World Series of Poker announces 2016-2017 WSOP Circuit schedule

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The thirteenth season of the World Series of Poker Circuit will be the biggest in its history and officially kick off August 4 at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in western North Carolina. The upcoming season features 22 confirmed U.S. Circuit stops, plus six international stops will commence by the end of the calendar year with up to eight more expected by the end of the 2016-17 circuit season.

There are two new stops on the domestic WSOP Circuit schedule – Potawatomi Hotel & Casino (Milwaukee) which runs from February 2-13, 2017 and Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa from March 16-27. Returning to the schedule after a year off is the IP Casino Resort and Spa stop in Biloxi, Mississippi. The IP series is scheduled for September 8-19, 2016. The tour continues almost non-stop from August through May, with Harrah’s New Orleans Casino returning as the ending point in the U.S. from May 11-22, 2017.

Just like last season, there are two stops in Las Vegas (Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino and Bally's - Las Vegas), Los Angeles and West Palm Beach. As host of the Global Casino Championship, Harrah’s Cherokee has been bumped up to three and is the only stop on the Circuit hosting three different events over the season.

Harrah's Cherokee is not only opening the 2016-17 Circuit season, but it is also putting a close to the 2015-16 Circuit season. The 2016 Global Casino Championship is part of the Cherokee series and it wraps up the 2015-16 season by awarding the winner a gold bracelet and paying out at least $1 million in prize money to the top Circuit players of the 2015-16 season. The Global Casino Championship is scheduled for Aug. 9-11 and will be filmed by ESPN as part of their annual coverage of the World Series of Poker. As this is an official WSOP gold bracelet event, the 15% of entries prize structure will be utilized.

The Harrah's Cherokee series schedule can be found on WSOP.com. The other stops will release their series' event schedules as they get closer. Two things are known for sure about every stop. First, every stop will offer several gold ring events starting at the $365 buy-in level and second, every stop will conclude with a $1,675 Main Event. (Exception is March for Los Angeles) which offers the most direct route of qualification to the Global Casino Championship. The Main Events allows re-entry and feature two starting flights. Players are allowed to re-enter one time/flight for a maximum of four entries between the two starting flights. Registration will remain open until the start of Level 13 for all Main Events.

Players can qualify for the 2016/17 Global Casino Championship several ways (a.) win a Circuit Main Event at any domestic or international stop (b.) win a "Casino Championship," which is defined as the player at each stop who accumulates the most points throughout the 12-event gold ring schedule at any domestic or international stop (c.) be one of the top 50 cumulative point earners over the entire season who hasn't otherwise qualified (Domestic tour only). Each of these projected 122 players will receive a "free roll" seat into the culminating event.

Another way to enter the 2016-17 Global Casino Championship during the Circuit Season is to win any official "ring event". Anyone who doesn’t otherwise qualify for entry due to an automatic invite or cumulative standings will be eligible to buy-in to the WSOP Global Casino Championship for $10,000. Likewise, the top 100 ranked players from the previous year's WSOP Player of the Year, may also buy in for $10,000 (thus the 2016 WSOP POY Standings in this case). Every penny of all additional $10,000 buy-ins will be added to the $1 million the WSOP is putting into the prize pool.

The "12 Rings in 12 Days" remains, with most stops beginning on a Thursday, and the four-day Main Event beginning on the second Friday, thereby encompassing a total of 12 official WSOP gold ring events over 12 days, and offering players non-stop poker action at the regional level. (Note: the March stop in Los Angeles starts on a Saturday and ends on a Wednesday.) Each stop will be encouraged to add Seniors and Ladies events, which will also award a ring but will not count in the Global Casino Championship standings. New this year, any Seniors or Ladies event on the Circuit that surpasses 100 entries, will make those event winners eligible to buy into the Global Casino Championship for $10,000 if they don't otherwise qualify.

Last season saw the emergence of the "High Roller" events on the Circuit. Six different properties, including the Bicycle Casino twice, opted to include a high roller event into their series' schedule. All high-roller events had $3,250 buy-ins except for the Horseshoe Hammond High Roller, which had a $5,300 buy-in and was the biggest buy-in on the Circuit of the year. The high roller events are typically two-day tournaments. They award a gold ring to the winner and Global Casino Championship points just like any other open gold ring event. It is expected that more local venues will organize $3250 buy-in events in 2016-17.

"We are excited to be adding a couple new stops to the domestic tour this year, expanding the international tour and continuing to refine each stop to make them bigger and better," said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. "We want to continue to provide the opportunity for everyone to take a shot at becoming a World Series of Poker champion."

WSOP Circuit Event stops feature standardized tournament structures and payouts, so players going from stop to stop will be treated in a consistent manner at each of the stops – (barring any regulatory or local law differences).

On the heels of successful events that saw a high of 715 runners in Rozvadov and an average Main Event attendance across all the stops at 536 entries, the International Circuit is rapidly expanding. Six initial dates have been confirmed for the 2016 portion of the calendar, and WSOP staff expects to add up to eight events in the 2017 calendar portion to be announced at a later date.

Like the domestic circuit, the International track will feature two qualifiers per stop for the WSOP Global Casino Championship. A Main Event winner and the Casino Champion will each win automatic entry into the season-culminating event, in addition to the gold WSOP Circuit ring and prize money from that event. The International and Domestic tours collide in the season-culminating Global Casino Championship in the summer of 2017. There are no "at-large" qualifications on the International stops.

Below are the current versions of both the domestic and international circuit schedules as confirmed as of the date of this announcement. Stops may be added, subtracted or adjusted, both in time and duration. Please review the WSOP website for the latest news and information related to these events. Until actual event-by-event schedules are posted on the WSOP's website, these events are not official. Each stop requires its own regulatory approval in its own jurisdiction, and the timing of all approvals is uncertain.

The WSOP reserves the right at any time to make changes to any and all events related to the WSOP Circuit.

to view the 2016-17 tentative schedules, please visit the World Series of Poker website.