The felt is hot at Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood. The WPT Lucky Hearts Poker Open Championship kicked off January 16th with a $3 million guarantee, and we're now into the business end of the tournament with Day 3 action underway.

The Quick Hit

• What happened: WPT Lucky Hearts Championship reaches Day 3
• The damage: $3,500 buy-in, $3M guaranteed prize pool
• Why you should care: First WPT Main Tour event of 2026
• The move: Fire up PokerGO if you want to sweat the final tables

The First WPT Stop of 2026

The Lucky Hearts Poker Open marks the first World Poker Tour Main Event of the new year. The festival has been running since January 6th with various side events, but the Championship event is what everyone's been waiting for.

With a $3 million guarantee on a $3,500 buy-in, the structure attracts a solid mix of touring pros and recreational players with deep enough pockets to take a shot. The winner joins the WPT Champions Club and gets their name inscribed on the Mike Sexton WPT Champions Cup—basically poker's version of getting your name on the Stanley Cup.

Last year's Lucky Hearts winner was Martins Adeniya, who took home $512,600 for the biggest live tournament score of his career. Someone's about to have a similar life-changing moment.

The Festival Scene

Beyond the main event, the Lucky Hearts festival has been stacked with action:

• Event #1 "The Opener" had a $100K guarantee
• Event #2 deep stack featured a $1M guarantee on a $600 buy-in
• The $25,500 High Roller wraps up January 19-20 with a $1M guarantee

The high roller field is always worth watching for star power. These events tend to attract the biggest names in poker looking to pad their tournament earnings before heading to whatever's next on the schedule.

What's Next on the Poker Calendar

After Lucky Hearts wraps up, the poker tour moves on:

• WSOP Circuit continues at Choctaw Casino through January 19
• Venetian DeepStack runs through January 19
• The DeepStack Showdown at Venetian starts January 19 with $2.1M in guarantees

January is absolutely stacked for live tournament poker. If you're looking to take a shot, there's basically always something running somewhere.

The WSOP Circuit Update

Speaking of the Circuit, Andy Tarbet won the first ring of 2026 at Planet Hollywood last week. The 2026 Circuit season is using a new calendar-year format, making it easier than ever to chase those rings across multiple stops.

Kathy Liebert grabbed her second Circuit ring in the Ladies Event at 63 years old, proving that tournament poker doesn't have an age limit.

The Bottom Line

The WPT Lucky Hearts Championship is in the final stretch, and someone's about to become the first WPT champion of 2026. The $3 million guarantee ensures a healthy first-place prize, and the Champions Club invitation is priceless.

If you're not at Seminole Hard Rock grinding it out, you can still sweat the action on PokerGO. Or fire up your favorite online poker room and pretend you're there.

The first major trophy of 2026 is about to be awarded. Let's see who's got the goods.