The World Poker Tour returns Down Under in September with the WPT Australia festival, which will be played from September 12th to 25th at The Star Gold Coast. There will be 23 events and the WPT Championship will kick off on September 20th with two starting flights and a A$8,000 buy-in.
This year’s schedule has been expanded from 16 to 23 events, making it the biggest poker festival in Australia for 2024. Some tournament additions to the schedule are several afternoon/evening turbos and an A$5,000 PLO High Roller. There will be a dedicated ladies event, the A$675 Ladies Australian Championship, from Sept 17-18 where The Star will be value adding a $6,000 package for the winner to compete in the WPT Ladies Championship at Wynn Las Vegas. The Shane Warne Legacy Perpetual Trophy Event, which honors the late Shane Warne, will occur one day before the WPT Australia Championship event. All admin fees and proceeds from all water sales will be donated to the Shane Warne Legacy.
The WPT Australia Championship
The festival’s most important tournament will begin on Friday, September 20, and will have two initial starting days. The winner will also receive a ticket to the 2024 WPT World Championship in Las Vegas and will add his/her name to the prestigious Mike Sexton Champions Cup.
Schedule:
- Day 1A: Friday, September 20 at 12:30 PM (10 levels)
- Day 1B: Saturday, September 21 at 11:30 AM (10 levels)
- Day 2: Sunday, September 22 at 11:30 AM (7 levels)
- Day 3: Monday, September 23 at 11:30 AM (6 levels)
- Day 4: Tuesday, September 24 at 11:30 AM (until final table of 6 players)
- Day 5: Wednesday, September 25 at 11:30 AM (final table)
Structure:
- Buy-In: A$8,000
- Re-entry: Unlimited during late registration
- Starting Stack: 50,000 (250 big blinds)
- Blind Levels: 60 minutes on Day 1, 90 minutes on Day 2, 3, 4 and 60 minutes on Day 5
- First level: 100/200 with 200 Big Blind Ante
- Action Clock: Will be introduced at the start of Level 17 and will remain in place for the duration of the tournament.
- Late Registration: Until start of level 10
- Payouts: 12.5%
The WPT Australia Festival
The WPT Australia festival will feature tournaments for all bankrolls, with buy-ins ranging from A$575 to A$20,000 for the Super High Roller. There will also be qualifying satellites for A$255 to the WPT Championship and A$2,575 to the Super High Roller. Event #20 will award a A$6,000 prize package that includes entry to the WPT Prime Championship in December at the Wynn and travel expenses.
These will be the events of the 2024 WPT Australia:
| Event | Day | Time | Buy-In | Levels | Stack |
| #1 Opening Event | September 12-15 | 2:30 PM | A$1,500 | 30 | 40K |
| #2 Flat Out Freezeout | September 12 | 6:30 PM | A$600 | 12 | 25K |
| #3 PLO Turbo One Day | September 13 | 11:30 AM | A$575 | 15 | 25K |
| #4 Shark Bait One Day | September 13 | 6:30 PM | A$675 | 20 | 20K |
| #5 Mystery Bounty | September 14-16 | 12:30 PM | A$1,650 | 30/40 | 40K |
| #6 Ultra Turbo One Day | September 14 | 6:30 PM | A$880 | 12 | 20K |
| #7 8 Max | September 15-16 | 7 PM | A$5,000 | 30 | 250K |
| #8 Outback Survivor Bounty | September 16-17 | 2:30 PM | A$1,150 | 30 | 30K |
| #9 Pot Limit Omaha | September 17-18 | 1:30 PM | A$800 | 30 | 30K |
| #10 Ladies Championship | September 17-18 | 3:30 PM | A$675 | 30 | 25K |
| #11 True Blue Turbo | September 17 | 6:30 PM | A$575 | 15 | 25K |
| #12 Bonza Bounty | September 18-19 | 2:30 PM | A$880 | 30 | 30K |
| #13 Shane Warne Legacy | September 19 | 12:30 PM | A$880 | 20 | 23K |
| #14 Super High Roller | September 19-20 | 2:30 PM | A$20,000 | 40 | 250K |
| #15 WPT Championship | September 20-25 | 11:30 AM | A$8,000 | 60/90 | 50K |
| #16 Ultimate Turbo One Day | September 21 | 7 PM | A$2,000 | 15 | 25K |
| #17 Mini Championship | September 22-23 | 2:30 PM | A$2,000 | 40 | 50K |
| #18 World Champ. Warm Up | September 23-24 | 3:30 PM | A$10,000 | 40 | 200K |
| #19 Extreme Turbo One Day | September 23 | 7:30 PM | A$1,250 | 12 | 25K |
| #20 WPT Road To Vegas | September 24-25 | 2:30 PM | A$1,150 | 30 | 30K |
| #21 High Roller PLO | September 24-25 | 3:30 PM | A$5,000 | 40 | 200K |
| #22 Premier PLO One Day | September 25 | 1:15 PM | A$1,150 | 20 | 30K |
| #23 Finale One Day | September 25 | 1:45 PM | A$675 | 20 | 25K |
You can see the complete schedule with all the events, satellites and structures at this link.
The WPT Australia Venue: The Star Gold Coast
With its luxurious accommodation and spa, iconic bars, restaurants and entertainment precincts, alongside the thrills of a world-class casino, The Star Gold Coast is Australia’s five-star fun-parlor. Located in the heart of Broadbeach on Australia’s Gold Coast, the hotel is surrounded by 2 acres of landscaped gardens and parkland. Gold Coast has grown over the years and is now Australia’s seventh most populous city and most visited tourist destination.
Here are some accommodation promotions that attending players can take advantage of:
What to do on the Gold Coast? Popular activities include: Tangalooma Island excursion, Australia Zoo, relaxing at Byron Bay, night walk on the natural bridge, Sea World, fun at Warner Park, shopping at Pacific Fair Shopping Centre, whale watching cruise and Springbrook National Park walk.
The World Poker Tour in Australia
The inaugural WPT Australia was held back in 2019 and returned in 2022 following the pandemic. Last year’s edition featured 600 A$8K entries and a massive A$4,4M ($2.8M) prize pool. The top 73 players were awarded prizes and the champion was Richard Lee, who collected the biggest prize of his career: A$854K ($550K).
Richard Lee, the 2023 WPT Australia champion / Photo: Joe Giron
These have been all the WPT Australia champions so far:
| Year | Buy-In | Entries | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
| 2019 | A$ 2,500 | 658 | A$ 1,480,500 | Hari Varma | A$ 274,247 |
| 2022 | A$ 5,400 | 710 | A$ 3,550,000 | David Tang | A$ 647,470 |
| 2023 | A$ 8,000 | 600 | A$ 4,474,890 | Richard Lee | A$ 854,890 |
Who will be next to add their name to the Mike Sexton Champions Cup?
