It’s official, the World Series Of Poker (WSOP) is moving to the Vegas Strip next year. The 53rd annual WSOP owned by Caesars Entertainment, Inc. will take place at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.
The WSOP will be held May 31 – Jul. 19, 2022. The poker tournament will return to its traditional summer time frame after a couple of years with a different schedule.
There was speculation about where the WSOP would relocate to after Caesars announced selling the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in 2019.
Following a 17-year run at Rio, there is much excitement about the prestigious tournament moving to the center of the famous Las Vegas Strip.
In a statement, WSOP Senior Vice President, Ty Stewart said:
“We are absolutely thrilled with this year’s turnout, both domestically and internationally. As we close out this chapter at the Rio, we are excited to have the iconic Vince Vaughn usher in a new era of WSOP at Bally’s and Paris next summer.”
Caesars and WSOP will announce a full schedule of events in January 2022.
Vince Vaughn named Master of Ceremonies
Vince Vaughn will be the official celebrity Master of Ceremonies for the 53rd annual WSOP.
There’s a good reason the “Wedding Crashers” actor will take this role. Vaughn has been a poker player for much of his life. He’s looking forward to being a part of the 2022 WSOP:
“Poker has long been one of my favorite sports, so to be a part of something as historic as the WSOP finally moving to the Strip is an absolute dream. Vegas Baby, Vegas!”
WSOP taking Covid-19 in stride
Last year, the WSOP took place mostly online. WSOP created a unique hybrid format for the event.
While not optimal, this was a way to keep the event alive while most of the world was staying home to help slow the spread of Covid-19.
To make more players comfortable being in a room with thousands of poker players Covid-19 vaccinations were required for participants.
And this year, the world’s largest poker tournament was pushed out to the fall. The US opened its borders for international tourists just as the WSOP began. That’s probably a coincidence. Right?
The 6,650 participants were fewer than 8,569 entries in 2019.
However, the number of players this year wasn’t a disappointment for organizers or participants.
WSOP 2021 crowns champ in final year at Rio
Koray Aldemir from Germany was named Champion of the 52nd World Series of Poker. Aldemir won his first WSOP Main Event on Nov.17 outlasting 6,650 players.
Aldemir’s prize for winning the WSOP Main Event is $8,000,000.
He’s also taking home the coveted prize championship bracelet, a 10k yellow and white gold bracelet encrusted with 2,230 rubies, white and black diamonds.
Aldemir said the following about his WSOP victory:
“It felt great. It’s the biggest final table in the world, so it’s a dream come true. Probably every poker player thinks about this moment when they watch this, believing ‘maybe I could be there one day’.”
This wasn’t the largest WSOP field but the 6,650 entries were a strong statement since being affected by Covid-19.
The grand finale of this year’s WSOP started around 2 p.m. on Nov.17. and continued well past dinner into the evening.
The final three players were Aldemir, Jack Oliver and George Holmes. Oliver was the first player to bust out. Holmes and Aldemir went head-to-head into the evening for just over six and a half hours.
Aldemir claimed the 2021 WSOP World Championship title on the 223rd hand between the final two players.
The last hand started with Aldemir calling Holmes’ 6,000,000 and ended with Holmes all in for 133,000,000. Aldemir won with two pairs of tens and sevens.