LAS VEGAS (Dec.
12, 2017) – The 49th annual World Series of Poker® (WSOP®) – the richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker
series – unveils its event schedule for the 2018 summer iteration at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las
Vegas, with a tournament festival consisting of a comprehensive slate of the
game’s most popular poker variations running from May 29 through July 17.
To view the entire 78-event
gold bracelet tournament schedule, please visit: WSOP 2018 Schedule where all events
are visible, and a downloadable version is provided. The annual poker extravaganza, which dates
back to 1970, will be televised exclusively on ESPN networks and live streamed
on PokerGO. The full television and
live streaming schedules will be announced at a later date.
“With today’s
announcement, we hope there is enough time to adjust your holiday wish list,”
said WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel.
“We feel very good about the multitude of offerings on the 2018 World
Series of Poker schedule and look forward to welcoming everyone to the Rio in
Las Vegas this summer.”
The WSOP Main
Event, the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship and the granddaddy of all
poker tournaments, gets underway earlier this year, starting on Monday, July 2 and running daily
until a winner is crowned on Saturday,
July 14. With three starting
flights, the final day for players to enter this year will be on America’s
Independence Day -- Wednesday, July 4. Once the field combines for the first time
for Day 3 on Saturday, July 7
play will run every day without break.
Both ESPN and
PokerGO will provide extensive live coverage of the WSOP Main Event. All Main Event participants should consult
the event structure sheet (to be published in January), as times of play will
be adjusted daily to best accommodate the broadcast windows to expose poker to the
largest possible audience.
Unique to the 2018
WSOP schedule, a dozen different tournaments begin after the WSOP Main Event commences. Several staples like the Little One for One Drop and the Big
One for One Drop are part of those culminating events, plus several new and
exciting additions are on tap during the post-WSOP Main Event time period. They include:
- A $1,500 Bounty Pot-Limit Omaha event
- A $5,000 two-day No-Limit Hold’em (30-minute levels) tourney
- A $1,500 Mixed 8-Handed No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha three-day tournament
- A $1,000 “Double-Stack” No-Limit Hold’em event, featuring 10,000 starting chips and 30-minute levels
- The $10,000 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em Championship
- A $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em two-day event
“The Closer” a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament with 15,000 starting chips and 30-minute
levels
In all, nine new
events have been added to the 2018 WSOP schedule, with five events from last
year removed from this year’s schedule.
New events this year include:
- $10,000 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em (replaces the $10k Tag Team)
- $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (new addition)
- $365 PLO GIANT (replaces a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em)
- $1,000 DOUBLE STACK No-Limit Hold’em (10,000 starting chips) (replaces a $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em)
- $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed (new addition)
- $1,500 BOUNTY Pot-Limit Omaha (replaces a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
- $1,000 DOUBLE-STACK No-Limit Hold’em (30-minute levels) (replaces a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em)
- $1,500 THE CLOSER No-Limit Hold’em (15,000 starting chips, 30-minute levels) (new addition)
- $50,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold’em (new addition)
Big One for One
Drop concludes the 2018 schedule this year, taking place from July 15-17,
2018. This event is an every-other-year event like the $111k High Roller
for One Drop, which takes place in odd calendar years.
Start times will
remain consistent as in recent years.
Most weekday events will usually begin at 11:00am or 3:00pm,
with weekend events most likely starting at 10:00am, with afternoon
flights of same event usually at 5:00pm.
To view important
details about this year’s event, visit WSOP.com/2018. This page will remain leading up to and
during the event, where we will add relevant information about the WSOP.
Structure sheets
for each individual event are expected to be posted on WSOP.com beginning in
January once all necessary approvals are received. Online and in-person registration is expected
to open in March.
For those that need
a break from the Rio and the live poker scene once in a while, 2018 brings
ample opportunities to win WSOP gold bracelets from the comfort of your own
confines. WSOP.com Nevada, the online
real-money poker operator powered by the World Series of Poker, has four official WSOP
gold bracelet events planned in 2018, including the first-ever online Pot-Limit
Omaha 6-handed gold bracelet event. All
to be played exclusively online from start to finish.
Satellites for WSOP
gold bracelet events will begin on WSOP.com in February and run
continuously through the WSOP, including the popular 25 Seat Scramble to the Main Event.
More than 1,000 seats were awarded via WSOP.com last year. Outside the U.S., the WSOP is partnered with 888Poker as an official sponsor and the exclusive
online international home to satellite into WSOP events.
Each and every day, players of all levels will find
an event inside the 200,000 square foot Rio
Convention Center that suits their desire and price point, which this year
include everything from a $365 buy-in events to the $1,000,000 Big One for One
Drop charity poker tournament.
The WSOP remains a global gaming phenomenon, where players
compete for prize money and the championship gold bracelet, globally recognized
as the game’s top prize. Participants from
over 100 nations attend each year, and more than 100,000 entries create the
largest prize pools offered in all variants
of poker. In 2017, 120,995 entries competed for
$231,010,874 in prize money, both marking 48-year highs for poker’s number one
brand.
All Caesars Entertainment resorts in Las
Vegas offer reduced hotel room rates for entrants of WSOP bracelet events if
they book early using the special advanced booking codes. The Rio is now offering its weekday
(Sunday-Thursday) rates to WSOP players beginning at just $41. On the Las Vegas Strip there are plenty of
options as well. Caesars Palace, Planet
Hollywood Resort & Casino, Paris Las Vegas, Flamingo Las Vegas, Harrah’s
Las Vegas, Bally’s Las Vegas and The LINQ Hotel & Casino provide WSOP
player rates as low as $35 a night. To
view a complete list of rates across all Caesars Entertainment properties,
please visit our Reservations page or the Caesars Room Finder at Las Vegas - WSOP. Note: Rates are based on availability and are subject to blackout dates,
variable pricing and additional resort and parking fees). The Rio does not charge self-parking fees.
The Pavilion,
Brasilia, Miranda and Amazon ballrooms will continue to serve as poker’s
version of Woodstock with an
estimated 500 poker tables spread throughout the Rio Convention Center’s four
largest areas, allowing for non-stop tournament, satellite, Daily Deepstack and
live game action.
Players are
reminded to bring with them valid government-issued picture identification with
current residential address, as well as a secondary form of ID (like a bill or
statement confirming address). Players
residing outside the United States must have a valid passport, in addition to
another form of credible identification that includes address information.
The schedule,
events, start times, end times and locations of events are subject to change.
Tournament chips have no cash value.
Winners will be required to provide a valid picture ID. Tax forms will be completed for those with
winnings in excess of $5,000 net of event buy-in. Players without a Tax Identification Number
and foreign players from non-tax treaty countries are subject to up to 30
percent tax withholding.
WSOP reserves the
right to cancel, change or modify the tournament or any tournament event, in
part or in whole, without notice.
ABOUT THE WORLD SERIES OF POKER
The World Series of
Poker® is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world,
having awarded more than $2.6 billion 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 2017, the event attracted 120,995 entrants
from 111 different countries to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las
Vegas, and awarded more than $231 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP
has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and
corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally
with the advent of the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007 and the World
Series of Poker Asia-Pacific in 2013 and the WSOP International Circuit Series
in 2015. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit www.wsop.com.
ABOUT RIO ALL-SUITE
HOTEL & CASINO
Rio All-Suite Hotel &
Casino, home of the World Series of Poker, offers guests a unique all-suite
hotel experience. Complete with 2,522 all-suite hotel rooms – including the Samba
suites and the luxurious Palazzo Villas with a private
entrance – the property overlooks the Las Vegas Strip and sits one block west
of the famed boulevard. A variety of entertainment options at the resort
include headliners Penn & Teller, the world-famous Chippendales and the
internationally-acclaimed water production, WOW. Additionally, Rio Las Vegas is
home to family-friendly attractions such as the VooDoo Zip Line, an adrenaline-rushing thrill ride that offers a
360-degree panorama of the famous Strip from 490 feet above the ground, as well
as KISS by Monster Mini Golf. The off-Strip resort features a diverse array of
dining and nightlife experiences including the new Guy Fieri’s El Burro Borracho,
VooDoo Steak, Wine Cellar & Tasting Room, Hash House A Go Go, KJ Dim Sum
& Seafood, iBar, VooDoo Beach and VooDoo Rooftop Nightclub, which offers
panoramic views of The Strip. For more information, please visit riolasvegas.com or the Caesars Entertainment Las Vegas media
room. Find Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino on Facebook and follow on Twitter and Instagram.
ABOUT CAESARS
INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT (CIE)
CIE owns
the World Series of Poker (“WSOP”) in addition to operating real money online
gaming in Nevada under the WSOP.com brand and in New Jersey under the
CaesarsCasino.com, HarrahsCasino.com and WSOP.com brands. CIE is owned by Caesars
Entertainment, the world’s most diversified casino-entertainment provider and
the most geographically diverse U.S. casino- entertainment company. For more information, visit www.Caesars.com