History of Grand Prix Tournaments

Originally called the National Championship Tournament for Spades and Hearts, the Grand Prix Tournament Series began in March of 1999 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Microsoft Network (MSN) Gaming Zone sponsored this first of its kind tournament where three hundred and fifty players competed for cash prizes totaling $15,000.

In December of 2000, the second annual National Championship Tournament took place in Orlando, Florida, sponsored by Pogo. With increased online play, interest in the live card game tournaments greatly increased their attendance and popularity.

In 2002, the National Championship was reorganized as the Grand Prix Card Tournament Series. Devotees of Spades, Hearts, Euchre and Bid Whist played in more than twenty designated qualifying tournaments during the Grand Prix season. Several online qualifiers also took place for the first time in 2002. One hundred and twenty participants attended the Grand Prix National Finals in Cincinnati, Ohio where National titles were awarded to eight winners.

The 2003 Grand Prix Series featured additional sanctioned events with the finals for Hearts, Spades and Euchre returned to Cincinnati, Ohio. This time the field featured 160 players. The '04 GP event moved to Chicago, and a record breaking turnout of 225 players. And the ''05 World Series featured a new game - Pinochle. This time we saw an increase in the size of the field with 264 players.

Read about the 2006 World Series Events here.

The Grand Prix 2007 was held in Lansing, MI and Atlanta, GA. Prizes were awarded for Spades, Hearts, Euchre, Pinochle, and Whist.

During the Fall of 2007, Grand Prix Card Tournaments was acquired by Demand Media and Cases' Ladder. Events are planned for Chicago (August), and Las Vegas (October).