International tournament news - EPT Malta to be the biggest EPT ever, WSOP Circuit expands to Italy and Morocco

From March 17 - 28, the European Poker Tour is organizing their biggest tournament stop ever at the Portomaso Casino in Malta, while the World Series of Poker has announced an international event in Morocco and the first ever European WSOP Circuit event in Italy.

The EPT Malta is a new spot on the EPT circuit but it is already expected to be the biggest EPT ever. Malta is home to countless professional players as well as to many online gambling companies.

The EPT Malta will have a record amount of tournaments and cash games available, Michael Holmberg, GM of the PokerStars Europe team said:

"It's with great pleasure that we bring the EPT to Malta. We've been working behind the scenes for many months to make this event happen, and we couldn't be more excited to welcome poker players from all over the world to the home of PokerStars Europe. Our biggest tournament schedule ever with one of the most favourable climates on the planet, will make EPT Malta a truly memorable event."

There will be a total of 69 tournaments in the schedule and 30 cash games tables running around the clock. The biggest attraction will of course be the €5,300 Main Event but there is also going to be a €10,300 High Roller and a €25,500 Super High Roller as well as plenty of lower buy-in tournaments including ladies events, junior and senior events.There is also going to be an invite-only charity tournament for the "Right To Play" organization which helps children in need around the world.

Meanwhile, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced that they are partnering with several casinos around the world to host an international leg of their WSOP Circuit events.

The first ever international event will be held in Morocco at the Casino De Marrakech es Saadi between March 7 -15. They will host eight gold ring events and the Main Event will have a €1,350 buy-in. There are also going to be WSOP and WSOPE satellites running.

The second event, and the first ever WSOPC event in Europe is going to be held in the Casino di Campione in Italy, currently there are no further details regarding this stop.

A third partnership agreement has also been made with the Casino Jubilee de Monterrey in Mexico but there are currently no WSOPC events scheduled at the casino but this is very likely to change in the future.

The WSOP Circuit currently has 20 stops in the United States and WSOP Executive Director said the following about the expansion:

"It's time to emphasize the "World" in the World Series of Poker and more aggressively partner with leading casino operators at the regional level. We know players crave a WSOP-like experience in their home market and believe our organizational expertise and unique tournament formats will bring a winning formula."

The WSOP National Championships will be renamed the WSOP International Championships, the winners of the WSOPC Marrakech Casino Championship and the winner of the Main Event will also receive invitations to the $1,000,000 freeroll.