The World Series of Poker has announced the addition of seven stops to the WSOP International Circuit schedule, bringing the total number of stops on the non-U.S. portion of the Circuit to 14. The first six additions, announced a couple weeks ago, are:
Sydney, Australia – November 22 through December 12, 2016 – The Star, Sydney
Marrakech, Morocco – January 14 through January 22, 2017 – Casino de Marrakech
Campione, Italy – March 6 through March 20, 2017 – Casino Campione D’Italia
Cannes, France – April 17 through April 24, 2017 – Casino Barriere Cannes le Croisette
Estoril, Portugal – May 1 through May 7, 2017 – Casino Estoril
Brussels, Belgium – May 19 through May 28, 2017 – Grand Casino Brussels VIAGE
Additionally, the U.S. Circuit event that was scheduled for Bally’s Las Vegas from February 23rd through March 6th has been moved to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. It will now be February 16th through February 27th, 2017.
At the time the above six Circuit stops were announced, a seventh was foreshadowed. Another World Series of Poker International Circuit stop HAS been revealed this week, but it is not the seventh to go with the above six on the 2016-2017 schedule. The WSOP announced that a new WSOP International Circuit stop will for the 2017-2018 season will be in the Netherlands at the Holland Casino Rotterdam. No date specifics have been revealed, as the schedule for that season has not been set yet.
“We are proud of the collaboration between Holland Casino and the largest poker brand in the world. The WSOP is a wonderful addition to our already broad range of poker, and it has national and international allure,” said Holland Casino CEO Erwin van Lambaart in a press release.
“As a European, I know Holland Casino to be a party that is capable of organising large and prestigious poker events, such as the historic Master Classics of Poker,” added WSOP Director of Events Gregory Chochon. “We are very proud that the WSOP can work together with such an iconic casino chain and we are looking forward to seeing more Dutch players take part in the WSOP in Vegas.”
As is the case with the WSOP Circuit stops in the United States, two players will qualify at each international stop for the WSOP Global Casino Championship. The Main Event winner will earn an automatic seat in the season-ending Championship, as will the “casino winner.” Each official ring event at a Circuit stop awards players points based on how they finish. The player that earns the most points in total at a particular stop is dubbed the casino winner.
The international portion of the WSOP Circuit has been quite successful lately. According to a press release, the recent stop in Brazil saw 2,981 entries for the opening event, a WSOP record for an event outside of the United States. The tournament was a R$580 (USD $170) re-buy event, so it wasn’t, 2981 actual players, but rather a combined number of initial entries and re-buys.