Mexico LAPT PokerStars event Suspended

The PokerStars Latin American Poker Tour's Nuevo Vallarta main event has been suspended prematurely and indefinitely at the Marival Grand and Club Suites in Mexico this weekend.

Day 1 of the second event on the LAPT's second season was proceeding smoothly into the night, with 89 of the original 242 runners still in contention with 46 minutes left in the ninth and penultimate level of the evening when tournament director Mike Ward called an unscheduled stop to the action at about 10:30 p.m. CT on Friday evening.

A few minutes later, all players were asked in Spanish to leave the tournament room and shortly after that, the media, TV crews and dealers were evicted as well, sending the entirety of LAPT contingent out into the ante chambers of the Marival resort with little information as to why or for how long their play had been suspended.

Four hours later, the answers are still unclear as we await official comment from PokerStars.

Apparently PokerStars and LAPT officials still in heavy negotiations with local government and gaming officials and nothing as yet resolved, Ward instructed his players to return on Saturday at noon C.T. for word as to whether the tournament will continue as planned or whether alternate arrangements will have to be made. At the time of writing, no indication had been given as to what those alternate arrangements might be.

It was a bizarre and rather startling interruption in what had been up to that point a relatively exciting LAPT event. Team PokerStars pros Greg Raymer and Victor Ramdin were leading a contingent of survivors that included Maria "Maridu" Mayrinck, Alex Brenes, Gualter Salles and LAPT2 Costa Rica champ Ryan Fee, while fellow pros Andre Akkari, Alexandre Gomes and Humberto Brenes numbered among the ranks of those already eliminated.

Meanwhile stick with PokerListings.com for full coverage of this developing story as they get to the bottom of this extremely unusual situation.

We'll see what I fetch next time.....
Pack Leader