Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto recently hosted the city’s inaugural World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) series in partnership with GGPoker and management hailed the festival as a major success.
This was the largest WSOPC International series this season, with a prize pool of more than $5.5 million. Poker players from across North America descended upon the resort to participate.
“Great Canadian Casino Resort Toronto hosted the largest International Circuit Main Event this season, proving that they have the potential to become one of the premier stops on the International Circuit schedule,” World Series of Poker Vice President Gregory Chochon said. “We’d like to thank the players for coming out but also the Great Canadian staff and GGPoker for their hard work in making this an impressive WSOP Circuit debut.”
Details on the Series
The Toronto tour stop played out over 11 days and the series saw more than 6,000 entries, including 324 Main Event online qualifiers from GGPoker. Management reports that the series shattered initial projections of a $3.9 million prize pool.
Khaled Aljoma, a Great Canadian rewards club member from Burlington, Ontario, came out on top in the Main Event for $427,191 and also received a coveted championship ring. He plans on having his ring engraved with the message, “We did it for the kids.”
The 50 year-old now has over $500,000 in live tournament winnings and plans to use some of his earnings to upgrade his home. Aljoma works as a mechanic in his day job and considers poker a hobby. The Main Event produced a field of 1,600 entries for a $2.8 million prize pool.
The series awarded eight championship rings and all eight winners also now earn a seat to compete in the $1 million Tournament of Champions at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles in May.
Toronto native and GGPoker ambassador Daniel Negreanu was one of those players in attendance and played in the Main Event. The Poker Hall of Famer finished in the money in 230th place and praised Great Canadian Toronto as an ideal host for large-scale poker tournaments.
“I have been playing WSOP events around the world for over 25 years and there is something quite special about being able to finally compete in one in my hometown,” Negreanu said.
Casino management was pleased to see such a demand for the property’s first WSOPC series and the property looks to continue offering major poker tournament series.
“I am immensely proud of the resounding success of our inaugural World Series of Poker? tournament in partnership with GGPoker,” Great Canadian Toronto general manager Robert Katsavelos said. “The overwhelming turnout from both players and spectators underscores the passion and enthusiasm for poker within our community. We are thrilled to have hosted players from across Canada and beyond at our brand new resort, and look forward to continuing to deliver one-of-a-kind experiences.”
