LAPT8 Uruguay: Springtime in the fall

While Punta del Este proudly states its east-ness in its name, the city is pretty far south.

Not many people know what it's like to live this far south since about 88 percent of the world's population lives in the Northern Hemisphere and the only two major cities more south than Punta del Este are Melbourne and Auckland.

So, while most of the world's summer is ending, Punta del Este is just warming up.

It's springtime in the 34th parallel south and the weather isn't the only thing picking up.


Casapueblo in Punta del Este

In preparation for the yearly wave of tourists that flock to Punta del Este, the Conrad is hosting more than a poker tournament; it's hosting a mini poker festival.

Throughout the next five days, players will have 10 different events to warm the very core of their poker hearts. Aside from the $3,300 LAPT8 Uruguay Main Event, players have a shot at a $200 Mix Max Freezeout today.

In addition to Day 1b of the Main Event, tomorrow will host a $200 PLO Freezeout at 5pm and a $600 NLHE Turbo Freezeout at 7pm.

After that, players will have a Dealer's Choice PLO.

But the choice won't be high or low, it'll be four or five.

Sunday's $200 PLO will allow players to chose between four and five card PLO every round.

If players bust out of that, they can fire as many bullets as they want in the $1,100 NLHE Re-entry event that day. There will be one flight at noon and another at 7pm.


A coveted LAPT trophy

Then, on Sunday, players will get a shot at the $5,000 High Roller.

In the early days of the Latin American Poker Tour, the High Roller was the only side serving of poker to the main event.

But those days are gone.

As the region's appetite for poker continues to grow, so do the number of events.

Once the summer is in full gear in late November, so will the Latin American Poker Tour.

While the still brisk Punta del Este is hosting 10 events, the Grand Final in São Paulo --held during the Brazilian Series of Poker-- will have 32 different events.

While players can enjoy nine straight days of poker there, an early bustout will have the consolation prize of being able to enjoy the Brazilian summer.

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Celebratory Brazilians

Photography from LAPT8 Uruguay by Carlos Monti. You can also follow the action in Spanish and in Portuguese.

Alexander Villegas is a freelance contributor to the PokerStars Blog.

Alex Villegas
@PokerStars in Latin American Poker Tour