With Ryan Riess’ $8,361,570 victory in the 2013 World Series of Poker main event last November still fresh in the memory, the organisers of poker’s most spectacular tournament have announced the official 2014 schedule, which will again be held at the Rio in Las Vegas.
This year, US players in Nevada, New Jersey and Delaware will be able to compete in the many satellite competitions leading to the WSOP events, and that is expected to boost entry numbers, although WSOP.com has cornered the online market by restricting main event and bracelet qualifiers to its site, where 93 ten-thousand-dollar-plus seats will be available.
This year’s schedule will present 65 bracelet-events and a grand finale in November, when the final nine main event survivors will play down to a winner and a first prize worth at least $12 million.
The main event alone carries a guarantee of $10 million, and this will almost certainly be met and exceeded by entries.
2014 will see the return of the $1 million Big One for One Drop, the Little One for One Drop and the Millionaire Maker tournaments, along with 12 different $10,000 buy-in championship events and the $50,000 buy-in Players Championship.
The twelve $10,000 buy-in Championship events include:
* 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball (May 29-31)
* Omaha Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better (June 1-3)
* No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball (June 3-5)
* Seven Card Razz (June 6-8)
* H.O.R.S.E. (June 8-10)
* Pot Limit Hold’em (June 12-14)
* No Limit Hold’em Six-Handed (June 14-16)
* Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split-8 or Better (June 17-19)
* No-Limit Hold’em Heads Up (June 19-21)
* Limit Hold’em (June 26-28)
* Seven Card Stud (July 1-3)
* Pot Limit Omaha (July 3-5)
The charity-based $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop, will have an entry cap of 56 players this year, creating a potential winner’s prize in excess of $20 million.
Other popular events again on the schedule include the Casino Employees, Seniors and Ladies competitions.
WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said Tuesday: “For ten years we have tried to raise the bar on tournament poker. There is real optimism 2014 can be our biggest year yet with an anticipated $200 million in prize money to be paid out this summer.
“With new satellites and daily tournaments exclusively on WSOP.com and a plethora of side events, there is more reason than ever to make the trip to poker mecca.”
The main event final table will again be televised by ESPN and will kick off on November 10 after a short hiatus following the completion other WSOP events, as has been the case in the past.
Last year’s main event entry field of 6,352 players is expected to be topped in 2014.
Full details are available on the WSOP website.