World Series of Poker Reveals 2024 Schedule: May 28 - July 17

On Friday, Feb. 16, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) released its full schedule for 2024's annual poker festival. The action returns to the Paris Las Vegas Casino and Horseshoe Las Vegas Casino (formerly Bally's Casino). 99 numbered bracelet events will occur from May 28 to July 17 with the Main Event taking place from July 3 to 17.

Series Details

This year's World Series of Poker is the 55th annual installment of the most prestigious event on the poker calendar. As is the custom, each winner of a WSOP numbered tournament will, in addition to the prize money, take home a valuable gold bracelet. The $10,000 Main Event is the most important yearly tournament in the entire world of poker with the name of its victor inscribed indelibly in the annals of the game.

Buyins for the WSOP tourneys run from $300 to $250,000 although most events are within the $1,000 - $10,000 range. 3 days is the most common length for a WSOP MTT, but some are shorter or longer. As we previously mentioned, there will be 99 numbered events this year, which is up from 95 last year.

Information on Specific Events

The WSOP has always had a diversified schedule comprising not only formats and games that are popular and expected but also those that are a bit more obscure or uncommon. This is true again in 2024, and we have highlighted below a few of the most interesting and important tournaments on this year's roster:

May 28, Event #1: $5,000 Champions Reunion NLHE (8-handed)
A new event this year, the three-day $5,000 Champions Reunion will kick off the series in style. All living former WSOP Main Event champions have been given a free entry to this tournament. When anyone knocks a champion out of the tourney, that player will receive a free $10,000 Main Event seat for 2024. A pretty good way to save on the cost of a buyin and secure some bragging rights at the same time!

June 6, Event #20: $300 Gladiators of Poker $3,000,000 GTD
With a buyin of just $300 but a massive $3M guarantee and two reentries permitted per flight, the Gladiators of Poker has the formula for huge fields and significant returns on investment. Last year's winner scored a prize of more than 1,600 buyins! There are four starting flights, which each count as Day 1 in this three-day tourney.

June 15, Event #41, $1,500 Mixed NLH/PLO Double Board Bomb Pot
OK, so we're not exactly sure what this three-day event is all about with it being new and all. However, based on the name alone, it sounds equal parts awesome and ridiculous. It's not clear if the “Double Board Bomb Pot” applies to the NLHE rounds or is a feature just of the Omaha portion of the event, but in any case, it promises to be an action-packed and confusing affair.

June 21, Event #55, $250,000 Super High Roller NLHE
Over the past decade, there has been a trend of big-buyin poker events catering to a select crowd of freewheeling, action-loving high rollers. Though it's not the primary focus of the WSOP, as it is with such series as Triton, there are a few of these types of events on the schedule. This $250,000-buyin tournament is the highest-priced such event for 2024.

June 23, Event #58, $50,000 Poker Players Championship
With Main Event fields having grown to monstrous proportions, the $10,000 buyin not having been adjusted for inflation in more than five decades, and a general dissatisfaction with NLHE as the sole determinator of poker excellence, there are some who feel that an alternative, more skill-based event is needed. Enter the Poker Players Championship, a five-day contest with several variants of poker included (LHE, LO8, Seven Card Stud, Razz, NL 2-7 Lowball, NLHE, PLO, 2-7 TDL, and Stud/8) and a higher buyin.

July 3, Event #81, $10,000 MAIN EVENT
This is the big event that all eyes will be turned toward. This year, there are four starting days, from Wednesday, July 3 – Saturday, July 6, and each day begins at 12 noon. On July 7, all surviving players from days 1A, 1B, and 1C will play a Day 2 starting at noon, and on July 8 at noon, the remaining players from day 1D will play Day 2. On Tuesday, July 9, the entire field will be combined for Day 3. On that day, and all subsequent days through Sunday, July 14, competitors will convene at noon each day. July 15 will be a day off, and the final table will gather on Tuesday, July 16 and Wednesday, July 17 to play down to a conclusion. Late registration will be open until the end of level 7 on Day 2 (July 7 and 8).

Online Events

The World Series of Poker has not revealed any details of online bracelet events this year. Still, because these events took place last year, there's every reason to expect them to continue with specific events to be announced later on.

These MTTs were all hosted on WSOP.com. In 2023, there were 20 online bracelet tournaments for the combined NJ/NV player pool and another seven each in the ring-fenced Michigan and Pennsylvania markets. Buyins in NJ/NV ranged from $215 to $5,300 while the other two states, which are less-mature markets, saw lower buyins of no more than $600. Should the WSOP elect to offer similar fare in 2024, it's likely that the Michigan and Pennsylvania cardrooms will again see separate, lower-value tournaments because WSOP has not made any noticeable efforts to integrate either state together with its Nevada/New Jersey combined liquidity player pool.

Despite the fact that these tourneys took place online, they are considered official WSOP events. The winners were sent authentic WSOP gold bracelets to their mailing addresses after the conclusion of each tournament.

Satellite Tournaments

Although a few of the WSOP tourneys have modest buyins, like $300 or $600, most of them require at least a four-figure sum to enter. This is beyond the means of a significant segment of the player pool, so organizers have opted to provide many satellite opportunities, enabling people to win their entries for less.

Live Satellites

A new innovation at this year's WSOP is the Landmark Mega Satellite. In these qualifying tournaments, players compete until they achieve a certain number of chips. Once this mark is met, they then win a stated amount of tournament credits regardless of the number of contestants remaining.

From May 28 through July 15, there will be three such Landmark Mega Satellites running every day:

• 3 p.m., $240 buyin, awards $2,000 in tournament buyin credit
• 7 p.m., $580 buyin, awards $5,000 in tournament buyin credit
• 10 p.m., $135 buyin, awards $1,000 in tournament buyin credit

In addition, the day before each $5,000- and $10,000-buyin event, there will be a special Landmark Mega awarding an amount of tourney credits equal to the buyin. Other notable tournaments have their own Landmark Mega Satellites too.

These Landmark Megas are just fine if you're looking to head to Las Vegas and then secure your entries. However, the WSOP has another solution for those who wish to be assured of being able to play before making the voyage. In partnership with cardrooms around the world, it's running Main Event Maynia. This is a series of satellite tournaments that will allow individuals to join in at their local casino and then, if luck should be with them, obtain their Main Event entries as well as money for travel.

Online Satellites

The World Series of Poker is building on its online qualifier efforts from 2023. Last year, it sent 774 players to Vegas through its partner GGPoker, which is active internationally, and 450 via its regulated internet cardroom, WSOP.com, which is active in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania. The plan is to exceed both figures this year.

There will most likely be other avenues for winning your WSOP entries online. Many offshore poker rooms, like ACRPoker and Everygame, tend to have satellite tourneys to major poker events, like the WSOP. Therefore, if you're interested in winning a WSOP seat, it would behoove you to keep an eye on the promotional webpages of these online poker sites.

About Horseshoe and Paris Casinos

The venues of the 2024 WSOP, Horseshoe and Paris Casinos, are located right next to each other on the Las Vegas Strip. They're sandwiched between the Cromwell to the north and Planet Hollywood to the south with the Bellagio across the street. Both casino resorts are owned by Caesars Entertainment, which is the organizer of the WSOP. Most of the action will be concentrated in the ballrooms of Paris and Horseshoe while televised feature tables and most bracelet final tables will be located at the Horseshoe Event Center.

The Horseshoe Casino, One of the Host Properties of the WSOP

Those entering WSOP bracelet tournaments qualify for special hotel rates from Caesars Entertainment when using the code “WSOP24.”

History of the World Series of Poker

With 55 years of tournaments in the books, the WSOP brand is a historic monument to the game. From inauspicious beginnings in the '70s, it has steadily grown until it has become the most well-known and lucrative annual series on the poker calendar. Let's take a look back at some of the key incidents in WSOP history.

Initial Home at Binion's

Benny Binion had the idea in 1970 to invite over a few of his poker-playing buddies to his downtown Las Vegas Casino, Binion's Horseshoe, for a game to see who was the best. There were plenty of oddities with the way this competition was conducted: they played cash games rather than tournaments, the winner was decided by a vote among the participants (!), and the victor (Johnny Moss) won a silver cup rather than a bracelet.

The WSOP formula would be tweaked over the next few years until we had the familiar format of several tournaments, culminating in a $10,000 Main Event, with a bracelet for the winner (initially just the Main Event victor). Main Event participation grew from just six in 1971 to 21 in 1975, 73 in 1980, 141 in 1985, and 194 in 1990.

Moneymaker Boom

When the then-unknown Chris Moneymaker joined the WSOP Main Event in 2003, he was one of 839 competitors. His unlikely story of parlaying a sub-$100 online satellite investment into complete victory and a $2.5 million payday captured the public imagination and inaugurated the poker boom. The following year, 2,576 individuals showed up for the Main Event.

It appeared that the WSOP was outgrowing its humble beginnings and straining against the limits of what the modest Binion's casino could provide. However, in 2004, Harrah's Entertainment purchased the World Series of Poker and announced that it would be moving to another casino.

Move to the Rio

The 2005 series was the first to be held at the off-strip Rio Casino. The larger facilities proved capable of handling growing Main Event crowds. The WSOP Main Event reached a peak participation level in 2006 when 8,773 contestants hit the green felt in search of glory (and money).

The WSOP remained at the Rio through 2021 even though this resort was sold by Caesars (the now-parent company of Harrah's) in 2019. In 2021, Caesars announced that the WSOP would be moving to Bally's (now the Horseshoe) and Paris in 2022.

WSOP Now on the Strip

With the move to the Horseshoe and Paris casinos, the World Series of Poker is now in the center of the Las Vegas scene rather than on its outskirts as it was before. Players praised the location of the new facilities, the superior amenities and accommodations provided as compared to the Rio, and the professionalism of the staff.

Despite a few hiccups, 2022's series turned out to be a resounding success. However, this was merely a prelude to 2023, which saw participation of 10,043 entrants to the Main Event, smashing the previous record set in 2006. The top prize of $12.1 million won by Daniel Weinman was also a WSOP record.

Daniel Weinman, 2023 WSOP Main Event Champion

Practice Online Today

If you're looking to brush up on your tournament play in preparation for the 2024 WSOP, then the easiest way of doing so is by heading to your computer and selecting a trustworthy online poker provider. Many of these rooms host tournaments costing just a few dollars to enter, so you can improve your game for a very cheap price. Nevertheless, pricier tournaments also exist if you're in search of big prizes.

For a rundown of the leading U.S.-friendly online poker rooms, check out this page dedicated to online poker in the United States. Playing at internet poker sites is legal as you'll discover if you read this article about online poker legality for Americans.