WSOP Global Casino Championship set for Aug. 9-11

(PRESS RELEASE) -- The 12th season of the WSOP Circuit wraps up under the bright lights of the television cameras with the 2016 WSOP Global Casino Championship – an official WSOP gold bracelet event and a share of $1,000,000+ in prize money on the line – from Aug. 9-11, 2016 in North Carolina once again at Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort.

Harrah's Cherokee will also host the first WSOP Circuit Event of the 2016-17 season from Aug. 4-16, 2016, with the championship sandwiched in between a robust WSOP Circuit series featuring 12 official gold ring events, including a $1,675 Main Event and a $2,200 High Roller tournament.

This is a historic year for the Global Casino Championship (formerly the WSOP National Championship). For the first time ever, it will welcome players from the WSOP International Circuit events. Players from venues in Morocco, Georgia, Italy, the Czech Republic, and Canada will join the contingent of qualifiers from the domestic WSOP Circuit.

A total of 100 players earn free seats to the Global Casino Championship. The Main Event winner at each stop of the 2015-2016 WSOP Circuit receives a free entry, as does the Casino Champion at each stop. An additional 12 qualifiers earned seats by winning the Main Event or becoming Casino Champion at a stop on the WSOP International Circuit.

The rest of the automatic qualifiers are filled out from the top of season-long Circuit points leaderboard.

This year, 50 players will automatically qualify, leaving 50 seats up for grabs based on the U.S. leaderboard. (If there are any double-qualifiers, the highest remaining point-getter on the at-large leaderboard receives entry).

All players who have earned a free entry will receive a $500 travel stipend and three nights at the Harrah's Cherokee hotel , plus one additional night for anyone making the final table.

As in years past, the top 100 players in the WSOP world rankings have the opportunity to buy into the Global Casino Championship directly for $10,000. The world rankings are compiled based on players' performance in WSOP gold bracelet events in 2014 and 2015. In addition, for the first time ever, any player who won an official ring event on the WSOP Circuit this season also has the option to buy in to the Global Casino Championship directly for $10,000. For all players who buy their seats, the $10,000 is added directly to the prize pool (rake-free), in addition to the $1,000,000 put up by WSOP.

"The 2015 National Championship was a blast for us and we're excited that the World Series of Poker is ramping up the game this year," said Brooks Robinson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Harrah's Cherokee. "Not only do we get to welcome in players from around the world, but we also get to help kick off the 2016-17 Circuit season. It really is a fantastic opportunity for our employees to help showcase the resort."

With stops remaining in Iowa, Cherokee and New Orleans, plus Montreal on the International Circuit, in the coming months, eight players are still to be added to the automatic qualifiers list (50 entries total), with 50 additional players scratching and clawing their way down the final stretch of events via at-large bids for accumulating the most points on the 19-stop WSOP Circuit tour that began back in August, 2015 in Connecticut and runs through the Harrah New Orleans stop from May 12-23, 2016.

So the final list of entries for the 2016 WSOP Global Casino Championship will likely fall between 100-200 and the prize pool should end up between $1-2 million.

The three-day 2015 WSOP Global Casino Championship No-Limit Hold'em tournament will get underway at 12 noon on Tuesday, Aug. 9 in the Harrah's Cherokee Events Center with all eligible players. Television cameras will be on hand to cover the action with the final table taking place on Thursday, Aug. 11.

"We are thrilled to be able to return to Harrah's Cherokee for our season-culminating championship," said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. "It's only fitting that we end one season and start the next at Harrah's Cherokee, a terrific host venue and locale for poker players far and wide."

The 2015-16 WSOP Circuit Tour features 19 stops throughout the United States that began on Aug. 6, 2015 and runs through May 23, 2016. Additionally, six events were scheduled as part of the WSOP International Circuit that qualify for this championship as well.