Schedule

The following schedule highlights preliminary events from the upcoming WSOP-C Harrah’s Cherokee stop in North Carolina:

After 15 seasons of success hosting mid-level tournaments, one might think the WSOP-C would be content to rest on its proverbial laurels. But ahead of the current season, legendary WSOP tournament director Jack Effel announced a series of changes to the tour’s structure – including increased starting stack sizes, flattened buy-in prices, and the integration of the popular big blind ante format.

Here’s how Effel described the WSOP-C’s evolution in a press release:

“For our fifteenth season, the time was right to take a hard look at our offering and refreshing it to give players a better experience all around.

Everyone loves more starting chips, and we think things like the Big Blind Ante and larger prize pools will be big hits for all players.” (Quote)

Another awesome reason to consider playing the WSOP-C is the inclusion of online-only ring events. Following the WSOP proper’s addition of online bracelet events a few years back, the WSOP-C followed suit by adding ring events held concurrently via WSOP.com. That means you can head to a stop like WSOP-C Rio or WSOP-C Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas to grind the live tables, before retreating to your hotel room to take a shot online.

In an interview with US Poker, Bill Rini – who serves as head of online poker for the WSOP – described the online ring event revolution as a natural progression within the industry:

“We’ve been running online bracelet events during the summer, so we knew there was demand for cross-over online tournaments.

We also see a lot of satellite interest going from online to live circuit events whenever we run them.

It was really just a matter of offering something that the players wanted.” (Quote)

Between the affordable buy-ins, prestigious Main Events, and online tournaments, players of all caliber have every reason to try their hand at the WSOP-C this season.The 2018-19 season of the WSOP-C is currently ongoing, and along with the five stops below to close out the calendar year, you’ll find more than a dozen events nationwide to begin 2019:

Upcoming WSOP-C Events in 2018

Regulars along the Heartland Poker Tour (HPT) circuit are partial to a particular slogan associated with the brand – “Real Poker, Unreal Money.” That motto was coined by HPT co-founder Todd Anderson, a recreational player who envisioned a poker tour for “regular Joes” like himself back in 2005. More than a decade later, Anderson’s vision is more than a reality, it’s become a smashing success.

Using a streamlined schedule of ultra-affordable prelims, coupled with a relatively low $1,100 or $1,650 Main Event – each of which offers several avenues for players to qualify on the cheap – HPT circuit stops typically follow the format below:

Typical Series Stop Schedule

The following schedule highlights preliminary events from the recently concluded HPT Daytona Beach stop:

Because the HPT concept is modeled after local daily and nightly tournaments held at tiny casinos across the country, the tour largely appeals to weekend warriors and hometown heroes.

Here’s how Anderson described the HPT dynamic in an interview with PokerListings:

“I’d have to say the range of players is about as wide as it can get. You’ve got players that have never played a live event before in their lives all the way to some very exceptional players.The very first final table we had there was a kid named Cody Slaubaugh and he’s gone on to great things as a professional poker player. He’s had great results since but he was just an 18-year-old kid from Fargo back at that final table.

I’d say 80 percent of our players are what I’d call enthusiasts. They have nine to five jobs and they play poker for fun. But that other 20 percent are making a living playing poker, and you’re usually going to see a few of them at the final table.”

One of those pro players who has turned the HPT into his own personal stomping grounds is Greg Raymer, the 2004 WSOP Main Event World Champion. Back in 2012, Raymer went on a historic tear during which he captured not one, or two or three, but four HPT Main Event titles.

At the time, HPT director of operations Jen Mastrud told PokerNews that Raymer was the perfect “everyman” champion to represent the brand:

“There is no champion more gracious than Greg Raymer.The players he eliminated praised him for the way he conducted himself throughout the tournament. He’s been incredibly kind to all of the players, the tournament staff, and the HPT crew. He represents poker well.

Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule And Results

All of us at HPT are proud to be on his poker résumé. Those of us with a front row seat to Greg Raymer’s unbelievable run are in awe. After eight years in the business, we appreciate how remarkable this is.” (Quote)

If playing alongside poker legends like the “Fossilman” is a goal, but paying the premium asked by WPT and WSOP-C events isn’t in the cards, the HPT is the circuit for you.

Check out the list of 2019 HPT events below to see when Raymer and his pals make their way to your neck of the woods next:

Upcoming HPT Events in the 2019 Season

At one point in time, the WSOP in Las Vegas offered the only legitimate tournament series in the world – but my how things have changed for the better. Nowadays, pros and recreational players alike have a year round schedule of smaller circuits and tours to choose from. Whether you want to chase WPT Champion’s Cup glory, a gold WSOP-C ring, or an HPT title, the trio above gives you every chance to live your poker dreams without ever stepping foot in Sin City.

Joey Armadillos Poker Tournament Schedule Bracket