Operator News
US – World Series of Poker moves onto Las Vegas Strip for the first time
By Phil - 24 February 2022
The 53rd World Series of Poker – the richest, most prestigious and longest-running poker series – today announced the daily event schedule for 2022. Following a successful 17-year run at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, the WSOP moves to the Las Vegas Strip for the very first time at Bally’s – Las Vegas, the future Horseshoe, and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino, and will feature the WSOP’s inaugural Master of Ceremonies, Vince Vaughn.
The move to the Strip builds upon the legacy for Caesars Entertainment’s World Series of Poker, as the first-ever tournament was played at Las Vegas’ original Horseshoe in 1970. Doors open on Tuesday, May 31 with exciting action through the event’s conclusion on Wednesday, July 20.
“This year is particularly historic for the WSOP with its move to the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and debut in the best facilities we’ve ever had,” said Ty Stewart, the WSOP’s Executive Director residing over his 17th WSOP. “We’re ready to welcome players from all over the world to our housewarming party at Bally’s, soon-to-be Horseshoe, and Paris. The schedule is jam-packed with first-class events and we expect this to be the biggest and most anticipated WSOP yet.”
WSOP will again feature the much-anticipated $10,000 No-LimitHold’em World Championship, also known as the “Main Event”, which in 2021 hosted 6,650 entrants from around the world despite taking place during a pandemic. This year’s Main Event is back to its traditional time frame around the July 4 holiday, beginning on Sunday, July 3. The legendary deep-stack tournament will continue play through the Final Table on Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16.
The WSOP’s new home will include all convention space at both Paris Las Vegas and Bally’s. This will create the largest tournament capacity in the event’s history with over 200,000 square feet and 600 poker tables. The 2022 WSOP will host a wide variety of tournaments ranging in price from $400 to $250,000. The main cage will be placed at Paris Las Vegas while the TV set staging will be in the Bally’s Event Center as the two buildings are connected and share a parking garage.
This year’s tournament will also feature a $5,000,000 guaranteed prize pool WSOP opening weekend dubbed “The Housewarming”, featuring a $500 buy-in. This popular price point for the opening weekend has generated some of the largest field sizes in the history of poker. Last year’s “Reunion” event generated a whopping 12,973 entrants and organizers are expecting an even larger field as the event returns to its traditional summer schedule.
WSOP will work with broadcast partner CBS Sports for a second season of coverage with daily streaming on PokerGo. Produced exclusively by Poker Central, there will be 18 different bracelet events to be televised with a minimum of 15 hours of coverage for the 2022 Main Event.
