The person running the World Series of Poker’s Twitter account last night might as well have been channeling Kanye West when he tweeted a major announcement about next year’s WSOP schedule. He might as well have been telling Martin Jacobson, “I’m really happy for you and imma let you finish, but the WSOP Europe is moving to Berlin in 2015!”
I mean, I suppose tweeting about the WSOP Europe’s venue change to Berlin next year makes sense if you are trying to reach as many people as possible, since the WSOP’s Twitter account might be something a lot of people are looking at during the final table of the Main Event, but still. The tournament was down to just three players and, frankly, the location of the WSOP Europe in eleven months probably wasn’t something most people cared about right then and there.
But hey, that’s the news. Berlin. 2015.
This will be the third country and fourth city that will serve as host of the World Series of Poker Europe since it debuted in 2007. The first one was split between three casinos in London, all under the London Clubs International umbrella: Fifty, the Sportsman, and Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square. This first WSOP Europe was historic because it marked the first time any WSOP bracelets had been awarded outside Las Vegas. It also featured one of the premier highlights of any WSOP Europe when Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad won the Main Event, becoming the first woman to win an open WSOP event as well as the youngest WSOP bracelet winner of all time at 18 years, 354 days old. The legal gambling age in Las Vegas is 21, so she was not even eligible to play in the traditional World Series of Poker.
The WSOP Europe remained in London, sticking to just the Casino at the Empire, for the next three years before moving to Cannes, France, home of the famous film festival, in 2011. Two casinos were used to host seven bracelet events: the Majestic Barrière Cannes and the Le Croisette Casino Barrière. In 2013, the WSOP Europe stayed in France but shifted to Casino Barriere in Enghien-les-Bains.
Shortly after the WSOP Europe concluded in 2013, the World Series of Poker made a significant decision, announcing that the WSOP Europe would not be held in 2014, but rather take place every other year. In 2014 and in every even year thereafter, the new WSOP Asia Pacific (WSOP APAC) would take WSOP Europe’s spot on the international schedule. WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart explained the decision, saying, “The WSOP standard is bigger, better and different. Moving to a rotational approach, with one international event per year allows for better organization and more marketing in each region. We also want to do right by the players, and provide more value for their travel dollar. There is a glut of poker tournaments around the world, and our vision is to each year put on a single global showcase that can’t be missed.”
No casino has been announced as the new host of the WSOP Europe in Berlin. Berlin has been featured in major live tournament poker in the past, hosting a European Poker Tour stop from 2010 through 2013.
