The schedule for this fall’s World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe was published last week; it features 11 events, five of which have a combined €17 million in guarantees. Hosting the festival will be the King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, a venue that has risen quickly in the poker world as one of poker’s premier tournament venues.
Last October, the WSOP agreed to a long-term deal with the King’s Casino that will have the WSOP Europe held there this year and in 2019. In 2018, the King’s Casino will host one WSOP Circuit stop in the spring and one in the fall and the one each spring in 2019 and 2021.
For those wondering where WSOP Europe will be held in 2018…it won’t! While the WSOP Europe was originally and annual event, it was decided in 2013 to hold it only every other year. In even-numbered years, the WSOP festival outside the United States will be the WSOP Asia Pacific.
“I’m so proud that that the WSOP Europe is coming to King’s,” said Leon Tsoukernik, the casino’s founder, owner, and CEO, in a press release. “I started off with a dream and my dream has come true and I hope poker players have their dreams come true too when they see the sheer size and facilities of King’s. With the awarding of WSOP gold bracelets, we have brought a huge piece of Las Vegas to Europe and we aim to deliver Vegas standards with this event too.”
Tsoukernik bought land in Rozvadov, a small town on the German border, in 2002, and in 2003 opened King’s Casino. An avid poker player himself (he won the 2016 EPT Prague Super High Roller Event), Tsoukernik took his casino into the direction of poker full-bore in 2009. It now has the largest poker room in Europe with 160 tables.
“WSOP Europe has struggled to find a permanent home since debuting in 2007 because we could never really find the venue or partner to replicate what we have in Las Vegas,” WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said in the same press release. “But I truly believe in Leon’s vision, his passion and King’s Casino to execute the best WSOP Europe to date. We are bullish in this becoming the European equivalent of the WSOP in Las Vegas, something we have always dreamed of doing when we first began our foray into Europe a decade ago.”
2017 WSOP Europe Schedule (dates indicate starting flight days)
Event #1: October 19-21 – €1,100 Monster Stack No-Limit Hold’em – €500,000 Guarantee – re-entry next flight
Event #2: October 23-24 – €550 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Max – re-entry
Event #3: October 25 – €1,100 Super Turbo Bounty No-Limit Hold’em – re-entry – €500 bounty on every player’s head
Event #4: October 26 – €1,650 No-Limit Hold’em 6-Handed – single re-entry
Event #5: October 27-31 – €550 Colossus No-Limit Hold’em – €2,000,000 Guarantee – two starting flights per day – one re-entry per flight
Event #6: October 28 – €2,200 Pot Limit Omaha 8-Handed – unlimited re-entry
Event #7: October 31 – €1,650 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better – re-entry
Event #8: November 1-2 – €1,100 Little One for One Drop No-Limit Hold’em – €500,000 Guarantee – re-entry
Event #9: November 1 – €25,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller – re-entry
Event #10: November 3- €111,111 High Roller for One Drop – €10,000,000 Guarantee – re-entry (111 player cap)
Event #11: November 4-5 – €10,300 WSOP Europe Main Event – €4,000,000 Guarantee – single re-entry
