3rd Edition of the DPT Xpress to be Hosted at Deltin JAQK in Goa From June 6-9

Deltin Poker Tournament (DPT) Xpress is coming back for its third edition and for the very first time will be hosted onboard the Casino Deltin JAQK from June 6 to 9. Powered by Adda52, DPT Xpress (DPT X) will be the brand’s fourth series this year. From successfully hosting the DPT February Edition (February 7 to 11), the brand went on to conduct the second edition of DPT X from March 14 to 17. Just days after DPT wrapped up its Colossus Super High Rollers (SHR) series on May 5, the tournament brand today announced the schedule for the latest DPT X edition.

The first two editions of the DPT X were held at the picturesque Casino Deltin Denzong in Sikkim. While the inaugural edition had garnered some success, the second edition that was held two months back saw modest turnouts with some events even noting a slight decline in their attendance compared to the inaugural edition.

Moreover, Delta Corp.’s (parent company behind all Deltin Casinos) dominant casino market share in Goa seems to be in troubled waters, with two of its closest competitors upping the ante. Back in November 2018, the Pride Group of Casinos and Hotels had acquired the casino vessel Argosy IV which was bigger and better than its previous vessels and was to replace one of its older ships. The bigger ship it seems is now operational as Casino Pride II. Meanwhile, Golden Globe Hotels Private Limited’s (GGHPL) ‘Big Daddy’ had entered River Mandovi in March as a replacement for Casino Maharaja. The new ship has commenced operations today with a grand celebration. With the team previously responsible for organizing one of India’s most popular live poker tournaments series, India Poker Championship (IPC), involved in the poker operations of Goa’s newest offshore casino, a revival of the IPC series seems imminent. With the turf war for market share intensifying, it is not surprising to see Delta Corp shifting DPT X from Sikkim to Goa.

The DPT X series may be visiting Goa for the first time, but the schedule and event buy-ins have been kept the same as previous editions. The four-day long series will play host to three events, kicking off with the Burn ‘N’ Turn and culminating with the Tag Team Event. The central attraction of the series will undoubtedly be the Main Event which is scheduled to run from June 7 to 8 and will feature a Shot Clock format.

Since the series is mainly aimed at catering to low-to-mid stakes players, the buy-ins will range from ₹5,000 to ₹15,000, similar to the previous editions.

2019 DPT Xpress June Edition Full Schedule

The inaugural edition of the DPT Xpress had run from September 27-30, 2018 and had crowned winners in Vivek Anand Baskey (₹5K Burn N Turn for ₹1.55 Lakhs), Prashant Malik (₹10K Bounty for ₹90,000), and Bhola Sharma who took down the ₹15K Main Event for ₹3.40 Lakhs. Meanwhile, Malik and Deepak Raina had won the Tag Teams Event for ₹60,000.

The second edition of the series was held in March, this year. Debashis Bal won the series-opener ₹5K Burn N Turn event for ₹1.60 Lakhs, while Sandip Jhawar claimed the title in the ₹10K Bounty for ₹85,000. The ₹15K Main Event found a champion in well-known poker player Ankit Jajodia who won his career-first live title at the series, bagging a career-best score of ₹3.25 Lakhs. The series closed out with Aayush Aggarwal and Rishab Dalmia taking down the ₹10K Tag Team Event for ₹81,300.

Talking about the upcoming DPT X series, Business Head of Poker at Deltin Royale, Manish Adnani, told PokerGuru, “DPT X series also features Goa and other upcoming destinations that the group acquires across the Casino fabric. Being an express format, it offers players the tournament, destination and cash game experience. Players who play this format are from the X-Gen and are working their way up the ladder. DPT X hits that sweet spot with minimal impact on players rolls.”

The third edition of the DPT Xpress is also clashing with the 50^th World Series of Poker (WSOP), which is expected to witness the largest-ever contingent of Indians in attendance. However; since the series mostly caters to low-to-mid stakes players, the date clash with the ‘World’s Biggest Poker Festival’ will likely have little impact on turnouts informed the DPT management.

Elaborating this point, Adnani said, “Players heading to the WSOP are not our target audience for this series. Being in Goa, we anticipate growing local participation given the entry point.”

Adnani signed off by saying, “We look forward to the X-Gen participating at the DPT. See you at the felts!”

Keep following PokerGuru for more exciting updates from the 2019 DPT Xpress June Edition!