2014 World Series of Poker Kicks Off TodayThe 45th Annual WSOP Begins With The First Of 65 Events On Tuesday |
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Card Player’s 2014 WSOP coverage is sponsored by CarbonPoker.
The 45th annual World Series of Poker kicks off on Tuesday, May 27th with the first two individual bracelet events on an action-packed, 65-event schedule at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. A lot has changed since the inaugural WSOP saw seven of poker’s top players battle it out in a cash game in 1970, eventually electing Johnny Moss as the first ever champion after a vote amongst the participants.
Four-and-a-half decades later, the huge schedule of tournaments begins at noon with the $500 buy-in no-limit hold’em casino employees event and the first open event, the inaugural $25,000 buy-in mix-max no-limit hold’em event.
In many ways, the schedule for the summer this year resembles that of the 2013 running. Notable changes included the addition of a $10 million guaranteed first-place prize for the $10,000 buy-in WSOP main event (marking the first time that the WSOP has guaranteed any aspect of the main event’s prize pool) and the rescheduling of afternoon event start times to one hour earlier than in recent years at 4 p.m., allowing players compete for 10 levels on day 1. The idea behind the move is to presumably get those fields down to a more manageable size and allow the eliminated players to play the noon events the next day.
The $1,500 buy-in Millionaire Maker event, introduced in 2013, returns for the opening weekend in 2014 hoping to top last year’s mark of 6,343 entrants. The event kicks off with two starting flights beginning at 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM on May 31st. The event allows players a single re-entry with the winner set to take home a minimum of $1 million.
In 2013, one of the most common complaints about the schedule concerned the mixed-game events, which were usually offered at a $5,000 buy-in. In 2014, most of the mixed-game disciplines will be offer at two buy-in prize points, with one tournament at $1,500 and the “championship” event at $10,000.
“We have tweaked our schedule and feel very good about the opportunities it presents poker players of all levels,” said WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel, who will oversee the tournament for the ninth straight year. “Now in its tenth consecutive year at the Rio, we believe operationally we have optimized the experience to provide players maximum choice and comfort and can’t wait to open the doors.”
The $10,000 buy-in main event will have three starting flights beginning July 5. The structure for the event will be the same, with players starting with 30,000 in tournament chips and competing with two-hour levels. The November Nine will return for the final table on Nov. 10 and 11.
Also of note this summer is the return of the $1 million buy-in Big One For One Drop, which will get underway on June 29 and will be capped at 56 entries. The first-place prize is estimated to be $20 million.
“For ten years we have tried to raise the bar on tournament poker,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “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.”
In addition to the bracelet events, the Rio will continue to host Daily Deepstack tournaments at 3 p.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m. in the Pavilion room. Mega satellites at $75, $330 and $550 will be held daily at 9 a.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Players can pre-register for the 2014 WSOP now. In person registration can be done at the Rio main casino cage.
Stay tuned to Card Player for extensive live coverage of the 2014 WSOP over the next seven weeks. Click here for a look at the full schedule of events.
For more coverage from the 2014 summer series, visit our WSOP landing page.
If you can’t get down to the Rio, you can still compete with Carbon Poker. Click the banner below for more information. Card Player readers are eligible for an initial deposit bonus of 200 percent up to $5,000.
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