In the spring of 2024, the World Poker Tour (WPT) will take over one of Virgin Voyages’ award-winning ships for a WPT event on the high seas. WPT Voyage features six days of action and $1.5 million in guarantees, including both a WPT Main Tour and WPT Prime events.
“Virgin Voyages has totally re-imagined the cruising experience, and their ideals perfectly align with the evolution of WPT in our commitment to build unique memories for poker players across the globe,” said WPT CEO Adam Pliska. “The WPT Voyage will elevate an already amazing onboard experience with world-class poker and entertainment, creating one of the most fun and sought-after events on the calendar.”
The WPT “stop” will take place on the 1,400-cabin Valiant Lady – which requires guests to be 18+ — and will set sail from Miami on March 31, 2024 with stops in Grand Cayman and Bimini, Bahamas before returning to port in Miami on April 6, 2024.
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“Hosting the World Poker Tour at Sea is an industry first and bringing the Main Tour experience to Valiant Lady is very exciting,” said Tom McAplin, CEO of Virgin Voyages. “This partnership fits nicely into our adult-only experience, and we’re honored to have one of our ships as the main stage for this exciting tournament.”
While poker cruises aren’t anything new, this one is a bit different as few are as large as the WPT Voyage is slated to be with more than 80 poker tables on board. Not only will there be a $5,000 buy-in, $1,000,000 GTD Main Event, and a $1,100 buy-in, $500K GTD WPT Prime Event, but there will also be a variety of side events including a $25,000 High Roller event, Ladies event, and a Mystery Bounty event. On top of it all, there will be cash games of all stakes and variants being spread.
This is all on top of traditional offerings available on a cruise including food and drink, entertainment, and much more. The Valiant Lady alone is equipped with more than 20 boutique restaurants with delicious, made-to-order meals.
While docked in the Caribbean, numerous land and sea-based excursions will be available to experience, such as kayaking, snorkeling, cultural tours, and even a golf tournament in Grand Cayman hosted by WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage. A massive pool party at Bimini Beach Club, featuring an elevated performance, will serve as an epic culmination of the six-day WPT Voyage.
Players interested in attending the WPT Voyage events must book through WPTVoyage.com. Another way to lock in your spot on the WPT Voyage is through satellite tournaments occurring at the WPT at Sea Poker Room on Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady.
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WPT Episodes – Doyle Brunson
In honor of the legendary Doyle Brunson, who passed away this past Sunday at the age of 89, the WPT has announced that they are airing five exclusive episodes featuring “Texas Dolly” for free on their YouTube channel and via worldpokertour247 Twitch channel through this coming Sunday.
With over $2 million in WPT career earnings, Brunson has had his fair share of WPT highlights, which included a victory in the 2005 Legends of Poker. That is one of the episodes available to watch for free alongside the 2003 WPT Championship, 2005 WPT Poker by the Book, 2006 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic, and 2022 WPT Cash Game.
Here’s a description of each episode:
Did You Know the World Poker Tour is Online?
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world’s largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.
Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
Executive Editor U.S.
Executive Editor US, PokerNews Podcast co-host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.