PokerStars North American Poker Tour announces first NAPT Los Angeles

The PokerStars.net North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has recently announced the addition of a new stop to its Season 1 schedule. The NAPT will make a stop in Southern California for NAPT Los Angeles scheduled for November 12 – 17, 2010 at the world famous Bicycle Casino. The festival will feature a five-day, $5,000 buy-in Main Event, as well as a wide range of side events catering to players of all bankroll levels.

"We are very enthusiastic to secure the West Coast Tour stop. We clearly recognize the NAPT as the next major happening in the evolution of poker, and we have no doubt this Tour will entice and attract players from all over the world." commented Haig Kelegian, Managing Partner of The Bike.

Season 1 of the PokerStars.net NAPT has proven to be a resounding success, with sixty different countries were represented in fields ranging from 700 to 1,500 players. The NAPT PokerStars.net Caribbean Adventure drew in a record-breaking 1,529 players with US based player Harrison Gimbel taking home $2.2 million for first prize. The NAPT Venetian title was won by 22-year-old online player Tom Marchese for $827,648 and the NAPT Mohegan Sun saw local Vanessa Selbst beat 716 players to win her biggest live tournament pay day to date of $750,000.

Players can win seats at the NAPT Los Angeles Main Event through a series of qualifiers running exclusively on PokerStars.net. Packages for the festival include the $5,000 entry fee for the Main Event, accommodation for the duration of the festival and a stipend for travel expenses.

"I've played at The Bike in the past and there is a strong local presence in LA. It's always really important for a tournament's success to have a strong core of local players as it gives even more incentive to travel to the events when you know there will be big money on the line. I'm looking forward to playing." comments poker legend and Team PokerStars Pro member Daniel Negreaunu.