The Cavendish Invitational, an invitation-only teams and pairs tournament, was first launched in New York's famed Cavendish Club in 1975 to bring together the world's top bridge players to compete  in a large-stakes money event.
With the fold of the Cavendish Club in the mid '90s, WBP took over the tournament and moved it to Las Vegas, where the Invitational Pairs event has grown into the world's largest money bridge tournament, with prize pools reaching as high as $1.5 million.
The Cavendish is always held the week prior to Mother's Day and kicks off with the John Roberts Teams event on Wednesday, in which the world's top teams compete for a prize pool comprised of entry fees paid by the teams.
The heart of the Cavendish, the Invitational Pairs event, gets underway the following evening with an adrenalin-filled cocktail reception and Calcutta-style auction. At the auction, 50 of the world's top pairs are auctioned off to the highest bidder, with auction money then pooled together and paid out to the top finishers of the three-day event. Along with the auction is a players' pool, which is comprised of entry fees from the players and is distributed to the top placed pairs.
In addition to the invitation-only events, World Bridge Productions recently added two open-play events, the WBP Teams and Pairs events. These events, which start on a Friday and cumulate on Mother's Day, are open to all interested bridge players – enabling a broader base of players to experience the excitement of the Cavendish and compete in a world-class money tournament.
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