2010 L.A. Poker Classic set to break records

Tournament Director Matt Savage will be patroling the tables instead of playing on them at the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic this January.

With $3.3 million in guaranteed money, the 2010 L.A. Poker Classic promises to be the biggest thing to hit Commerce Casino ever.

A 50-event schedule was released this week, including the World Poker Tour's $10,000 L.A. Poker Classic Championship and the WPT Celebrity Invitational.

However, the 43-day schedule, running Jan. 21 to March 4, will include so much more.

Along with $3.3 million in guarantees, the largest ever from Commerce, organizers are estimating there will be a $20 million total prize pool over all the events.

"This LAPC is longer, bigger and richer," said John Griffo, the casino's director of marketing and advertising. "With $20 million at stake, what poker player wouldn't want to be at Commerce?"

The schedule will begin Jan. 21 with a $335 No Limit Hold'em event sporting a $1,000,000 guarantee.

There are three start days and while it's not a traditional re-buy event, players will be allowed to re-enter on subsequent days if they bust. A similar event held at Commerce in September drew a record-breaking 3,967 players, creating a $753,730 prize pool.

Other new events on the schedule include a $1,065 2-7 Triple Draw tournament, a $1,065 8-Game event, a $2,100-buy-in Ironman tournament with no scheduled breaks, Badugi and Chinese Poker tournaments and a $25,100-buy-in High Roller event expected to draw some of poker's best.

Like the 2008 edition, the Classic will also feature a $10,000 H.O.R.S.E Championship and a $10,000 Heads Up Championship.

The WPT Celebrity Invitational starts Feb. 20 and the WPT's $10,000 L.A. Poker Classic Championship begins Feb. 26. Both will air on Fox Sports Net in 2010.

"Commerce Casino has truly become a year-round haven for poker players," said Tournament Director Matt Savage. "As such, we felt it important to create an LAPC schedule that caters to recreational and professional players alike.

"That is why we have kept traditional events and inserted new games to the mix, and have buy-ins ranging from $220 to a heart-pounding $25,100."

The full L.A. Poker Classic schedule can be found on the Commerce Casino's website.