Not only do we get the best season for Christmas in the Southern Hemisphere (honestly, prawns on the Bar-B is 10x better than stodgy old potatoes, turkey and pork) but thanks to Sky City, we’ll be getting another holiday treat, A $50,000* Poker Tournament!

It’s the first big Sky City tournament of 2009 and it promises to be a fantastic high stakes tournament with the top prize sure to attract a range of excellent players.

Where: SKYCITY Poker, Level 3 SKYCITY Auckland

When: 24th – 26th January 2009

Main Event: Sunday 25 January 2009

Start time: 12:15pm

Cost: $1100 per person

For more details, head to http://www.skycityauckland.co.nz/poker

*Prize pool amount based on number of entrants with a minimum prize pool of $50,00

Christchurch High Stakes Tournament

Not your average tournament, the website tells us and with a $5000 entry fee, they’re not wrong! This certainly isn’t a tournament for the faint hearted but how exciting is it going to be! …

If you haven’t visited Christchurch Casino yet, maybe this is your calling. With satellites starting from the 5th of Jan 2009 as low as $45, anyone can get in on the game.

The whole month of Jan will be poker month at Chch Casino and you can be sure to bump into your fair share of top players in the city in the lead up to the main event.

Grab a copy of the tournament schedule here http://www.christchurchcasino.co.nz/highstakes09.asp

The tournament kicks off with Day 1 on Jan 29 (Thurs) with the final table shuffling up on Friday the 30th. Friday is also the day you can get a satellite seat to the NZ Poker Champs with $200 + $25 seat and $100 re-buys for the first hour.