National Deaf Poker Tour makes stop at Venetian
28th July, 2008
Still in its infancy, the National Deaf Poker Tour has really begun to build some steam and has become a great alternative for deaf poker players to play events where everyone in the tournament is deaf.
The NDPT was created only two years ago by a group of six deaf poker players who wanted to create an environment where deaf players could come together and share in the fun of the game.
“We wanted to be able to have a deaf-only tournament to provide us the privilege of playing in a tourney where we can talk to anyone around us,” said James Rydstrom, a founding member of the NDPT. “If I was playing in a World Series of Poker event among non-deaf players, I would not be able to pick up on what’s being said around the table. This is our event, where there are no barriers of communication.”
The NDPT made a stop in Las Vegas where it was host to four tournaments over a two-day period, with the main event attracting the most attention. The main event was a $200 buy in that began with 136 runners with a prize pool of $20,672.
Jonathan Collins and Matthew Erickson decided to chop the first and second place prize money when it came down to heads up. Each of the players took home just short of $5,800 each.
“Our tournaments are structured on a point system,” Musano said. “The goal is to find the best deaf poker player and send him or her to a national poker tournament such as the World Series of Poker or the World Poker Tour to represent our organization.”
The main event was only open to deaf players, but the other three tournaments were open to anyone able to perform sign language, because the real purpose of the NDPT is to provide an environment where all the players can communicate with each other.
By Michael
