Caesers Interactive Entertainment and the World Series of Poker have released the complete schedule of events for the 2023 WSOP, which will run May 30 through July 18, 2023. The world's largest poker festival will again include both live and online bracelet events, with a total of 129 gold bracelets to be awarded overall.
Ready for a packed WSOP 2023 schedule
The 54th edition of the WSOP brings a renewed focus gathered under its "Main Event Mania" theme, as WSOP execs forecast that 2023 is the year that the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em World Championship -- popularly known as the Main Event -- finally eclipses the long-standing attendance mark set in 2006. That year, which was the last WSOP before the UIGEA went into effect and choked off a flourishing pipeline of entries awarded through unregulated and non-partner offshore sites, 8,773 players entered the freezeout event.
In 2019, Main Event attendance nearly reached the long-standing 2006 mark, when 8,569 players participated in the tourney won by Hossein Ensan. 2020 would likely have seen the 2006 attendance mark eclipsed, but the COVID-19 pandemic intervened. By 2022, though, Main Event attendance had resumed its upward climb, with 8,663 players takin part in the tourney captured by Espen Jorstad.
At only 110 players shy of the earlier mark, and with an increased push in online qualifiers in 2023 via the WSOP's online partner, GGPoker, the WSOP feels that this will be the year the old Main Event attendance standard is eclipsed.
“With the momentum generated from the WSOP’s debut on the Las Vegas Strip last year, we expect a record-breaking WSOP and World Championship at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas in 2023," said Ty Stewart, Senior Vice President & Executive Director of the WSOP. “If the Main Event is on your bucket list, this is the year to get to Vegas.”
GGPoker doubles seats guarantee, global network of live ME satellites in plans
GGPoker's contribution to this year's WSOP Main Event attendance push includes two separate elements. As the WSOP's official international online partner, GGPoker is guaranteeing at least 500 Main Event seat packages through online qualifiers. GGPoker will award at least another 100 Main Event seats through ClubGG, its subscription-based platform that is available internationally and in most, but not all, U.S. states. Most or all of the ClubGG WSOP seats are likely to be awarded through ClubGG Platinum Membership events, entry to which comes with a monthly membership charge but no direct entry fee.
More WSOP Main Event seats will be awarded through live satellites to be held at Caesars and partner casino properties both in the U.S. and internationally. These properties will participate in a "Main Event Maynia" weekend to be held May 20-21, 2023. Each property will host a two-part qualifier, beginning with a $140 feeder that awards entries into a larger $1,175 mega satellite later the same weekend, in which travel packages to the July Main Event in Vegas will be awarded.
Fourteen domestic and international venues have already agreed to host Main Event Maynia weekends, and more are expected to be added between now and May. In the United States, properties already scheduled to participate include Harrah’s Cherokee, Horseshoe Las Vegas, Horseshoe Tunica, Horseshoe St. Louis, Harrah’s Pompano, Turning Stone Casino, Hard Rock Tulsa, Grand Victoria Casino (Elgin, Ill.) and Horseshoe Council Bluffs.
Five international partners are also already confirmed as live-satellite partners. These include King's Resort (Czech Republic), Club Pierre Charron Paris (France), Deerfoot Inn & Casino Calgary (Canada), Enjoy Punta del Este Resort and Casino (Uruguay), and Casino Es Saadi Marrakech (Morocco).
Online bracelet event schedule expands
The 129 bracelets to be awarded during the 2023 WSOP include 95 live bracelet events and a record 34 online bracelet tourneys. In an interesting twist, the 27 online bracelets are split into two separate series. A larger online series including 20 bracelet events scattered throughout the WSOP's seven-weeks-plus run will be offered to players in Nevada and New Jersey.
Two smaller seven-bracelet series, with one event each Sunday throughout the WSOP, will be offered separately to players in Pennsylvania and Michigan. Pennsylvania remains a firewalled state ineligible to be player-pooled with other regulated WSOP.com U.S. states at this time. Michigan's gaming officials recently approved the state's participation in multi-state play, but the recency of that approval forced WSOP officials to commit to a separate bracelet-event offering, at least for the 2023 cycle.
New WSOP 2023 schedule events and an opening-weekend makeover
As always, the massive WSOP schedule allows for some experimentation with the types of events being offered. For 2023, the WSOP is introducing a bracelet event with the lowest price point, $300, in recent live WSOP history. Dubbed "The Gladiators of Poker", this massive-field, multi-flight event will offer a $3 million prize-pool guarantee. The first of four Gladiator opening flights will take place on Wednesday, June 7, 2023.
Several other new events have been added to the 2023 slate, distributed throughout the schedule. This graphic shows the other new offerings:
The WSOP has also shifted two of its most attention-grabbing events to its opening weekend for 2023. Last year's Million Dollar Bounty returns as the $1,000 Mystery Millions, with million-dollar payouts awarded to both the luckiest bounty drawer and to the event's winner. It'll be joined at the top of the schedule this year by the Tournament of Champions event, which has been moved forward this year from its traditional July slot.
The WSOP has also confirmed that cash-game action, Daily Deep Stack events, and mega-satellites will be offered throughout the series as space allows. The WSOP has also published a downloadable PDF of the 2023 series' bracelet-event schedule for easy reference.
WSOP schedule 2023 FAQs
When is the main event for WSOP 2023 in Las Vegas?
The 2023 main WSOP event begins on July 3, 2023. The main event will run until 17 July and will include four starting flights. The buy-in for the main event at the WSOP in 2023 is $10,000.
What is the prize pool for WSOP 2023?
The 2023 WSOP prize pool will surpass last year’s record-breaking total of $347.9 million, and is likely to be somewhere in the region of $350 million. The payouts for each event will ultimately depend on the number of entrants for a tournament.
Where is the 2023 WSOP being held?
The 2023 WSOP is being held as always in Las Vegas, Nevada. Competitors will take to the tables in the Horseshoe Casino and the Paris Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip, from May 30 to July 18, 2023. This is the 54th WSOP annual tournament, and this year’s event consists of more tables, more cash prizes, and more bracelets than any other event in WSOP poker history.
How much does it cost to enter the WSOP 2023?
There are tournaments with different buy-ins to accommodate players at all levels. In 2022, the highest buy-in was $250,000 in the high-roller event, while the Colossus event offered a buy-in of $400. The buy-in for the main event at the WSOP is $10,000.
How to enter the 2023 WSOP?
You can register for the 2023 WSOP event in Las Vegas in person, at the casino cage in the Paris Casino. You can also follow @WSOP on Twitter and Instagram for live updates on registration details and how to register online.
Who is the defending champion at WSOP 2023?
The winner of the 2022 WSOP main event in Las Vegas was Norwegian Esper Jorstad, who walked away with the $10,000,000 prize. He will be the defending champion at the 2023 main event in Las Vegas.
Featured image source: World Series of Poker
