SAVE THE DATE(S)!!!

42nd ANNUAL WORLD SERIES OF POKER ANNOUNCES DATES

MAY 31 – JULY 19, 2011 AT RIO ALL-SUITE HOTEL & CASINO IN LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS (Dec. 22, 2010) – The 42nd annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) -- a set of poker tournaments open to anyone 21 years of age or older – will begin its 2011 campaign on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 – just a day after Memorial Day – and run every day for 50 straight days until Tuesday, July 19, 2011.

The event, as has been its norm since 2005, will continue to be held in the Convention Center of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The WSOP Main Event will begin on Thursday, July 7, 2011, and once again feature four starting days (July 7, July 8, July 9 and July 10). 

As is now customary, the WSOP Main Event will be the final tournament of the annual WSOP, with its conclusion slated for Tuesday, July 19, after reaching the final table of nine players.

Hard stop times will become a definitive change in 2011 for all bracelet events.  Players will play a maximum of 10 levels per day.  Once 10 levels have been completed, remaining players will have their chips bagged and tagged and return the next day to continue on in the tournament.  Regardless of how many players remain in a tournament, hard stop times will be enforced after 10 levels of play.

The entire 42nd Annual World Series of Poker schedule, with individual tournaments, dates, times and buy-ins will be released in January.

ABOUT THE WSOP
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport’s top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker’s longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970.  In 2010, the event attracted 72,966 entrants from 117 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and awarded over $187 million in prize money.  The WSOP in December, 2008 was named the 7th most admired sports brand in North America by the Turnkey Sports Survey, trailing only the older and more established NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR and PGA Tour among sports properties.  In addition, the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker EuropeSM. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit our website at www.WSOP.com.