The WSOP, the most anticipated poker tournament series, will return from Tuesday, May 26 to Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
It is expected that a huge player pool from all over the world will be coming over to Sin City in the quest for their very own WSOP gold bracelet and a piece of the hundreds of millions of dollars in guaranteed prizes.
Below what we know so far with the events announced.
Main Event: July 1 – 14
The 2020 Main Event could be a record breaker.
WSOP.com has been running satellites which guarantees a seat at the Main Event as early as October of 2019. This is an effort to bring more entries, possibly breaking the all-time high record. Last year, the 2019 WSOP Main Event became the second largest event of all time. It was only 204 players short to topple the all-time record of the 2006 WSOP Main Event which had 8,733 entries.
According to Danielle Barille, WSOP.com’s Senior Manager of Product and Operations, the early online satellites was a response to players’ demands. This could well lead to more players having a shot to participate in the prized event.
The $10,000 buy-in Main Event is set to begin with three Day 1 events (Day 1a, Day 1b, and Day 1c) which will run from July 1 to 3, Wednesday to Friday.
There will be a combined Day 2 for the Day 1a and Day 2b pool on July 4, Saturday while the Day 1c survivors will return for Day 2c on July 5, Sunday. Those who will make it through Day 2 will then enter a unified field starting on Monday, July 6.
There will be a scheduled day-off on July 11 and the Main Event final table will be televised from July 12-14.
BIG 50 No Limit Hold’em
Considered to be the largest poker tournament of all time, the BIG 50 No Limit Hold’em is one of the series’ signature events. For only $500, anyone can cash a piece of the millions of dollars in guaranteed prize money. The event will start on May 28, Thursday.
More announcements and details about this awaited event is expected as the tournament draws nearer.
WSOP 2019’s BIG 50 No Limit Hold’em event paid out a 5M USD guaranteed prize pool with 1M USD guaranteed to the event champion.
Senior Event
The last event confirmed at this time for 2020 is the Seniors’ No-Limit Hold’em Championship. It will be a $1000 buy-in, single re-entry tournament, and is scheduled to start Thursday, June 18 at 10 am. This popular event caters exclusively to players who are aged 50 and up.
WSOP is expected to arrange other individual events with their respective schedules. Announcements on additional details are anticipated to be laid out soon, and the full event-by-event schedule is expected to be confirmed in the first quarter of 2020.
WSOP to Move out of Rio after 2020 or 2021 Edition
It was announced via news release, last Sept 23, 2019 that Caesars Entertainment Corp. has sold off its famous Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. However, they also revealed that the 2020 World series of Poker will continue to be held at the same venue despite the new owners. It is confirmed that Rio has been sold to a New York-based real estate company for $516.3 million.
The deal between the Caesars Entertainment Corp and Dreamscape companies is still subject to approval by regulators. Rio-All Suites Hotel and Casino currently features 2,500 suites and has been operating since 1990. It is quite popular to poker players because it has been hosting the World Series of Poker since 2005.
As part of the deal, Caesars will rent Rio at a cost of $45 million per year for the next two years, and a $52 million option for the third year. This might well mean that the World Series of Poker will continue to be held at the same venue for at least two more years.
WSOP Vice President of Corporate Communications, Set Palansky mentioned that searching for a new venue for the gigantic 62-day event will be a daunting task and that other potential locations might not be as alluring as it is in Rio to both new and regular event participants.
