Over the years, field sizes and prize money grew, with more than $1 million for first place becoming standard.

As such, the main event, known for drawing high-stakes pros and Hollywood celebs alike, has been a staple on the World Poker Tour since Season 1 (won by Gus Hansen for $556,640). Since 2003, the LAPC traditionally has been the longest tournament series of the year in California (and anywhere in the nation outside of the WSOP). He got called back in November 2021 to begin planning the LAPC, but with casino execs unsure of what to expect, he said he wasn’t able to offer all of the usual guaranteed prize pools that some players might expect. Villegas was a longtime Commerce Casino floorman who was furloughed in March 2020 when COVID began shutting down poker rooms around the world. “It’s not as long as past LAPCs,” Villegas said, “but it’s better than just a week-long series.” He said he’s excited to see such an extensive stretch of tournaments back at the Commerce, even if they lack the mixed game events this series used to be known for.

Like much in the world these days, this year’s LAPC will look a bit different when it returns on Friday.ĬardsChat spoke with tournament director DJ Villegas about what’s ahead. DJ Villegas, the new Commerce Casino tournament director, has crunched the numbers in an attempt to bring back the LAPC to its glory days.

Now in its second year running independent of the WPT, Commerce Casino has made changes to the popular series in an attempt to bring the event back to its glory days. It’s a new year on the calendar, and for poker players in Southern California, that means the return of the LAPC at Commerce Casino.

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Commerce casino tournament structure