World Poker Tour World Championship At Wynn Las Vegas To Feature Largest Guarantee In Live Poker History

For the first time ever, the World Poker Tour is heading to Wynn Las Vegas. The action goes down in December, bringing the tour’s 20th season to a record-breaking conclusion.

The 2022 WPT World Championship $10,400 buy-in no-limit hold’em main event features a staggering $15 million guaranteed prize pool – the largest in live tournament poker history.

“This is one of the most ambitious initiatives the World Poker Tour has undertaken in our 20-year history,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “We expect this to be a highly anticipated festival and are elated to be partnering with Wynn Las Vegas to bring this concept to life.”

The WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas will feature a televised final table. There will be three single-entry starting flights, each beginning at 11 a.m. local time from Dec. 12-14, with the champion set to be decided at the final table played on Dec. 20. Players will start with 100,000 in tournament chips, with hour-long levels to start and 90-minute levels later on in the tournament.

In addition to earning the lion’s share of the massive eight-figure prize pool, the eventual champion will also have their name added to the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup, named after the late WPT host and Poker Hall of Famer.

According to the WPT, more than 500 players are expected to qualify for this monumental event via online and in-person satellites. WPT World Championship passports, valued at $12,000, have already been awarded through WPT Global, ClubWPT™ and the WPT live casino partners around the world. For more information about the many avenues to win your way into this event, check out the www.WorldPokerTour.com.

While the guarantee for the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas is unprecedented, this tournament will not be the first eight-figure guaranteed event that the Wynn has run. The luxury resort, which first opened in 2005, has twice played host to the $10 million guaranteed Wynn Millions main event, which first debuted in 2021. The venue is now set to raise the stakes even higher alongside the WPT.

This record-breaking event will be part of the inaugural WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas series that is scheduled to run Dec. 1-20. The festival features 23 events with $22 million in guaranteed prize money.

In addition to the marquee championship event, there are several other tentpole events on the schedule, including the $2 million guaranteed $1,100 WPT Prime Championship no-limit hold’em event (Dec. 8-12), the $200,000 guaranteed $1,100 Ladies Championship (Dec. 16-18), and the $2 million guaranteed $1,600 Wynn Mystery Bounty. The unique mystery bounty event, which was pioneered by Wynn, will once again see players draw for cash prizes after they secure bounties, with possible bounty payouts up to $100,000.

The series kicks off with a $500,000 guaranteed $600 buy-in no-limit hold’em event that spans from Dec. 1-4, with six starting flights and a final day to decide a champion. There will also be a pair of high roller events, with a $25,700 buy-in running Dec. 11-12 and a $10,500 buy-in on Dec. 18.

In addition to a variety of price points and formats for no-limit hold’em players, the series also sports a number of other games to choose from, including a $600 H.O.R.S.E. event (Dec. 5), a $600 Omaha eight-or-better event (Dec. 6), $3,000 eight-game mix event (Dec. 8-9), an $1,100 H.O.R.S.E. championship (Dec. 12-13), and an $1,100 Omaha eight-or-better championship (Dec. 13-14).

Find the full series schedule here.

A Chat With Wynn Las Vegas’ Ryan Beauregard

To say that Ryan Beauregard is a Wynn lifer would be an understatement. The Executive Director of Poker Operations started out as a dealer at the Las Vegas property on day one back in April of 2005.

“I remember walking into the original poker room, which was still under construction at the time, and thinking to myself, ‘This place is going to be special,’” Beauregard said.

After promoted up the ranks, he was given the opportunity to run the poker room at the Wynn’s sister property in Macau. He spent seven years there before returning back to Las Vegas and opening the Wynn’s brand new poker room at the Encore Resort next door.

Card Player spoke with Beauregard about the upcoming series to see what players could look forward to at Wynn Las Vegas.

Card Player: The poker room has always been a player-favorite, especially since the move to Encore. What separates the Wynn from some of the other big poker rooms on the Strip?

Ryan Beauregard: Without a doubt, I believe it’s the poker team of employees. Having a beautiful room at a beautiful resort certainly helps – but one of Wynn’s core behaviors is “care about everybody and everything.” With that in mind, I do my best to fill the poker room with a team that lives up to that standard. When employees care about getting it right, and are consistently improving, the positive guest experience comes naturally.

CP: The Wynn has always been known for comfortable amenities and great cash game action, but it seems like there has been a concerted effort to draw more and more tournament players.

RB: It’s true that over the past five or six years we have steadily expanded our tournament schedules, but it has come organically, growing year to year. I think opportunities like Wynn Millions and the WPT World Championship both came along as a result of the natural, steady growth we’ve been working toward since 2016.

We are very fortunate that the Wynn poker brand has gained so much positive traction in recent years and, because of that, we are comfortable offering these types of guarantees. It wasn’t long ago that I was making a case to run a $250,000, then a $500,000, then a $1 million guarantee! We’ve definitely come a long way, which I’m very proud of.

CP: How did the partnership with WPT come about? Can you talk about what went into becoming the host of the season ending championship, and as well as Prime championship?

RB: Two of Wynn’s core values are “excellence” and “progressive,” something we weave into everything we do. Beyond world-class service and amenities, offering the biggest and best experiences in Las Vegas aligns with our goal of creating unforgettable moments for guests. When it comes to poker, creating this record-breaking, end-of-year event that will be the highlight of our year and the WPT season – I think we are set to accomplish both. In partnership with WPT, we’ve created a one-of-a-kind festival and must-attend event for current and new players.

CP: A $15 million guarantee is certainly ambitious. There was a $10 million swing and miss about a decade ago at another casino. Are you worried about the guarantee at all? Will the players be sweating an overlay?

RB: The “freezeout” per flight format keeps it interesting, and certainly adds in some risk – but, that was an important piece of the World Championship. Our goal, in conjunction with WPT, has been to create a more level playing field while still having structure to draw a huge field. With 500 satellite players coming from around the world, I’m confident we’ll get there.

There are so many options to win a seat! WPT has put together a running list of satellites on their website that includes all live events, ClubWPT and WPT Global. We also have six more live satellites with a total of 100 seats guaranteed happening during the event. Across all platforms, I expect we will reach our goal of 500 satellite players.

CP: Can you talk about the popular mystery bounty format, how that came about, and your plans for the upcoming series in December? Players can’t stop talking about how fun this format is.

RB: This is, by far, going to the most fun day on the schedule! Dec. 19 is day two of the $1,600 Mystery Bounty, along with the Tag Team Bomb Pot event. We expect the overall atmosphere and energy to be amazing.

The Mystery format certainly spread like wildfire. I smile every time I see a video of someone pulling a big prize at a poker room on the other side of the world. I’m proud that Wynn tournament director Ray Pulford was able to work through logistics and bring this format to life.

CP: There are a lot of options on the schedule, with buy-ins as low as $600 and as high as $25,000, H.O.R.S.E., Omaha, eight-game, seniors, ladies, tag team, etc. What goes into creating a schedule like this?

RB: We tried to diversify the schedule across several buy-in ranges and game types, to pack the festival with options. It’s harder than it looks – especially in such a short timeframe. The logistics of running 4-6 events a day in different locations is very tricky, but something we’re excited to bring to life. We know it will be worth it in the end!

My goal is to develop the WPT World Championship into one of the most talked-about and anticipated poker events annually, and further solidify our spot as a leading poker destination. We feel confident December’s event will deliver in every way and can’t wait for everyone to join us.

For anyone interested in learning more, I encourage you to visit wynnpoker.com.