Poker Stars has announced a new poker tour, the Russian Poker Tour, which will begin in early 2009 with its first season that will consist of two events. Poker Stars has been looking to expand again with the success of its latest tour, the Latin American Poker Tour, and Russia was an easy choice for the new tour as several Russians, including 2009 WSOP Main Event runner-up Ivan Demidov, and 2007 WSOP Main Event 4th place finisher Alex Kravchenko, have been rising stars in recent years. Kravchenko also won a WSOP bracelet earlier in the 2007 WSOP.
The first of the two announced RPT events will take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, located near the Baltic Sea and said to be the most Westernized of the major Russian cities. The RPT’s inaugural event will have a buy-in of $5,000 and will run January 25-February 1, 2009.
The second event, which will conclude the RPT’s first season, will, of course, be hosted in Moscow. The Moscow event will run February 22-February 28, 2009 and have a $10,000 buy-in.
Poker Stars is currently offering satellites to the RPT events, and you can try to win your way into the RPT for as little as $2.20. Check out our Poker Stars review or visit the Poker Stars website to learn more about playing poker online and winning your way into major tournaments across the world.