The World Poker Tour is heading to France and Italy next year as the company announced three stops in the countries for 2023 last week. The tour is partnering with the Texapoker group to present several WPT Prime festivals in western Europe.
“Even amidst an incredible 20th-anniversary season, we are preparing for our progression into 2023,” WPT CEO Adam Pliska said in a news release. “Partnering with Texapoker provides us with a wonderful opportunity to return the WPT brand to the French market.”
The two-year agreement with Texapoker promises three poker series each of the next two years.
A look at the French, Italian WPT events
WPT Prime kicks off the WPT’s Season XXI live tour schedule on Jan. 22 with a festival at Club Circus Paris in France. The €1,100 buy-in main event runs Feb. 1-5.
“To welcome the WPT in our Circus Club in 2023 is a big triumph for the city of Paris, the poker players, our club, and our group company,” a Club Circus Paris executive said in announcing the series.
“Paris is the poker capital of Europe. The Circus brand, which is in six countries and two continents, continues to develop and this partnership strengthens the Club as a stronghold of Parisian poker.”
The next stop is the WPT Prime Aix-en-Provence from Oct. 9-15 at Pasino Grand. This is the first time the tour has ventured to Aix-en-Provence in southern France. PMU.fr will offer online satellites for French players to win seats to the $1,100 championship events.
The WPT Prime Sanremo festival series runs June 5-11 at Casinò di Sanremo in Italy, near the southwestern border of France. The property also hosted a WPTDeepStacks event in June 2018. That tour has been phased out and now replaced by WPT Prime.
Gearing up for WPT World Championships
As an added bonus to the new partnership, Texapoker will give away seats to the upcoming WPT World Championship. Four French Championship of Poker winners will earn seats.
“Eleven years after my first WPT partnership, I am very pleased and proud to work with this brand and to run three stops in France and Italy,” Texapoker chairman and CEO Apo Chantzis said.
Here’s a look at the three French and Italian WPT Prime stops:
- WPT Prime Paris, Club Circus Paris (France) – Jan. 22 – Feb. 5
- WPT Prime Sanremo, Casinò di Sanremo (Italy) – June 5-11
- WPT Prime Aix-en-Provence, Pasino Grand (France) – Oct. 9-15