In just a few days the fifth event of the 2023 WPT Prime season will begin and this time the destination will be Indian subcontinent. The WPT Prime India festival will be played from April 12-18 aboard the ship Deltin Royale. The Main Event will kick off on April 13 with a ₹65,000 buy-in and three starting flights.
Coming up after #WPTRollingThunder, we head to our #WPTPrimeIndia Festival aboard the @TheDeltinLife @Adda_52 featuring a ₹65,000 Main Event! 🇮🇳
Festival Dates 🎉: April 12 – 18
Main Event Dates 🏆: April 13 – 17Full Schedule & More Info: https://t.co/PcmNimduHM pic.twitter.com/OsDAiLqHEI
— World Poker Tour (@WPT) April 3, 2023
The WPT Prime India Festival
The festival will have 14 events with different entries and modalities. In addition to the WPT Prime Main Event, there will be a High Roller, a ladies-only women’s event, a team tournament and a Mini Main Event for those of lesser bankroll means.
Below is a listing of the tournaments to be held during the festival:
|
Event |
Day | Time | Buy-In |
| Superstack NLH | April 12 | 1 PM | ₹15,000 |
| 50K Freezeout | April 12 | 5:30 PM | ₹50,000 |
| WPT Prime Main Event | April 12-17 | 1 PM | ₹65,000 |
| PLO 40K | April 13 | 5:30 PM | ₹40,000 |
| Teams NLH Freezeout | April 14 | 6 PM | ₹30,000 |
| Ship It NLH Round 1 | April 15 | 6 PM | ₹15,000 |
| Ladies | April 15 | 7 PM | ₹12,500 |
| Ship It NLH Round 2 | April 15 | 8 PM | ₹15,000 |
| Mini Main Event Freezeout | April 16 | 2 PM | ₹30,000 |
| High Roller | April 16 | 6 PM | ₹125,000 |
| Big Bounty NLH | April 17 | 2 PM | ₹30,000 |
| 50K 8-Max | April 17 | 6 PM | ₹50,000 |
| Megastack Closer 7-Max | April 18 | 1:30 PM | ₹25,000 |
| Turbo Closer | April 18 | 5 PM |
₹20,000 |
You can see the complete schedule with the satellites in this link.
WPT Prime India Main Event
Schedule:
- Day 1A: April 13 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
- Day 1B: April 14 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the money)
- Day 1C: April 15 at 1 PM (Play till field is in the Money)
- Day 2: April 16 at 1 PM (Play till the Final Table has been reached)
- Day 3: April 17 at 1 PM (Final Table)
Structure:
- Buy-In: ₹65,000
- Re-entry: Unlimited re-entry is allowed until the start of Level 7
- Starting stack: 30,000
- Ante Format: Big Blind Ante
- Blind levels: 40 minutes during Day 1, 60 minutes during Day 2 and Day 3
- Late registration: Registration closes at the start of Level 7
- Payouts: One in eight entries will be in the money (approximately 12.5%)
The Deltin Royale Ship
The Deltin Royale is considered the best casino in India and is one of the largest in Asia. In addition to the casino games, it offers live entertainment, restaurants and a bar on the deck of the ship that offers a magnificent view. The ship’s poker room is the largest in India.
The City
The ship is located off the west-central coast of India, bordering Maharastra to the north, Karnataka to the east and south, and the Indian Ocean to the west. It was established as a state on May 30, 1987 and is the least extensive state and the fourth least populated. The churches and convents of Goa were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1986.
What can you do in Goa besides play poker on the Destin Royale? The options are several: visit the Bom Jesus Basilica, enjoy the nightlife, go to the Shree Manguesh Shantadurgai Pradanna Temple, visit the Bhagwan Mahavir wildlife sanctuary, visit the Dudhsagar waterfall or hang out on the magnificent beaches.
One of the magnificent beaches of Goa
The World Poker Tour’s History in India
The World Poker Tour visited India for the first time in 2017 with its WPTDeepStacks circuit, which had 527 entries and distributed $420,622 in prize money. The winner was Vikash Mantri, who achieved a career-best score by cashing for $92,539.
Another WPTDeepStacks tournament was played in November 2018 and this time the number of entries grew to 697, with a prize pool of $506,237. Nikunj Jhunjhunwala emerged as champion, winning $92,660.
The last time the WPT came through India was in October 2019 and the 630 entries made up a prize pool of $463,464. Ashish Munot took first place and the top prize of $89,576.
Ashish Munot
Who will be the champion this year? Will the 2018 event numbers be beaten? We’ll see in a few days.
