The World Series of Poker (WSOP) announced much-anticipated plans for 2021, including the return of the live, in-person World Series of Poker event and $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, best known as the Main Event.
The world-famous tournament series, which experienced record-breaking participation in 2019 and adjusted to a hybrid format to accommodate 2020, will be back in person at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino this fall pending applicable state and/or regulatory approvals.
A diverse calendar of events will begin Thursday, September 30 with all play concluding on Tuesday, November 23.
The 2021 opening weekend is expected to feature a special charity event to benefit frontline health workers, a $25,000 H.O.R.S.E. and a $5 million No-Limit Hold’em event billed as the Reunion. Further details and specifics on the complete schedule will be released this summer.
The Main Event is expected to begin Thursday, November 4 and run through Wednesday, November 17.
Specific Covid-19 safety protocols and other related 2021 tournament policies will be reviewed with gaming regulators in the lead-up to the event. The World Series of Poker will be compliant with all directives from the state of Nevada regarding social distancing and capacity limits on the tournament dates.
“This year, more than ever, we embrace our role at the WSOP to deliver memorable experiences and bring this community of poker lovers back together,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP executive director. “In 2021, the theme is, get vaccinated and get back to Vegas.”
Building off last summer’s record-setting success for both domestic and international online poker tournaments, the WSOP plans to fill the summer void with a slate of WSOP Gold Bracelet online events. In 2020, WSOP.com’s domestic series awarded nearly $27 million in prize money across its 31 events, making it far and away the biggest online tournament series in the history of U.S. regulated poker.
Similarly, WSOP Online was a massive draw for international players in partnership with GGPoker, with the WSOP Online Main Event smashing the Guinness Book World Record for largest online poker tournament with a $27.5 million prize pool for a single event. In total, nearly $150 million in prize money was awarded across the festival, including seven-figure prize pools in 45 events, placing it among the biggest tournament series in history.
WSOP.com will hold the domestic tournaments on its All-American Poker Network beginning Thursday, July 1, closing with a $1,000 championship. Qualification will be available for as little as $1.
WSOP Europe is expected to round out the year of poker action with its return to King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic running from Friday, November 19 through Tuesday, December 8, subject to regulatory approval.
“We hope and anticipate travel restrictions will ease by the fall,” said Stewart. “It’s important to us that we have an excellent tournament schedule available to our European players.”
The tournament is expected to include 15 gold bracelet events, including a €10,000 buy-in WSOP Europe Main Event and a €50,000 High Roller event.
