Good news poker fans – the wait is over – the dates for the 50th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) have been announced, and this year, the competition looks set to be hotter than ever. In 2019, the historic event will take place from May 28 through to July 16 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This year marks the 50th anniversary of poker’s longest-running and most prestigious poker tournament. Therefore, expect WSOP to be bigger and better than ever before, with commemorative events, and more the $200 million in prize money up for the grabs. Today we’re running through the most exciting announcements made so far about this year’s competition…
The Big 50
To celebrate 50 years, WSOP have announced they are making everyone’s entry into The Big 50 event rake-free. This means every single $500 paid in entry fees will go directly into the prize pool, guaranteeing a huge cash jackpot of $1,000,000 to the player who emerges victorious, and $5 million to be shared between the runners-up. This event is taking place on opening weekend, from May 30 to June 2. There are four starting flights, 50-minute levels and each player kicks things off with a whopping 50,000 in chips.
WSOP Executive Director, Ty Stewart, had this to say about the opening weekend Big 50 event: ‘We expect our opening weekend Big 50 event to be one of the largest in our history, and certainly one of the best value tournaments ever offered. This is part of our concerted plans to make the 2019 WSIP better value all-around.’
The Main Event
The 50th edition of WSOP Main Event is scheduled for July 3-16, but sadly, that’s about all we know about the Main Event right now. If you can’t be in town for the event, fear not – all the action will be broadcast live on PokerGO & ESPN.
Five other tournaments have been announced so far. We have the $1,500 buy-in Millionaire Maker on June 7-8 and the $1,000 Seniors Events (over 50’s only) on June 13. On June 14-15, there’s the $1,000 Double Stack No Limit Texas Hold’em, June 21-22 is the $1,500 Monster Stack, and on June 28-30, players will complete in the $888 Crazy Eight’s with $888,888 guaranteed prize for the winner.
To cater to the tens of thousands of players jetting in from all corners of the world, the Rio All-Suit will be setting up 500 poker tables across more than 100,000 square-feet of ballroom. Additionally, this year’s tournament is more accessible than ever with buy-ins starting as low as $70. So, what are you waiting for? This year promises to be the biggest year yet. Get those tickets to Las Vegas booked at the double!
