The Christchurch Casino has announced that the prize pool for the 2007 New Zealand Poker Championships will more than
double to $500,000 (based on a full field of 150 entries) and this is expected to be a major draw-card for the big names in the world of poker.
The huge success of the 2006 New Zealand Poker Champs at Christchurch Casino and the continuing wave of poker popularity has sparked this increase. In 2006 players from 38 different countries came to Christchurch to compete, including the 2005 World Series of Poker Champion Joe Hachem.
The 2007 New Zealand Poker Champs will be held between 31 March and 8 April, with the winner taking home approximately $160,000 and a seat at the 2007 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas, which has a first prize of around $US12million, based on the 2006 event.
Christchurch Casino Acting Chief Executive Stephen Lyttelton says the increase in prize money for the 2007 event demonstrates that this is a growing event and a calendar highlight for the Casino and the Christchurch economy.
“The increased prize pool and the fact the players love Christchurch and Canterbury will be incentive for even more players to fly down under for New Zealand’s premier poker event. The larger pot will also bring the tournament more into line with other major Australasian events.”
“This is New Zealand’s only truly international poker competition with the richest prize pool and it is one of only a few competitions in the Southern Hemisphere with a seat at the World Series up for grabs. With a multi-million dollar prize pool, the World Series of Poker is the ultimate in international poker competitions,” says Gaming Manager Peter Arbuckle.
The 2007 New Zealand Poker Champs will again feature the popular and entertaining “Celebrity Challenge for Charity” where some of New Zealand’s most famous faces will have their best poker faces on. The winning celebrity will donate their winnings to their selected charity. The 2006 star studded event saw $20,000 go to Brendan McCullum’s charity of choice Plunket Canterbury.
The Canterbury Championships, the South Island Championships and Peter Peko Memorial will again feature in 2007, as well as the introduction of the New Zealand Pot Limit Omaha Champs.