World Poker Tour Releases Full Schedule for 2024 WPT World Championship With Largest Freeroll in Poker History

The dates for the 2024 WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas had already been known for months, but the poker community was anxiously waiting for the release of the full schedule. On September 24, this has now been the case. Instead of locking horns with GGPoker and WSOP Paradise, the World Poker Tour has removed a guarantee for the $10,400 Championship Event this time.

Instead, the leading live poker operator and Wynn Las Vegas have increased the tournament schedule by thirty percent and added more affordable buy-ins to the roster. They will, however, set a new record in the industry as they will be hosting the ClubWPT™ Gold Invitational Freeroll with a $5 million guaranteed prize pool and $1 million to the winner. It is the largest guarantee for a Freeroll in live poker history.

ClubWPT Gold is a new online poker product operating on a sweepstakes-based platform, similar to ClubWPT, legally serving most of the states in the United States and Canada. In the hours after the announcement, several WPT ambassadors already promoted the exclusive tournament and poker enthusiasts will soon have the chance to try and qualify for it. To gain access to the exclusive Freeroll, players need to obtain a Golden Passport and up to 2,000 of them will be made available  until December 13 through a variety of online promotions, contests and giveaways for ClubWPT Gold members.

“Our return to Wynn Las Vegas this December is equipped with another monumental investment into the development and growth of not only the WPT World Championship, but the poker industry as a whole,” said WPT CEO and President Adam Pliska in the official press release by the global brand.. “In celebration of the launch of ClubWPT Gold, we’re aiming for another first for the poker world with the largest freeroll ever offered.”

The third installment of the live poker festival in December 2024 comes with a larger schedule and various guarantees for the marquee tournaments, except for the $10,400 WPT World Championship. After record-setting guarantees of $15 Million and $40 Million, the upcoming edition at the Wynn Las Vegas has no guaranteed prize pool whatsoever and that will certainly have an influence on the attendance figure.

Full schedule: 2024 WPT World Championship 

In 2022, the inaugural edition nearly doubled the set prize pool guarantee thanks to 2,960 entries and the top six finishers all earned a seven-figure payday. The biggest slice of the $ 29,008,000 prize pool went to Eliot Hudon, who took home $4,136,000 after defeating Benny Glaser ($2,830,000) in heads-up.

One year later in 2023, the ambitious $40 Million guarantee was not reached despite a valiant effort with 3,835 entries. Daniel Sepiol ($5,282,954) and Georgios Sotiropoulos ($4,167,246) earned the largest cash prizes.

For the upcoming marquee $10,400 WPT World Championship, three starting days are scheduled from December 14 to 16 with one re-entry available per flight. The winner is set to be crowned on December 21, 2024.

Whereas there is no guarantee for the crown jewel of the schedule to lure poker enthusiasts from near and far to Las Vegas, all other flagship tournaments have guarantees attached. The $1,100 WPT Prime Championship runs from December 8 to 14 with a $5 million guarantee and four starting flights on as many consecutive days. In the previous edition, a staggering 10,512 entries generated a $10,196,640 prize pool and similar figures can be expected for this year once more.

The $1,100 Ladies Championship takes place on December 14 and 15, featuring a $250,000 guarantee whereas the $1,100 Seniors Championship comes with a $500,000 guarantee and plays to a winner on December 18 to 19. High-stakes players can look forward to the $25,800 Alpha 8 Championship, which runs on the same two days.

In total, the schedule at Wynn Las Vegas includes more than 60 tournaments and satellites. Prior to the WPT marquee tournaments, an $800 opening event features a guarantee of $1 Million with a total of six flights from December 3 to 5. It is followed by a $1,500 Mystery Bounty tournament on December 7 and 8 to get the ball rolling for the rest of the series.

Various mixed variants are included in the schedule such as Pot-Limit Omaha, TORSE, 5 Card PLO, Omaha Hi-Lo, Big Bet Mix, Mixed Triple Draw, and HORSE. All these tournaments come with affordable buy-ins for the low and mid-stakes tournament players and have guarantees attached.

The three-day ClubWPT Gold $5M Invitational Freeroll kicks off on December 13 and all participants receive 25,000 in chips with a level duration of 30/40 minutes. It is just one of several events set to be live-streamed along with the other marquee tournaments.

Throughout the year, the World Poker Tour has been awarding seats for the $10,400 WPT World Championship and $1,100 WPT Prime Championship during their major live poker events and online series on WPT Global. The number of subsequent qualifiers and live satellite winners for the former is expected to reach around 500 contestants alone.

Key Events on the Schedule

WPT Prime Championship

• Date: Dec 8 – 14, 2024
• Buy-In: $1,100
• Guarantee: $5,000,000
• More info: Four starting days, Dec 8 – 11

WPT World Championship

• Date: Dec 14 – 21, 2024
• Buy-In: $10,400
• More info: Three starting days, Dec 14 – 16

Ladies Championship

• Date: Dec 14 – 15, 2024
• Buy-In: $1,100
• Guarantee: $250,000

Seniors Championship

• Date: Dec 18 – 19, 2024
• Buy-In: $1,100
• Guarantee: $500,000

Alpha 8 Championship

• Date: Dec 18 – 19, 2024
• Buy-In: $25,800

Mystery Bounty Event

• Date: Dec 20 – 22, 2024
• Buy-In: $1,600
• Guarantee: $1,000,000

The full schedule has been published on the WPT.com website and can also be obtained through the Wynn Las Vegas social media channels as well. Further details about the Golden Passports are expected to be released in the near future.