News
WSOP CIRCUIT DEBUTS TODAY HARRAH'S CHEROKEE
Mar 31 2013 08:05 PM EST
Carolina On Our Minds
Cherokee, NC (April 4, 2013) – The World Series of Poker Circuit has arrived in North Carolina for the first time. Harrah's Cherokee is hosting the WSOP's debut, which runs April 4-15.
This marks the first time the world's most prestigious poker tournament series has ever visited the heart of the American Southeast. While similar series have taken place at New Orleans and West Palm Beach in recent years, no such event has ever been held in the heart of the South. Visitors are expected to arrive here from several surrounding states, including South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, and beyond.
"This is a historic occasion for gaming in North Carolina and poker players all over the South," said Brooks Robinson, General Manager at Harrah's Cherokee. "For the first time ever, poker players are coming to North Carolina to experience the world's premier poker event, which is the World Series of Poker. The response to our announcement about the WSOP Circuit coming here in April has been overwhelming. We expect a great turnout and lots of poker excitement."
Despite live casino poker being new to the state and its residents, North Carolina has a rich poker history. The Tarheel Statehas produced several WSOP gold bracelet winners over the years, most notably Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, Chris Bell, and Ken Aldridge.
This year, a dozen gold ring events will be held as part of the “12 rings in 12 days” poker series. Buy-ins range from $365 for multiple tournaments up to $1,675 for the Main Event Championship.
Action takes place at Harrah's Cherokee, which is cozily nestled in the Smokey Mountains. The casino resort is drivable from many major cities, including Atlanta (3 hours), Knoxville (2 hours), Richmond (4 hours), Charlotte (2 hours), and Raleigh-Durham (3 hours).
The casino-resort has undergone a huge expansion and stands as one of the finest properties in the Caesars Entertainment family. Three hotel structures tower above the green mountains all around, providing breathtaking views. The casino-resort also offers plenty of restaurants and leisure activities for visitors. The venue is located in Cherokee Nation.
Live poker began last week. Prior to expansion, electronic table poker was available. However, these new developments allowed for the WSOP to come to North Carolina for the first time.
This year's tournament schedule begins with a $365 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em gold ring tournament, which starts on Thursday (Apr. 4th). Then, there's a similar event held the next day. But the biggest event of the series is expected to be this weekend's special re-entry tournament, which includes two starting sessions on Saturday.
Other notable events the Seniors Championship (Apr. 7), and the Ladies Championship (Apr. 14). The buy-in for these special non-gold ring events is $250. The schedule also includes a Pot-Limit Omaha gold ring event on April 5th. The three-day re-entry Main Event Championship, runs April 12-15.
There are also nightly $130 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em tournaments starting at 7 pm. For the complete list of all poker events for the Harrah's Cherokee series please see official schedule of events.
On Monday, April 15th, the championship final table will be streamed on a five-minute delay on ESPN3 with commentary by WSOP Circuit host Bernard Lee.
Once again, the tournament series runs April 4-15 and will crown 12 gold ring champions. In addition, two seats to the season-ending $1 million WSOP National Championship presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof will also be awarded. The grand finale is to take place at Harrah's New Orleans coming up next month in May 2013.
