WSOPC Main Event Generates Largest Prize Pool in Alberta

Summary

• The first WSOP Circuit series in Calgary ran for nearly two weeks, awarding 12 gold rings
• The WSOPC Calgary Main Event now holds the record for the largest prize pool in Alberta
• The series exceeded all expectations, awarding more than $3.4m to the top finishers

After two years of being held off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Calgary finally had its first World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOP-C) event which concluded less than a week ago.

The action took place at Deerfoot Inn & Casino, one of the city’s premier hotel and entertainment destinations. The Calgary stop proved to be a massive success, setting new records not only in the city but in the whole of Alberta.

The series culminated in the NLH Main Event which attracted a 1,179-entry field to generate a total prize pool of $1,786,362 CDN, the biggest in Alberta history,

The 2016 WPTDeepstacks Main Event previously held the record for the largest prize pool in Alberta when it awarded $1,555,720 CDN in total prize money. Now, the WSOP-C Calgary Main Event managed to smash that figure by over $200,000. Not only that – the tournament was able to achieve such a feat with a smaller buy-in of $1,700, compared to the $2,500 entry fee of the WPTDeepstacks Main Event in 2016.

Record-Breaking Series

The success of the WSOP-C Calgary stop does not rely solely on the results of the Main Event. The other tournaments on the schedule also attracted huge attendance, bringing the total prize pool to more than $3.4 million, and Canadians only spent $5,900 in total buy-ins to compete for that massive figure.

That compares to the $2.3 million in total prize money paid out by the previous record-holder which was generated with total buy-ins of $8,530. This means that the recently-concluded series at Deerfoot Inn & Casino provided bigger value to local players, awarding nearly three times the prizes per dollar spent for players at the venue in January.

Players from different parts of the country, including Vancouver and St. John’s in Newfoundland, traveled to Calgary to participate in the series, with the pandemic lockdowns of the past two years contributing to the massive turnout. At the moment, only the province of Alberta is running live poker throughout Canada.

The WSOPC Calgary stop ran from January 12 – 23 and awarded 12 gold rings.