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Card Player Poker Tour Returns To The Bicycle Casino In October

Oct 14 Main Event Boasts $400,000 In Guarantees

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The Bicycle Hotel & Casino In Bell Gardens, CaliforniaDon’t worry if you missed the latest tour stop in July. The Card Player Poker Tour will return to the Bike in October, with a series running Oct. 1-20. There are more than a dozen events on the schedule, with the highlight of the series being the $1,100 buy-in no-limit hold’em $400,000 guaranteed main event that will have open registration Oct. 14-17.

The event will give you the option of buying in on day 2 for $4,300. You should expect another huge turnout thanks to the Quantum Reload format. The Bike will run a full slate of satellites to the event, allowing poker players to qualify for as little as $200. Californian Edwin Pairavi won the 2016 CPPT main event at the Bike last October for more than $120,000.

The Bicycle Hotel & Casino recently unveiled a $50 million hotel expansion to the property, which poker players can continue taking advantage of come this fall. The 117,907-square-foot addition boasts 99 rooms, including 29 suites, as well as a multitude of amenities including the all new Bike Brewery, full spa and elevated outdoor pool deck with private cabanas.

Card Player had the chance to speak to Bike Tournament Director Mo Fathipour, who has pioneered the Quantum Reload format, about the upcoming series, including the main event.

Card Player: What are you looking forward to about this tournament?

Mo Fathipour: I think it is going to be much better than last year. Every year the Card Player Poker Tour is getting better and better. That is a $1,100 buy-in with the Quantum concept. You can buy in on day 2 for $4,300. Every day they are going to be playing to 25 percent of the field, and we’ll go from there.

CP: You have been called a “players’ TD.” Your tournaments have great structures.

MF: Players love [the Quantum reload] because the prize pool goes up and the tournament draws some professional players. The concept is getting popular. We had it in Canada, we had it in Las Vegas, and we had it in San Diego. It’s going almost everywhere.

CP: Why should poker players from across the country come to L.A. in October for the event? This is of course not factoring in the more pleasant L.A. weather.

MF: I can promise that whoever comes from the east coast, with an east coast ID, I will give them 20 percent off the hotel and free food every day during the tournament. It’s a good deal for them.

CP: How nice is it having a hotel here now?

MF: So good, I gain maybe 20-25 percent in the bigger tournaments because of the hotel. The hotel is already booking for [future events]. It helps cash games too. The hotel is very nice. Every time you come to the Bike you’ll notice things changing and getting better and better. ♠

For more information about the Card Player Poker Tour, check out the tour’s homepage.