It has been one of the biggest questions of the year in the poker world. Will the 2021 World Series of Poker be held? We now have an answer to that – at least some of the question – as Caesars Entertainment and WSOP officials have announced the dates that the tournament schedule will tentatively be run.
Mark Your Calendars for Fall 2021
According to WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart, the 2021 WSOP will be held from September 30 through November 23 at the Rio All-Suites Hotel and Casino. Several of the Caesars properties will be opening their doors at reduced rates for that period, with rates coming in as low as $60 per night for Caesars Rewards members. The pre-registration for events will not be open until the summer, however (more on this in a moment).
Of particular interest to most is when the $10,000 WSOP Championship Event – the “Main Event,” to some – will be run. The event that crowns poker’s World Champion will begin on Thursday, November 4, with Day 1A and subsequent Day Ones will run Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The Thursday/Friday players will gather on Monday (November 8) for Day 2A, while the Saturday/Sunday players will reconvene on Tuesday (November 9). The field will come together for the first time on Wednesday, November 10, and play down to the champion on November 23.
“This year, more than ever, we embrace our role at the WSOP to deliver memorable experiences and bring this community of poker lovers back together. In 2021, the theme is, get vaccinated and get back to Vegas,” said Ty Stewart, the Executive Director of the WSOP.
Plenty of Questions Still Exist
Stewart’s emphasis on vaccinations may not be just hyperbole. At this time, there are no events announced for the 2021 World Series of Poker, although it is expected that the “usual suspects” will still be around. Such tournaments as the $50,000 Poker Players’ Championship are expected on the schedule, but there will be other special tournaments held. A dedicated charity tournament is expected to be held that will benefit frontline workers is in the planning, as is a new event called “The Reunion,” but no details have come forth yet.
It is unknown what restrictions will be on the tournaments in Las Vegas come September. Currently tournaments are being run at some casinos with plexiglass shielding, the mandatory usage of face masks, and eight-max seating, all things that are in force to protect players and staff members from the ongoing COVID threat. These things may still be in place come the time of the 2021 World Series of Poker, with some other possibilities lurking on the horizon.
Many governments are looking at the likelihood of using some method to ensure that travelers have been properly vaccinated. This is for the purpose of ensuring that a person has taken all the proper precautions to be amongst other people. It has been rumored that these mandates for vaccination will be required for any international travel and possibly some travel in the U. S.
2021 WSOP Europe Will Return – Tentatively
During his announcement, Stewart also dropped that the 2021 World Series of Poker Europe would be on the books also. The 15-event schedule has not been declared as of yet, but it is on the calendar for November 19 through December 8 at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic – provided that situations have improved regarding COVID in Europe come that time. “We hope and anticipate travel restrictions will ease by the fall,” said Stewart. “It’s important to us that we have an excellent tournament schedule available to our European players.”
Caesars and WSOP officials are quite vehement that these announcements entirely depend on the future situation regarding COVID-19. In fact, their announcement states outright that they “reserve the right to make appropriate modifications to this plan and to the policies and procedures under which the tournament series may be held (emphasis by writer).” Right now, all we can do is get the shots, cross our fingers and look to the fall for the potential of the 2021 World Series of Poker.
Question?
Will the WSOP continue to hold the daily tournaments?
I’ve played series events like the senior, $1500 no limit etc. for several years.
My little comment is if we’re going to be playing with masks and shields count me out. By the time Sept comes around anyone needing the vaccine will have had it and a majority of the public has been exposed to it so why would we still be forced into mask wearing? I really missed going last year but I may miss going again this year.
Im trying to find the scheduled date for seniors and ladies
Good question Bonnie. I’ll want to have a tournament I can play after I bust out of a bracelet event. I hope they don’t lose these daily tournaments in the interest of spacing out the tables.
Hello gang!
Ellen, there is no schedule of tournaments as of yet, so it isn’t known when the Seniors’ or the Ladies’ tournaments will run.
Ed (and Bonnie), it is a good question as to what the Rio and the WSOP will do with their daily tournaments and cash games during the WSOP. The thought is that they might do something like Ed suggests – that they will sacrifice some of those other amenities in favor of running the tournaments – but hopefully by that point they will come up with something that works a bit better.
Thanks for reading!
EB
“Mandatory” MRNA shots? No way!
Do we know if there is talk of smaller events like $1500 or $2000 events? Im planning my trip for the 2nd week of October but that can change. Do we know when the schedule will be posted? Rumor was the 15th, but not yet.
Hello Carmen!
As of yet, there has been no announcement of the planned schedule. I would think that the WSOP will still run the smaller tournaments ($1000 to $2500), but you might not see as many of them as we have in the past. You might expect a 50-60 tournament roster, to take into account social distancing and table and player capacities. But the best we can say right now is “we don’t know.”
Thanks for reading!
EB
Why in the hell hasn’t the wsop released the full 2021 wsop schedule for the entire event? If they plan on starting in September that’s only four months away. Don’t they realize people need to book airfare and make accommodations for travel work etc? Cmon WSOP WTF?!
Will there be live Super Seniors Tournament this year?
Hello Andor,
Nobody knows yet. There has been no definitive schedule announced. All we know right this minute is the dates – the actual event schedule is supposed to come out sometime next month, from what I’ve heard.
Keep reading here…we’ll let you know when the full schedule is released!
Thanks for reading!
EB
When will the seniors tournament run so I can plan please
Anyone know what the buy-in for The Reunion event is likely to be? It’s apparently happening on the opening weekend … I’m hoping, as an enthusiastic amateur, that it’s an affordable $500, like The Big 50 was in 2019.
Im in Vegas Oct 10 to 16 for another event, I would like to know what WSOP poker tourneys are before and after those dates before I book my flight, Can you help me with this. Thank you
Hello Bill,
At this point, that is the million-dollar question. Harrah’s and WSOP officials have not yet released a schedule for the events at this year’s WSOP. The thought is they are waiting as close as possible to the start date to announce anything because they will have the best idea of the situation on the ground (AKA what they will have to deal with regarding COVID). And, while the U. S. is opening up, there are still literally tens of countries that restrict their travel to the U. S. (and vice versa), so they’re trying to make sure as many players can attend as possible.
I know this is difficult on players because they have to make plans to attend, especially those amateurs who actually have other jobs. But it is the best we have at this point. Keep reading here and, as soon as we find out a firm schedule, we’ll be sure to let you know!
Thanks for reading!
EB