WPT World Poker Finals Begins at Foxwoods

The World Poker Tour’s World Poker Finals began Thursday at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Late in the first day, the field stands at 185 players, though several players have already been eliminated before the end of Day 1.

The World Poker Finals is one of the longest-standing events on the World Poker Tour schedule, having been held each year since the WPT began. It has traditionally featured big name professionals as winners rather than unknowns, and the $10,000 buy-in – which comes at a time when many other WPT tournament have reduced their buy-in levels –may very well allow that trend to continue. Previous winners have included Howard Lederer, Hoyt Corkins, Tuan Le, Nick Schulman and Jeff Forrest.

At the moment, attendance seems to be lagging slightly behind last year’s tournament, which featured 242 players and a first prize of nearly $550,000. However, registration will remain open until the beginning of play tomorrow, allowing plenty of time for stragglers to join in.

The first elimination at this year’s event came just fifteen minutes into the tournament. Michael Forca moved all-in with AK, but ran into the pocket kings of James Frangoulidis and did not improve, ending Forca’s run quite early.

The World Poker Finals will continue throughout the weekend, reaching the final table on Monday. The televised final table will take place on Tuesday, November 1. The World Poker Tour is currently in the middle of their tenth season, with six more events planned after the end of the Foxwoods stop.