Wynn Summer Classic To Feature Big Blind Ante And $1.5M GTD

Wynn Poker Room is set to host the 2018 Wynn Sumer Classic poker tournament and the Main Event will see a total of $1.5 million in guaranteed prize money up for grabs.

Tournament organizers have also confirmed that they will be adopting the popular big blind ante which has become a favourite in recent months.

Wynn Poker Room is looking to make its mark on the poker scene in 2018 with its 2018 Wynn Summer Classic. The tournament will run running from June 1 to July 16. All events but one (Pot Limit Omaha event on June 13) will feature No Limit Hold’em and use the big blind ante format.

Buy-ins for the events vary from $400 to $1,100, with guarantees of $50,000 to $200,000. The three super satellites throughout the Wynn Summer Classic will also shy away from the big blind ante.

The highlight of the tournament is the 3-day Championship event which has a $1,500+$100 buy-in and a $1.5 million prize pool. Day 1 will feature 45-minute levels, day 2 with 60-minute levels, and day 3 will play 75-minute levels.

Last year, the Championship event at the Wynn Summer Classic was won by US poker player Ardavan Yazdi, who took home $237,610 from the $2,960,925 total prize pool. The Wynn Summer Classic runs alongside two more high profile tournaments in Las Vegas: the 2018 Aria Poker Classic and the 2018 World Series of Poker. The Aria Classic will be held on May 26 running through to July 8, and will feature the WPT500 Main Event on June 25 to June 30 with a $1 million guarantee. The 2018 WSOP runs from May 29 to July 17, and will only use the big blind ante in its $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop event.

Big Blind Ante Continues To Gain Popularity

The big blind ante has been adopted by some of the biggest poker rooms in the country. The big blind ante has been well received as it makes the game quicker and the ante easier for everyone. In a big blind ante format, the big blind pays out the ante for all players at the table, which results in quicker play and more hands played.

Many credit the popularity of the big blind ante to Cary Katz, who won ‘Poker’s Biggest Influencer‘ at the 2018 American Poker Awards. Apart from Katz, many pros rallied behind the big blind ante including Daniel Negreanu who is in favour of the big blind before ante format.