The 51st World Series of Poker (WSOP) is officially being postponed by Caesars Entertainment. The world’s largest poker tournament was slated to begin on May 26 at Rio Las Vegas. The move to postpone WSOP comes as a result of the public health emergency involving COVID-19 which has closed Nevada casinos until at least May 1.
WSOP 2020 has not been canceled yet. Caesars is just hitting pause on the live poker event. The WSOP brings tens of thousands of visitors to Las Vegas and Caesars would like to have the tournament at a later date if possible.
The company says that they are targeting the fall of 2020 to host the WSOP at the Rio. Caesars has not set a target date for the fall just yet. This year fall will officially begin on Sept. 22 and will end on Dec. 21.
Caesars says the 2020 WSOP schedule will be revisited as a result of the postponement. There could be changes to the original WSOP tournament schedule that was announced earlier this year. When this year’s WSOP does take place, it will include poker’s world championship, the $10,000 buy-in Main Event championship. Once again Caesars expects this to be the richest prize pool on the poker calendar each year.
“We are committed to running the World Series of Poker this year but need additional time to proceed on our traditional scale while prioritizing guest and staff well-being,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker.
“In the interim, official WSOP competitions are expected to be played online this summer, and we will soon announce details of an expanded series of tournaments to be played on WSOP.com and through a partnership with international operators, which will allow players to chase WSOP glory from their homes.”
WSOP.com Spring Online Championships Continue
WSOP.com is the only active online poker website in Nevada. While playing online poker may not be a perfect substitute but it’s an option for Nevada residents who want to play poker. WSOP.com’s Spring Online Championships will continue through May 3 as previously scheduled.
The monthlong event is featuring over $4 million in guaranteed prizes. There are still more than 50 events on the schedule. The buy-ins for the remaining tournaments range from $10 to $1,000.
WSOP Events Outside Of Nevada Remain On The Schedule
The next live event on the WSOP calendar remains the Global Casino Championship. This event is still scheduled for Aug. 11-13, 2020 at Harrah’s Cherokee in North Carolina. This is an invitation-only event, open to those who have qualified.
Additionally, WSOP Europe, hosted at King’s Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, remains on the calendar for the Fall 2020.