The long-anticipated return of the World Series of Poker to its brick-and-mortar home of many years, Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, has now been confirmed.
The world’s longest running live tournament series is set to take place from September 30 – November 23 after a two-year Covid-19-forced hiatus.
The official 2021 WSOP schedule was released this past Tuesday to reveal 88 planned gold bracelet events with buy-in fees ranging from $400 all the way to $250,000. This year’s edition of the massive poker festival features several stalwart events such as the Colossus, The Millionaire Maker, The Closer, Monster Stack, and Double Stack. All of these will be held on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the fall.
However, to celebrate its return to the live poker scene and to the Rio, organizers have added a nice plethora of new events, as well. One of these is the $500 buy-in Reunion with a guaranteed prize pool of $5 million. The tournament is scheduled to begin on October 1.
A $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship, a $1,000 Flip and Go presented by WSOP partner GGPoker, a $1,000 Seniors Doubles Up, and a Deuce to Seven Single Draw NL Returns, all set to take place throughout October, include some of the new events that are part of the 2021 WSOP schedule.
It should also be noted that the Main Event will not be the only freezeout tournament this year. Beginning October 6 through October 24, there will be several “Old School Freezeouts” with buy-in levels ranging from $500 to $5,000.
The Main Event
This year’s WSOP Main Event is scheduled to run from November 4 through November 17. The tournament will feature four starting flights. The final table will be played on November 16-17. Some poker people have speculated the event could be the largest to have ever taken place.
It should be noted that after Caesars Entertainment Inc., the company that owns the WSOP brand, acquired British bookmaker William Hill, the world’s richest live tournament poker event will now come to CBS Sports.
The acquisition of William Hill included a media and sports betting partnership between the UK-based gambling operator and the sports division of American television network CBS, which Caesars can now benefit from.
CBS Sports will be the official television home of the 2021 WSOP. It will broadcast 15 hours of WSOP Main Event coverage and an additional 36 hours of 18 different gold bracelet events throughout the series.
Commenting on the upcoming festival, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said that “the 2021 WSOP will be the real deal and we’re preparing for a full house.” He went on that “this year will be particularly memorable” and that they are preparing “for a poker reunion all players can celebrate.”
Source: 2021 WORLD SERIES OF POKER DAILY EVENT SCHEDULE FINALIZED, WSOP.com, June 15, 2021
