The World Poker Tour's popular WPT Prime returns to the Gold Coast in Australia following a hugely successful trip only eight months ago. The Star Gold Coast casino will be packed to the rafters with some supremely talented poker players, who each have their eye on becoming a WPT champion down under.
WPT Prime Gold Coasts gets underway at 2:30 p.m. local time on February 23 with the $1,000 Opening Event. It features two flights taking place on consecutive days, a Day 2, before crowning its champion some time on February 26. Last year's WPT Prime Gold Coast Opening Event saw 399 players buy-in for $750 and create a $269,325 prize pool. Australia's Dan Smiljanic emerged from the battle victoriously, and with $55,587 in cash in tow.
High Rollers are catered for with a $5,000 $5K High Roller Challenge, and following player feedback, a new addition to the schedule, the $10,000 $10K Super High Roller Challenge. Gavin Best won the $5K Challenge in 2022, outlasting 85 opponents to scoop a $130,355, which was his first six-figure score.
Of course, the tournament everyone wants to win, especially if they are playing on home soil, is the $2,000 WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event. Day 1A of the Main Event starts at 11:30 a.m. on March 2 and sees players enter the fray with 30,000 chips and play to a 40-minute clock where the blinds start at 100/200 with a 200 big blind ante. The clock extends to 60 minutes from Day 2 onwards, and whoever is crowned the WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event champion will secure a $16,500 package to the 2023 WPT World Championship at the Wynn Las Vegas.
The 2022 edition of the WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event drew in 896 players, each paying $1,500 for the chance to become a World Poker Tour champion. Yan Lei was the last player standing; they received $201,755 for their efforts, in addition to a commemorative trophy. No doubt Lei will be in the mix again, hoping to defend their title.
2022 WPT Prime Gold Coast Main Event Final Table Results
| Place | Player | Country | Prize (AUD) | Prize (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yan Lei | Australia | $201,755 | $141,413 |
| 2 | Najeem Ajez | Australia | $134,508 | $94,279 |
| 3 | Tony Lu | Australia | $99,229 | $69,551 |
| 4 | Mark Staples | Australia | $74,002 | $51,869 |
| 5 | Justin Bernstein | Australia | $55,798 | $39,109 |
| 6 | Gang Zhu | China | $42,541 | $29,817 |
| 7 | Win Tan | Australia | $32,800 | $22,990 |
| 8 | Jerry Wang | Australia | $25,578 | $17,928 |
2023 WPT Prime Gold Coast Schedule
| Date | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| Thu 23 Feb | 2:30 p.m. | $1,000 Opening Event Day 1A |
| Fri 24 Feb | 10:30 a.m. | $440 NLHE Turbo One Day Event |
| 2:30 p.m. | $1,000 Opening Event Day 1B | |
| Sat 25 Feb | 11:30 a.m. | $1,000 Opening Event Day 2 |
| 2:30 p.m. | $1,650 8-Max Action Clock Day 1 | |
| Sun 26 Feb | 11:30 a.m. | $1,000 Opening Event Day 3 |
| 12:30 p.m. | $1,650 8-Max Action Clock Day 2 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | $660 Big Bounty Day 1 | |
| Mon 27 Feb | 11:30 a.m. | $660 Big Bounty Day 2 |
| 1:30 p.m. | $550 PLO Action Clock Day 1 | |
| 3:30 p.m. | $5,000 5K High Roller Challenge Day 1 | |
| Tue 28 Feb | 11:30 a.m. | $550 PLO Action Clock Day 2 |
| 12:30 p.m. | $5,000 5K High Roller Challenge Day 2 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | $1,350 Mystery Bounty Day 1A | |
| Wed 1 Mar | 10:30 a.m. | $330 NLHE 15/15 Event Freezeout |
| 2:30 p.m. | $1,350 Mystery Bounty Day 1B | |
| Thu 2 Mar | 11:30 a.m. | $1,350 Mystery Bounty Day 2 |
| 1:30 p.m. | $3,000 $3K PLO High Roller Day 1 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | $2,000 Main Event Day 1A | |
| Fri 3 Mar | 11:30 a.m. | $330 15/15 PLO One Day Event |
| 2:30 p.m. | $2,000 Main Event Day 1B | |
| Sat 4 Mar | 11:30 a.m. | $2,000 Main Event Day 1C |
| Sun 5 Mar | 11:30 a.m. | $2,000 Main Event Day 2 |
| 12:30 p.m. | $1,100 Mini Main Event Freezeout Day 1 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | $10,000 $10K Super High Roller Day 1 | |
| Mon 6 Mar | 11:30 a.m. | $2,000 Main Event Final Day |
| 12:30 p.m. | $1,100 Mini Main Event Day 2 | |
| 1:00 p.m. | $10,000 $10K Super High Roller Day 2 | |
| 2:30 p.m. | $550 Finale One Day Event |
2022 WPT Prime Gold Coast Results
The 2023 WPT Prime Gold Coast should be a roaring success if it follows in the footsteps of the 2022 edition. It would be surprising not to see the 2022 champions head to The Star Gold Coast and attempt to become back-to-back champions. Here are last year's winners.
| Event | Entrants | Prize Pool | Champion | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $750 No-Limit Hold'em Opening Event | 399 | $269,325 | Dan Smiljanic | $55,587 |
| $1,100 No-Limit Hold'em | 174 | $174,000 | Romain Morvan | $45,727 |
| $660 No-Limit Hold'em Bounty | 204 | $57,854 | Luke Jackson | $15,053 |
| $330 No-Limit Hold'em Freezeout | 208 | $62,400 | Alex Lee | $15,348 |
| $330 Pot-Limit Omaha | 138 | $41,000 | Gregory Burgess | $11,571 |
| $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mystery Bounty | 395 | $237,000 | Steven Hoek | $48,916 |
| $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event | 896 | $1,176,680 | Yang Lei | $201,755 |
| $440 No-Limit Hold'em Deep Stack Super Turbo Freezeout | 145 | $58,000 | Ming Yiu | $16,011 |
| $660 Pot-Limit Omaha | 158 | $94,800 | Zijun Wang | $25,479 |
| $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em 5K Challenge | 86 | $404,200 | Gavin Best | $130,355 |
| $440 No-Limit Hold'em Deep Stack Freezeout | 195 | $78,000 | Adam Agresta | $19,414 |
Win a WPT Prime Passport Online at WPT Global
Although it is too late to win a seat or package to WPT Prime Gold Coast online at WPT Global, you can start trying to win you way into the $110 Passport Qualifiers that take place every Saturday at 2:00 p.m. ET and again at 6:00 p.m. ET on Sunday. At least one $,500 WPT Prime Passport is guaranteed, which you can use for any of the following events:
- Amsterdam, Netherlands – March 29-April1
- Bratislava, Slovakia – May 11-15
- Hanoi, Vietnam – May 25-29
- San Remo, Italy – June 1-11
Satellites for the $110 Passport Qualifiers start as low as $5, giving every WPT Global player a chance of winning a potentially life-changing live poker package.
WPT Global has a history of making poker players' dreams come true. LoriAnn Persinger and Stephen Kehoe captured packages to last year's record-breaking WPT World Championship in Las Vegas, with both reaching the money places. Persinger ultimately collected $119,000 for her 30th place finish, while Kehoe returned home with $269,900 after seeing his tournament end in a 14th place finish.
Join WPT Global Today
The launch of WPT Global means that poker players around the world now have the chance to win their way to WPT events, win prizes and enjoy exciting games such as Poker Flips. As one of the world's largest cash game poker networks, WPT Global is available in over 50 countries and territories around the world.
WPT Global offers a large deposit match bonus: 100% on deposits up to $1,200 (using any payment method). New players depositing a minimum of $20 automatically receive this match bonus which is unlocked in $5 increments (credited straight to the cashier) for every $20 of rake contribution.
Both tournaments and cash games count towards bonus unlocking; new players have 90 days from the date of first deposit to unlock and claim their full bonus amount.
