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The World Series of Poker is back for 2019 and will run from May 28 to July 16.
Hosted at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, this year marks WSOP’s 50th birthday, making it one of the longest-running and prestigious tournament series in the world. For an event that began as a one-table tournament in downtown Las Vegas with just seven players, this is a massive feat. Special events for the 50th edition of the occasion include a celebratory gala and awards evening as well as the Big 50 No-Limit Hold-em to open tournament.
Thousands of players from around the globe are expected to attend this year. It’s predicted that almost 500 poker tables will fill the more than 100,000 square-feet of ballroom space at the Rio. Last year’s event comprised of a record of 123,865 entries with $266,889,193 awarded in prize money over the course of the tournament series. Last year’s tournament included a big win for the first female champion of the year [3]; 83-year old Farhintaj Bonyadi - the mother of three-time bracelet winner Farzad ‘Freddy’ Bonyadi - was awarded $311,451 at the Super Seniors Event. The win also makes Farhintaj and Farzad the first mother-son WSOP bracelet winners in the history of the tournament.
Many of 2018’s signature events - including Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, Crazy Eights, Seniors Championship and Colossus are expected to return in 2019. Excitement is already building around the Big 50 No-Limit Hold-em, which consists of a $500 buy-in for 50,000 chips and a guaranteed $5,000,000 Million prize pool and $1,000,000 Million winner.
Ty Stewart, WSOP’s Executive Director said: “We’re excited to commence our golden event. We expect our opening weekend Big 50 event to be one of the largest in our history, and certainly one of the best value tournaments ever offered. This is part of our concerted plans to make the 2019 WSOP a better value-all around.”
One’s to watch for 2019 Some of the world’s best poker players flock to the poker capital of the world for WSOP — and this year is no different. Las Vegas resident Richard Peters is definitely a high roller favourite on the circuit — with nine seven-figure scores in his career, Peters has entered the top five all-time money list with a total of $31,590,261 in winnings.
Former Magic the Gathering competitor Justin Bonomo will also be making an appearance at this year’s event. With $44,040,709 in tournament winnings, Bonomo made headlines at WSOP last July when he won the $1 million The Big One for One Drop for $8 million. The win also secured his position as the only person to have won more tournament money than star player Daniel Negreanu.
English player Stephen Chidwick will likely be making an appearance. One of the big winners at the US Poker Open, Chidwick is running eighth in the 2019 money list with $1,790,272. It’s predicted he’ll go deep in at least one of WSOP’s main events [4].
Feder Holz is also expected to attend this year’s event. The German high roller has already won $32,556,377 in live tournaments; at the 2018 WSOP he came second in the Big One for One Drop, adding $6 million to his name. Speaking on the ‘edge’ over rivals, he said: “I was bringing more of my online background into live game... I think this mix of strategy and intuition and good feeling for the game is what made me successful.”
Don’t miss out on all the fun
It’s not just the high rollers that can enjoy WSOP 2019; buy-ins for the tournaments start as low as $70 and single table satellites will being on May 28 and run 24 hours a day throughout the entirety of the series. There’s lots of opportunity for both players and fans to get involved.
Meanwhile, Las Vegas is already in preparation-mode; room reservations for the event are now being accepted across Caesar’s Las Vegas properties. Existing Caesars Rewards members can secure room rates for as low as $33 during the tournament series. Poker partners 888poker is the only online operator offering exclusive qualifiers via satellite [5]; with many satellite qualifications planned, there’s a great opportunity for seats to one of the most exciting events of the year.
Many of the tournaments for this year have been already been announced. In addition to the opening Big 50 No-Limit Hold’em there is also Millionaire Maker No-Limit Hold’em, Seniors No-Limit Hold’em, Double Stack No-Limit Hold’em, Monster Stack NoLimit Hold’em, Crazy Eight’s NoLimit Hold’em and of course the Main Event World Championship. The full events schedule is expected to be announced during the first quarter of 2019.
“For the city, this has become the most important gamblers’ convention,” said Stewart about the event [6]. “We have a lot of other attractions and events, but as far as qualified gamblers, we are bringing in tens of thousands of folks to the city which are creating hundreds of thousands of room nights. We are truly lifting the city in the summer. It is a great responsibility and we feel an immense amount of pride.
“Much of our success is because we can spread the hope around the globe that people still can get lucky in Las Vegas,” he added.