Park City is planning what it says will be the largest no-limit hold 'em tournament.

Poker addicts, get ready to ante up.

A large-scale amateur poker tournament is on its way to Park City, just a few miles north of Wichita.

advertisement
Party Poker
The biggest online poker room with thousands of players.
Choose one of the following games:
Texas Holdem Poker, Omaha Poker, Omaha Hi,
Seven Card Stud, Stud 8 or Better.
Receive a 20% bonus of your first deposit up to a $100!!!
Party Poker

The 2005 Park City Poker Round Up -- touted as the largest live, no-limit hold 'em tournament -- is scheduled to begin next month.

"If you are not a hard-core poker player with a very large bankroll, this is definitely the event to play in," said Shawn Riley, president of the Wichita-based Amateur Poker League.

Park City Pride, a nonprofit civic organization, plans to formally announce the event during a news conference this morning at Park City's city hall.

Organizers are calling the event the largest of its kind in the nation to date and say it will add to the city's growing entertainment base.

In the past three months, the city has announced it will be home to a new Wild West Amusement Park and a proposed resort-style casino.

The three-month poker tournament is expected to attract contestants -- including some of the best amateur poker players -- from across the country and will raise money to improve a Park City skate park.

The tournament includes seven qualifying sessions to be held Feb. 12 through April 16 at the Kansas Coliseum.

Each is open to the first 2,500 registered participants, and the top player at each qualifying session also will receive a trip for two to Las Vegas.

The top 110 players will advance to the April 17 finals, also at the Coliseum.

Top league players from each region who earn points in poker games throughout the year also qualify for the finals, Riley said.

The finals winner will compete at the World Series of Poker championship in July and will receive a $10,000 buy-in for that event, travel and lodging.

Dozens of players are already registered, Riley said, including some from Illinois, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin.

Here's how the tournament will work:

• Anyone can register to attend the qualifying rounds.

• Participants are asked to give a $25 donation at the door and will receive a commemorative T-shirt and poker chip.

• Each player will use 2,500 in chips to play rather than cash wagers, Riley said.

• Players can sign up for as many qualifying rounds as they wish. Rounds will begin at 10 a.m. each day with a second-chance round at 3 p.m.

Gambling interest

Riley hopes the tournament fans a fad that has been growing in Wichita.

Poker's popularity has surged since cable networks started airing high-stakes Las Vegas action more than a year ago.

Thousands of Wichitans play weekly, many in organized Texas Hold 'Em tournaments in local bars. Participants earn points and advance to regional and national championships.

Others are hoping the tournament helps further Park City's reputation as a place to gamble and have fun.

Former Wichita Mayor Bob Knight said Friday that he would be involved in the tournament but would not say how until today's announcement.

Knight is working to win state and federal approval for a resort-style casino in Park City that would be owned by the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska.

Local benefit

Tournament sponsors include the poker league, the Park City Pride Committee and the Park City Tourism and Convention Bureau.

Park City Mayor Emil Bergquist said the City Council earlier this month agreed to put $2,000 toward the tournament. The money, he said, comes from the city's hotel guest tax, which raises more than $100,000 a year.

Park City Pride member Dee Stuart said the organization's members would volunteer to help staff the tournament.

The group will use proceeds to buy equipment for a skate park in Park City's Conservation Park, she said. The popular youth hangout is unfinished, and Pride members want to add a quarter-pipe, half-pipe, bowl and other features.

Stuart, who is not an avid poker player, said she bought a Texas Hold 'Em computer program so she could learn the game before the tournament begins.

"We're excited," she said. "We think that we're probably going to do a lot of work, have a lot of fun."

Source: The Wichita Eagle