The 50th World Series of Poker arrives at the end of his month, but for many poker enthusiasts, participating in the festival is just not a possibility. Whether it is the buy-in (though there are some “inexpensive” ones now), travel, time off of work, or whatever, it just doesn’t work out for everybody. That is why the WSOP Circuit is nice; buy-ins are fairly low and there are tour stops around the country, giving lots of people better opportunities to go for that dream of a WSOP title. This past week, the schedule was released for the upcoming 2019-2020 Circuit season.
There are five new stops on the tour: Ameristar St. Charles, Horseshoe Baltimore, Harrah’s Las Vegas, Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa, and Horseshoe Bossier City. Ameristar St. Charles and Horseshoe Baltimore had been part of the WSOP Circuit previously, just not during the 2018-2019 season, while the other three are brand new tour stops.
All told, there will be 35 tour stops in the 2019-2020 WSOP Circuit Season, though that is not 35 unique venues, as some locations will be visited multiple times. In addition to those 35 stops, the season will end with the Global Casino Championship at Harrah’s Cherokee (North Carolina) in August.
The two most noticeable adjustments to the tournaments in the upcoming season will be deeper payouts and the addition of the Big Blind Ante in all tournaments. Tournaments traditionally pay the top 10 percent of finishers, but the WSOP Circuit is changing this to the top 15 percent. The Big Blind Ante had been tested on the WSOP Circuit this season and was deemed successful that it will now be a part of every tournament. With the Big Blind Ante, the player in the big blind will pay the antes for every player at the table (when the tournament reaches the ante stage, of course), rather than each person paying individually. This speeds up the game, as it is easier for the dealer to count the antes and eliminates any delays or confusion resulting from someone forgetting to pay their ante.
2019-2020 World Series of Poker Circuit Schedule
- July 17-29, 2019 – Choctaw Durant
- August 1-12, 2019 – Harrah’s Cherokee
- August 15-26, 2019 – Foxwoods Resort Casino
- August 29 – September 9, 2019 – Ameristar St. Charles
- September 5-16, 2019 – Thunder Valley Casino
- September 12-23, 2019 – Potawatomi
- September 17-29, 2019 – WSOP.com Online Circuit
- September 19-30, 2019 – Seminole Casino Coconut Creek
- September 26 – October 7, 2019 – Horseshoe Southern Indiana
- October 3-14, 2019 – Horseshoe Baltimore
- October 10-21, 2019 – Horseshoe Hammond
- October 24 – November 4, 2019 – Harveys Lake Tahoe
- October 30 – November 11, 2019 – Choctaw Durant
- November 14–25, 2019 – Planet Hollywood
- November 28 – December 9, 2019 – Harrah’s Cherokee
- November 30-December 11, 2019 – The Bicycle Casino
- December 5-16, 2019 – IP Casino Resort Spa
- December 12-22, 2019 – Harrah’s Las Vegas in Convention Center
- January 2-14, 2020 – Choctaw Durant
- January 9-20, 2020 – Thunder Valley Casino
- January 16-27, 2020 – Horseshoe Tunica
- January 30 – February 10, 2020 – Potawatomi
- February 6–17, 2020 – Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tampa
- February 14-25, 2020 – Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino
- February 20 – March 2, 2020 – Horseshoe Hammond
- February 25 – March 8, 2020 – WSOP.com Online Circuit
- February 27 – March 10, 2020 – Horseshoe Bossier City
- March 5-16, 2020 – Harrah’s Atlantic City
- March 7 – 18, 2020 – The Bicycle Casino
- March 12-23, 2020 – Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa
- March 19-30, 2020 – Bally’s Las Vegas
- March 26 – April 6, 2020 – Horseshoe Council Bluffs
- April 8-19, 2020 – Harrah’s Cherokee
- April 23 – May 4, 2020 – Horseshoe Tunica
- May 7-18, 2020 – Harrah’s New Orleans
August, 2020 – Global Casino Championship
