WORLD SERIES OF POKER DEBUTS HIGHLY ANTICIPATED 2021-2022 CIRCUIT SCHEDULE

LAS VEGAS (Oct. 27, 2021) – The World Series of Poker® is thrilled to announce the return of the WSOP Circuit dealt by Velo (WSOP-C), following an 18-month hiatus. The popular regional poker tour will return for its 17th season on Thanksgiving Day--Thursday, Nov. 25 at Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort in Cherokee, NC immediately following the conclusion of the 2021 World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Thirteen stops have been scheduled to date, with additional dates to be announced in the coming weeks.

The prestigious $1 million freeroll will return featuring a new qualification format this season, refocused to make every event a pathway to win a highly coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Beginning with the Cherokee Circuit Event, any official gold ring winners, from either the live or online circuit events through July 2022, will qualify for the new invitation-only “Tournament of Champions” event during the 2022 World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. 2022 online or live bracelet winners will also be eligible to compete in the new signature event.

“It’s been too long, so it’s great to see the Circuit hitting the road once again,” said Senior Vice President and Executive Director of the World Series of Poker, Ty Stewart. “The WSOP-C is one of our most important initiatives, allowing regional players to experience big-time poker and providing grinders a platform to earn a living. We’re pumped up about the new ‘Tournament of Champions’ format where all our winders will come together for one event. Just win and you’re in!” 

While many venues will be familiar during the 2021-22 season, new stops have already been added, including: 

Isle of Pompano, Pompano Beach, FL 
Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY
Deerfoot Inn and Casino, Calgary, Alberta Canada

The Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles will be WSOP-C’s second stop beginning on Thursday, Dec. 9 with the tour continuing virtually non-stop until the season-culminating stop at Harrah’s New Orleans on Thursday, May 5, 2022.

Most WSOP-C stops will begin on Thursdays, with the four-day Main Events beginning on the second Friday of the tournament. Each stop is encouraged to add Seniors and Ladies events, where the winners will qualify to participate in the “Tournament of Champions” in Las Vegas. WSOP-C events will be played using a Big Blind Ante format, offering the same expanded starting chips unveiled for the 2019-20 season. WSOP-C stops will feature standardized tournament structures and payouts, ensuring players traveling to multiple stops will be treated in a consistent manner at each event, barring any regulatory or local law differences. All stops will release their series’ event schedules upon approval by their local regulatory body, with the guarantee that every stop will offer at least a dozen official gold ring events starting at a $250 buy-in level and will include a $1,700 Main Event. 

2022 WSOP Online Circuit events on WSOP.COM will be scheduled monthly following the year-end Championship with a $250,000 freeroll scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 28.

WSOP-C schedules are subject to change and the WSOP reserves the right to make changes to all events related to the WSOP-C at any time. Please visit WSOP.com/2021/circuit for the latest news and information related to these events. Additional information on individual circuit events, including event schedules and structure sheets, can be found on each respective property’s websites or by visiting www.WSOP.com

*The WSOP-C Events and “Tournament of Champions” event are subject change, with tournament rules and restrictions to be determined. The timing, number and location of events are subject to change and all applicable gaming regulations. Additional information regarding international and online circuit events will be released at a later date. 

WORLD SERIES OF POKER 2021-2022 CIRCUIT TOUR SCHEDULE DEALT BY VELO

  TOURNAMENT DATES TOURNAMENT LOCATION
1 November 25 - December 6, 2021 Harrah’s Cherokee (North Carolina)
2 December 4 -15, 2021 The Bicycle Casino (Los Angeles)
3 December 9 - 19, 2021 Hilton Aruba
4 January 6 - 17, 2022 Choctaw Durant (Dallas/Oklahoma)
5 January 12 - 23, 2022 Deerfoot Inn (Calgary, Canada)
6 January 13 - 24, 2022 Thunder Valley Casino (Northern California)
7 January 20 - 31, 2022 Horseshoe/Tunica (MS)
8 February 3 - 14, 2022 Isle of Pompano (Pompano Beach, Florida)
9 March 10 - 21, 2022 Hard Rock (Tulsa)
10 March 17 - 28, 2022 Turning Stone Resort Casino (Verona, NY)
11 April 7 - 18, 2022 Harrah’s Cherokee (North Carolina)
12 April 21 - May 2, 2022 Horseshoe/Tunica (MS)
13 May 5 - 16, 2022 Harrah’s New Orleans (Louisiana)
  TBD – WSOP 2022 WSOP Tournament of Champions


**More stops are expected to be added as the season progresses**


ABOUT THE WSOP CIRCUIT DEALT BY VELO
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Events are a series of poker tournaments hosted throughout the United States and throughout the world beginning in late July each year, and culminating the following August with a $1,000,000 Global Casino Championship where the victor earns a WSOP gold bracelet as well.  WSOP U.S. Circuit Events are designed to give the recreational and amateur player an opportunity to participate in the WSOP experience at a more affordable price point and with less of a time commitment than the traditional WSOP in Las Vegas.  Each stop typically features 12 official events in 12 days, including a $1,700 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event. Official WSOP Circuit events range in buy-in from $250-$5,300 and award a prestigious WSOP gold ring to each victor.  These poker tournaments are designed to reach a winner within two playing days, with some events even structured to complete in one day.  In 2019-20, the WSOP Circuit domestic season consists of 35 stops all tied together by a cumulative points system that awards points based on finish in individual events.  A season-ending WSOP Global Casino Championship is held each summer. The winner of each stop’s Main Event (the only four-day structured event) gains automatic entry into the season-ending WSOP Global Casino Championship, as does each stop’s Casino Champion – the person who accumulates the most points throughout the official ring events at a stop.  Two players at each stop earn automatic entries into the season-ending championship, with the remaining players being made up of at large qualifiers whom have accumulated the most points throughout the Circuit season. Players who finish within the top 15 percent of the field are typically awarded prize money on an escalating scale until there is one player who has captured all the chips.  That victor wins the largest share of the prize pool, a WSOP Circuit gold ring and points toward the Global Casino Championship qualification. The WSOP Circuit Events are a regional and international offshoot of the longest-running, largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world, dating back 49 years to 1970 – the famous World Series of Poker. This marks the 16th year the WSOP Circuit Events have been held.  They were initially established by Caesars Entertainment (then Harrah’s Entertainment) after its purchase of the WSOP brand in 2004 as a way to bring the WSOP experience to Caesars-owned properties throughout the U.S. In the inaugural season (2004-05), the WSOP Circuit featured five stops – Atlantic City, Lake Tahoe, Las Vegas, San Diego and New Orleans. Now, with 35 stops domestically, the WSOP Circuit visits 16 U.S. states and cumulatively features more entrants than the Las Vegas version of the WSOP.  Caesars Interactive Entertainment, Inc., (CIE) owns the WSOP and the WSOP Circuit Events.  Visit us at http://www.wsop.com/2021/Circuit/ or www.twitter.com/wsop