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Thanks to a schedule packed with seventy nine separate events, the European Poker Tour Grand Final is set to be a record breaker in 2016. This week the EPT schedule for 2016 broke on the PokerStars website.

Between April 26 and May 6, the Grand Final of the EPT will take place at the Monte Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort on the French Rivera.

The EPT 2016 will undergo a couple of changes at both ends of the financial spectrum, as part of the  event’s continued evolution. The EPT decided to reduce the price of the main event as well as add another event for high-end players, the well-bankrolled pro.

This year players will be charged €5,300 ($5,885) to play in the final EPT main event, this breaks the tradition of charging players the double, €10,600 ($11,700).

This price might still be expansive for many, but a reduced fee should attract more players, therefore it is expected that the number of entrants to be higher than the 564 that subscribed for the tour last year.

EPT has also added a €10,300 ($11,442) high roller to the roster, to compensate for players who prefer higher buy-ins and smaller fields.

The high stakes events cost between €25,750 ($28,603) and €100,000 ($111,088), thanks to Monte Carlo’s reputation as a playground for rich and famous players, this events is likely to attract a host of big names.

Often there are some interesting consequences of squeezing a high concentration of pros into a single tournament like this one.

Throughout the 11-day festival with cash games set to run, you will probably read reports about some serious betting made by the nosebleed regulars.

PokerStars has even organized games with €1 million buy-ins in recent years for the top players. This year we’ll probably see the same.

Prop bets is another consequence of cramming such a high number of high rollers together in a single room. Phil Ivey and Isaac Haxton even started betting on how many players would still be active In the tournament at set intervals back in 2014 at the EPT10 Grand Final. This is how desperate they were for some action.

The level of the prop bets this year has already hit new heights (think Antonio Esfandiari peeing into a cup).  At the 2016 EPT Grand Final, you will probably not only see tournament action, but also prop bets of potentially ridiculous or even embarrassing nature.

 

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