WSOP 2012 schedule unveiled

Caesars Interactive Entertainment has released the schedule for this summer’s 43rd annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament series with 61 events set to be contested at Rio All-Suite Hotel And Casino from May 27 to July 16.

The first open WSOP gold bracelet event, a $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold’em affair, will take place on May 28 followed by a $3,000 buy-in heads-up no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha with a 512 player maximum the very next day.

“This year’s WSOP schedule is very exciting,” said Jack Effel, Tournament Director for the WSOP for a seventh consecutive year.

“We’re introducing some fantastic new events while bringing back many successful stalwarts that our players love. We will expand our footprint this year to include extra tables dedicated to cash games as well as plenty of satellite and single-day tournament space so players will have an easy time finding a desirable game without ever having to leave the Rio Convention Center.”

Set to be broadcast via ESPN, the 2012 edition of the WSOP is set to be the biggest yet with an additional 92 poker tables in the Brasilia Ballroom for a grand total of 470 while Saturdays and Sundays in June will see the action focused towards ‘weekend warriors’ with affordable buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments awarding gold bracelets for buy-ins of $1,500 and $1,000 respectively.

The $10,000 buy-in main event of the WSOP 2012 is due to begin on July 7 before being halted on July 16 with only nine players remaining. With the US Presidential Election slated for the first Tuesday in November, the final stage of the main event is to be held in two stages with the field being whittled down to two on October 28 before heads-up play begins on October from the Rio’s Penn and Teller Theater.

Perhaps the most anticipated event at this year’s WSOP will be the Big One For One Drop charity event where up to 48 participants will lay down one million dollars in hopes of taking down a portion of a $42.6 million rake-free prize pool. Scheduled to take place July 1 to 3, the no-limit Texas hold’em affair that will award the winner with a specially designed platinum bracelet and see over $5.3 million donated to the One Drop charity, which pushes to provide access to clean water in developing countries. Home