Tao of Poker

LAPT Nuevo Vallarta Canceled

By Pauly
Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico

Yes, it's official. After almost 19 hours of waiting...the LAPT Mexico has been canceled. Lots of angry and pissed off poker players.

Anyway, here's what I wrote over at PokerNews.com....

The 2008 PokerStars.com LAPT Nuevo Vallarta has officially been canceled. The remaining 89 players will split the prize money based on the following formula...

1. Each of the remaining 89 players will receive $5,000 from the prize pool.

2. The remainder of the prize pool will be distributed among the remaining 89 players based on chip count.

3. Each of the remaining 89 players will receive $500 from PokerStars (and not from the prize pool) for their troubles.

In case you are joining us late, here's a quick recap of the events that transpired over the last 24 hours...

Action was suspended late on Day 1 during the middle of play by local gaming officials. 242 players bought into the $2,500 main event championship hosted at the Marival Resorts and Suites in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. The event attracted several American pros in addition to some of the premiere players in Latin America.

The tournament had been running smoothly until the ninth level of play. Local gaming officials were on hand for most of the day observing the tournament. At approximately 10:30pm local time, gaming officials made an abrupt decision to rescind the LAPT’s gaming license. Tournament director Mike Ward made an announcement that play was suspended until further notice.

At that point, there were 89 players remaining including Greg Raymer and Victor Ramdin, who was among the chipleaders. All of the players and spectators were ordered to vacate the tournament room immediately. Players left their chips on the table and headed for the exit. The tournament staff, dealers, and media were also quickly ejected. For a couple of hours, perplexed players and media milled around while they eagerly awaited a clarification on the suspension of the tournament.

At midnight on Friday, the remaining 89 players were told to return at noon on Saturday when they would be provided with a status update. Meanwhile, the attorneys for both the LAPT and local gaming officials continued negotiations.

Apparently nothing was resolved and at 5pm on Saturday, the LAPT made a tough decision to cancel the remainder of the tournament.

Stay tuned for an official press release from PokerStars.com.

I'll write more on this subject shortly including the riot that almost happened.

Yep, just another day in Mexico.

* * * * *
And here's a brief statement from PokerStars.com...

The Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT) confirms that it is cancelling the poker tournament in Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico, due to an indefinite suspension served on one of its local partners.

The LAPT states it has cooperated fully and in good faith with the requirements outlined by the Mexican government. The LAPT respects and abides by local regulations in each market.

LAPT's partner in Mexico obtained a formal ruling from the Mexican Ministry of the Interior (SEGOB) allowing the event to take place. As the LAPT compiled with every rule stipulated by the Code of the Mexican Federal Law of Games and Raffles, the reasons for suspension are being reviewed by lawyers of all parties.

That's it for now. I'll write more about this subject when I'm back on American soil.


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