World Poker Tour Announces Three Stops in Australia In 2022

AU February 4, 2022 by Stefan Nedeljkovic

World Poker Tour Summary

The WPT will visit Sydney for the first time in March 2022
The Star Gold Coast in Queensland will play host to a championship tournament
International travelers are still restricted from entering the country

The World Poker Tour (WPT) is travelling to the Australia in 2022! Season XX of the tour will now include three stops in Australia, including a first-time visit to the city of Sydney. The WPT is expanding its presence to the country in partnership with the Star Entertainment Group.

The Australian stops kick off with the inaugural WPT series in Sydney. The WPTDeepStacks will take place from March 30 to April 11 at The Star Sydney, featuring 12 events, headlined by an AUD$1,500 ($1,070) Main Event.

The tour will then proceed to The Star Gold Coast where two WPT events will run separately, one of them will be a championship tournament which marks the first time that a WPT Main tour stop is taking place in Australia. The WPT will first need to obtain regulatory approval to hold the championship event.

The full details for these two stops at The Star Gold Coast have yet to be released, but players should stay tuned because last year, a WPTDeepStacks series was held at the same casino wherein the Main Event pulled in a record-breaking 1,113 entries, awarding over $1 million in prizes.

Travel Restrictions Remain an Issue for Poker Players

For now, international travelers are still barred from entering the country, except for overseas workers, skilled immigrants, and other exempt individuals.

While live poker is back up and running in Australia, poker players from outside the country will have to wait for travel restrictions to be lifted in full before they can take part in major tournaments taking place Down Under.

At the moment, the country only allows entry to fully vaccinated players from New Zealand and Singapore.

While restrictions remain in Australia, things look set to return to some kind of normalcy this year. Prime Minister Scott Morrison previously announced his plans to fully reopen the borders in 2022, though the exact timeline remains unknown.

Hopefully, the borders are reopened just in time for the WPT stops. Otherwise, travel restrictions could impact attendance numbers, though the tournaments are still expected to attract a significant turnout within the local poker community.