2009 Poker Tournaments Schedule | Bodog Poker Room

by Bodog Poker | Dec 3 2008

As 2008 winds down many wise and dedicated poker players are already organizing their calendars, setting aside vacation time, preparing excuses for bosses, spouses and parents and selecting the major live poker tournaments that they plan on attending. To aid Bodog readers we’ve compiled a list of the best tournaments happening in the first part of 2009, almost all of which can be qualified for online through Bodog’s Player’s Choice qualifiers.

First up we take a look at the World Poker Tour tournaments. The WPT might be suffering in the current economic climate with a brutal stock valuation but the WPT tournaments are still healthy, vibrant and fat with cash.

2009 WPT Tournaments

Gulf Coast Poker Championship
Beau Rivage in Biloxi, MS
Jan 16-19, 2009

The Gulf Coast Poker Championships boasts almost two dozen poker tournaments along with its two showcase events: the $10,000 WPT Main Event that runs from Jan. 14 - 17 and the $5,150 Pot-Limit Omaha event on Jan 11.

Borgata Poker Classic
Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Jan 25-29, 2009

A good bet for East Coast poker players, the Borgata Poker Classic has its $10,000 Main Event running Jan.25 – 29.

LA Poker Classic
Commerce Casino in Commerce, California
Feb 28-Mar 5, 2009

The LA Poker Classic is always well attended and the Main Event will likely have a prize pool in excess of $7 million.

Bay 101 Shooting Star
Bay 101 in San Jose, California
Mar 16-20, 2009

The Bay 101 Shooting Star Championship is a $10,000 buy-in event that sees each table randomly assigned a “start” or player with a bounty on their head. The bounties are worth $5,000 to whoever eliminates them and if a star wins they collect their own bounty.

Foxwoods Poker Classic
Apr 4 - 9, 2009
Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut

The Foxwoods Poker Classic is another great East Coast $10,000 buy-in poker tournament. Last year Eric Seidel beat out the 345 other entrants to take home just less than one million dollars.

WPT World Championship
Bellagio in Las Vegas, Nevada
Apr 18-25, 2009

This $25,500 Championship Event is the feather in the cap of the WPT. Last year saw a field of 545 players pony up the massive buy-in to generate a prize pool of over $13 million. David Chiu beat Gus Hansen in heads-up play to take home $3,389,140.

 
EPT

The EPT not only brings a host of large buy-in poker tournaments to Europe but it provides players from the North American side of the pond with a great excuse to take a poker vacation.

Scandinavian Open
Casino Copenhagen in Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb 17-21, 2009

Copenhagen might be considered the “Paris of the North” but don’t get distracted by the beauty of the city. The poker players there are known for being ruthlessly aggressive.

EPT German Open
Casino Hohensyburg in Dortmund, Germany
Mar 10-14, 2009

Last year saw a field of 411 in the €7,700 buy-in Main Event and a prize pool of €3,164,700.

EPT San Remo
San Remo in San Remo, Italy
April 18-23, 2009

Last year Jason Mercier made his first major cash in a poker tournament when he won the San Remo Main Event and the $1.34 million that went with it.

EPT Grand Final
Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort in Monte Carlo, Monaco
April 28 - May 3, 2009

What better place to hold a Grand Final than in Monte Carlo, Monaco? Last year a record breaking 842 players paid the €10,000 buy-in to generate a prize pool of €8.4 million.

WSOP Circuit Events

Last, but obviously not least, we have the WSOP Circuit Events of 2009. Here’s a quick break down of the dates and locations where you can score your very own WSOP Circuit Ring.

•  Jan 20–Feb 09 Harrah’s, Tunica, MS
•  Feb 12–25 Horseshoe, Council Bluffs, IA
•  Mar 4-14 Caesars, Atlantic City, NJ
•  Mar 19-29 Harrah’s Rincon, San Diego, CA
•  Apr 12-29 Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, NV
•  May 8-20 Harrah’s, New Orleans

Even if you haven’t figured out your schedule for 2009 you can qualify online for live tournaments through Bodog’s Player’s Choice qualifiers and then pick your tournament later. Once you win one of these online satellites you’ll have a $12,000 prize package that can be put towards almost any live poker tournament in the world.