2017 World Series of Poker daily event schedule finalized

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The 48th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) – the richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker series – has finalized its event schedule for the 2017 iteration and will open its doors on Tuesday, 30 May 2017 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, and remain open 24 hours a day, seven days a week through 17 July 2017.

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 includes everything from a $333 buy-in online gold bracelet event on WSOP.com to a $111,111 High Roller.

"The focus of the schedule remains squarely on two core principles: the biggest prize pools possible and diversity in offerings to provide something for everyone," said Jack Effel, the WSOP's Tournament Director working his 13th WSOP, and marking his 20th year in poker. "The 48th running of the globe's biggest poker series promises to deliver on these core principles and ensure another action-packed summer at the Rio. Can't wait to see you soon."

The WSOP has truly become 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, 74 official WSOP gold bracelet events will be contested over the 50 days of action, with 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. the typical daily start times, with the huge field events primarily slotted on Saturdays and Sundays at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

To view the entire gold bracelet schedule, please visit the WSOP website.

In addition, a quartet of Daily Deepstack tournaments return at 2 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on most days in the Pavilion Room, which will also continue to host satellite tournaments and live action daily.

This year, eight new events have been added to the schedule. They are:

31 May 31: $10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold'em – 2-4 person teams. Three day event. Event #2: Last year's $1,000 version of the event was a hit and remains on the schedule. But the stakes have been raised with a high roller version to open the official bracelet slate.

3 June: $333 WSOP.com No-Limit Hold'em – $333,333 Guarantee. Unlimited Re-Entry. One day online event.

9, 16, 23, 30 June, 7 July: $365 "The Giant" No-Limit Hold'em – Unique event with weekly Friday Night flights at 7 p.m. beginning June 9. Each opening flight plays deep into the money and any remaining players are paid out an amount equivalent to the last paid place of the night, with their chips bagged and remaining prize pool carried over to Day 2 cumulative re-start on 8 July. Unlimited re-entry during each Day 1 flight.

12 June: $2,620 "The Marathon" – 11 a.m. No-Limit Hold'em. 26,200 starting chips, with extended 100-minute levels. Five day event. Event #23.

20 June: $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty – 20-minute levels. No-Limit Hold'em. $300 bounty per player. One day event.

26 June: $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better – 3 p.m. Three day event. Event #51.

30 June: $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event – NLHE, PLO, 2-7NL, NL 5 Card Draw, Big O, PLO Hi-Lo, 2-7 Pot-Limit Triple Draw. Event #59. 3 p.m. Three day event.

1 July: $3,333 High Roller WSOP.com No-Limit Hold'em. 3:33pm. One day event. Online. Unlimited re-entry.

With several successful changes implemented in 2016 (paying out 15% of fields, five times buy-in starting chips, online registration, structure tweaks, start times moved up, etc.,) this year's event has just a couple noteworthy moves to improve player experience.

Key Changes:

• Credit Cards at the Cage: Approval has been granted to allow credit cards as a form of payment at the live registration windows in 2017. Thus, cash, casino chips and credit cards are all approved options now.
• Credit Card Purchases up to $10,000: Participants can now make charges up to $10,000 on their credit card this year, up from $1,500 last year. This means the WSOP Main Event and other $10,000 buy-in events will allow a credit card purchase option in 2017 and, of course, any denomination below that threshold.

"This 2017 schedule reflects our continuing goal to broaden poker's appeal and encourage first timers and recreational players to come experience the WSOP for themselves," said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. "With the new $365 buy-in Giant anchoring Friday nights, alongside a tent pole event awarding millions every weekend, we believe we have the offering to be well worth the trip. Plus, for the serious and high-stakes player, we remain committed to having the most diverse schedule of events of any tournament in the world. Whatever your game or bankroll, let the bracelet chase begin."

All Caesars Entertainment properties 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 $71. 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 Casino & Hotel, Bally's - Las Vegas and The Linq Hotel & Casino provide WSOP player rates as low as $62 a night. To view a complete list of rates across all Caesars Entertainment properties, please visit our Reservations page or the Caesars Room Finder a Las Vegas - WSOP. (Note: Rates are based on availability and are subject to blackout dates, variable pricing and additional resort and parking fees.)

The Pavilion, Brasilia, Miranda and Amazon ballrooms will continue to serve as poker's version of Woodstock with an estimated record 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.

For those advancing past the first day, restarts for 11 a.m. bracelet events are at noon. Events that start at 3 p.m. will restart at 2 p.m. the next day, with 10 or 10.5 levels being played each day until a champion is crowned. The Main Event features two hour levels, plays five levels a day, starts at 11 a.m. daily and concludes at 11:40 p.m. daily.

The weekends in 2017 promise huge field sizes and prize pools at moderate price points. Details were previously announced for events including Colossus III, Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, Crazy Eights, Seniors and Main Event.

Colossus III has once again increased the prize pool guarantee for the world's largest live poker tournament, now to a record $8 million. This is the highest prize pool guarantee ever offered for a $565 buy-in event, and $3 million more than the original guarantee for this event. With first place guaranteed one million dollars too, and opening flights scheduled for Friday, 2 June, Saturday, 3 June and Sunday, 4 June, opening weekend at the 2017 WSOP will be a can't-miss kickoff to what promises to be another massive summer.

The 2017 WSOP will continue offering high-buy-in mixed games, rarely spread at other tournaments around the world, certainly not at the $10,000 price point. In total, 10 poker variants beyond No-Limit Hold'em will see $10,000 "Championship" bracelet events contested in 2017, including the newly added Event #51, a $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better three day tournament. This event was added at the urging of numerous players, who wanted to see a championship event for this popular variant.

To address the other end of the market, the WSOP for the first time is introducing events in the $300 price range, after successfully establishing the $500 price point with the advent of the Colossus in 2015.

This year, Event #19 is The Giant, a $365 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event held Friday nights at 7 p.m. on 9, 16, 23, 30 June and 7 July.

Even though the event is spread out over five weeks, it will play like a three-day tournament. Players will play their Day 1 on any of the five starting flights they choose, and they will play into the money on Day 1 (just like Colossus did in 2016). Anyone surviving their Day 1 will have their chips put into play on Day 2 (if they choose not to forfeit them to attempt another flight) on 8 July, with the final table taking place 9 July. This event features unlimited re-entry during the open registration period. People can end up cashing in multiple flights, however, only one chip stack can be carried forward to Day 2 play. The Giant will still pay 15% of the field, based on the individual flight number of entries, and everyone on Day 1 who cashes can receive their prize money that day. The remaining prize money from each flight gets carried over to Day 2, along with the other flights' remaining prize money, to combine and create the remaining prize pool the Day 2 players will vie for.

The Giant should also be a great warm-up event for those coming to town to play the big weekend events. With a Friday night 7 p.m. start, play will wrap up at 2:40 a.m. for those surviving. Participants can get their WSOP juices flowing in the most affordable live No-Limit Hold'em event ever offered for a WSOP gold bracelet.

For those that need a break from the Rio and the live poker scene once in a while, 2017 promises a trifecta of 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, celebrating its third year of offering WSOP gold bracelet events in Nevada, has three official WSOP gold bracelet events planned in 2017, played exclusively online from start to finish.

The WSOP.com events all feature the No-Limit Hold'em format with unlimited re-entries and are structured as one-day events. They are:

• Event #8 - $333 No-Limit Hold'em with a $333,333 prize pool guarantee (3:33 p.m. start)
• Event #61 - $3,333 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em (3:33 p.m. start)
• Event #71 - $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em (2 p.m. start)

Satellites for WSOP gold bracelet events will begin on WSOP.com 1 February, and run continuously through the WSOP, including the popular 25 Seat Scramble to the Main Event. More than 700 seats were awarded via WSOP.com last year. Outside the U.S., the WSOP is honored to have 888 Poker back as an official sponsor and the exclusive online international home to satellite events for the WSOP (except for France).

To view important details about this year's event, visit WSOP.com/2017. 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 mid-February.

Online and in-person registration is expected to open in early March.

The annual poker extravaganza, which dates back to 1970, is televised exclusively on ESPN from the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The tournament series consists of a comprehensive slate of the game's most popular poker variations running from 30 May through 17 July.

The 2017 WSOP marks the 48th running of the game's most prestigious annual tournament. In 2016, the WSOP gold bracelet tournaments set an all-time record for attendance, with 107,833 entries and awarded over $221 million in prize money. An incredible 48 events had prize pools of at least $1 million, with 25 events reaching more than $2 million and a dozen events reaching $3 million or more. The average WSOP gold bracelet event in 2016 featured a $3,205,961 prize pool with $555,475 going to the event's winner.

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.