This week saw two major changes to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit. First, its parent company, Harrah’s Entertainment, has been officially re-branded as Caesars Entertainment. Second, two brand new tour stops have been added to the Circuit schedule.
From February 17th to March 1st, the WSOP Circuit will invade the Palm Beach Kennel Club Poker Room in Florida. The state, which recently saw the vast expansion of poker, is also hosting a World Poker Tour (WPT) stop in 2011 and is quickly becoming the center of the poker world outside of Las Vegas.
The Kennel Club is just the third non-Caesars Entertainment property to host a WSOP stop, joining IP Biloxi and Choctaw Durant outside of Dallas. The Florida stop is sandwiched in between events at Harrah’s Tunica in January and February and Caesars Atlantic City in March.
Among those looking forward to the Sunshine State stop was 2007 WSOP Main Event champion Jerry Yang, who commented in a press release distributed by Caesars, “I visited the Palm Beach Kennel Club last summer and had a wonderful time. The staff, the accommodations, and the poker players were all top-notch.” The Palm Beach stop will allow Yang and other poker players to compete in 10 ring events.
WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart discussed the decision to make Florida the next Circuit stop: “Florida was definitely a market we wanted to serve, as the residents of the sunshine state have been loyal participants at the WSOP in Las Vegas. After careful consideration of our options, it was clear that the Palm Beach Kennel Club could accommodate the kind of numbers we expect for a Circuit Event in this market. Players who have visited there rave about the staff and the unique dynamic of playing poker overlooking the live action on the track.”
Also hosting a new tour stop is Harrah’s Chester, located on the Delaware River in Pennsylvania. The state has seen the recent expansion of table games and will now attract a flood of poker players between April 28th and May 9th. The Chester poker room features 25 tables and Harrah’s officials will also turn the convention center into a 50-table poker room for the full slate of Circuit events.
Harrah’s Chester also features live horse racing and the WSOP Circuit Main Event will coincide with the Kentucky Derby in Louisville, meaning that bettors from around Pennsylvania will descend upon the casino to wager on the “Fastest Two Minutes in Sports.” The Chester stop occurs after April’s Caesars Palace Las Vegas festivities and before May’s trip to Harrah’s New Orleans.
A guaranteed Main Event prize pool of $400,000 will be up for grabs in Pennsylvania and a special $1 Million Tri-State Swing will be held during the Circuit’s two Atlantic City stops and the Chester event.
Visit WSOP.com for full details on the ongoing Circuit. Here are the remaining 2010-2011 Circuit stops:
December 4th to December 22nd: Harrah’s Atlantic City
January 6th to 25th: Choctow Durant, Oklahoma
January 27th to February 15th: Harrah’s Tunica
February 17th to March 1st: Palm Beach Kennel Club
March 2nd to March 13th: Caesars Atlantic City
March 11th to March 30th: Harrah’s Rincon
March 31st to April 13th: Harrah’s St. Louis
April 14th to April 30th: Caesars Palace
April 28th to May 9th: Harrah’s Chester
May 9th to May 22nd: Harrah’s New Orleans
May 27th to 29th: WSOP Circuit National Championship, Caesars Palace
