2026 Summer Poker Series in Las Vegas (Excluding WSOP)

Temperatures are starting to climb, and April showers are giving way to May flowers, which means one thing: It will soon be poker time in Las Vegas. Though most of the media attention is focused on the World Series of Poker (WSOP), there are actually plenty of other poker series running at the same time at competing gaming establishments.

Whether you're fed up with the Caesars corporate conglomerate, don't want to fight the massive crowds at the Horseshoe and Paris casinos, or consider WSOP buyins to be just a tad too rich for your blood, these alternate summer poker series could be the answer for you. Look to the Wynn, the Venetian, the Aria, MGM Grand, the Golden Nugget, and the Orleans for something a bit different this summer.

The Wynn Summer Classic

# of events: 87 (64 NLHE, 23 non-NLHE)
Average Buyin: $1,660

A fixture at the Wynn for more than a decade, the Wynn Summer Classic has grown to become a legitimate rival to the WSOP festivities occurring about a mile down the Strip. Running from May 20 through July 13 this year, the schedule contains some $40 million in guarantees spread across 87 tournaments. This total guarantee has remained constant from the 2025 iteration of the series.

The Wynn and Sister Property Encore

Among the highlights is the three-day $10,400-buyin Wynn Summer Championship, which has four starting flights, will run from June 21 to 27, and comes with a guarantee of $10,000,000. Other big-money events include a $3M guaranteed $2,200-buyin Mystery Bounty tourney, running from June 15 – 18, and a $5M guaranteed NLHE event with a $3,500 buyin that will take place from June 11 – June 16.

However, despite the opulent ambiance and presence of big-money tourneys, the Summer Classic is by no means designed exclusively for the well-to-do. There are many MTTs with buyins between $600 and $1,600 with $1,100 representing the most common entry amount.

Of particular note are the large number of tourneys that are reasonably priced and feature formats of poker other than No Limit Texas Hold'em. They include:

• May 21, $1,100 TORSE (2 Day), $50,000 GTD
• June 7, $1,100 PLO, $200,000 GTD
• June 12, $1,100 5 Card PLO, $100,000 GTD

Check out the full schedule of the 2026 Wynn Summer Classic.

The Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series

# of events: 121 (106 NLHE, 15 non-NLHE)
Average Buyin: $626

The Venetian has a long history of hosting deep-stacked tournaments, and the DeepStack Championship Poker Series, running since 2018, is an example of this. This year, its 121 events are scheduled to take place from May 18 – Aug. 2 with more than $16 million in guaranteed prize money: a significant decrease from the nearly $21 million guaranteed in 2025.

The Venetian Resort

What gives this series its name is the depth of the initial starting stacks in the tourneys. Almost all events begin with stacks between 125 and 400 big blinds deep. True cognoscenti of poker recognize that the deeper the stacks, the more room there is for creative and skillful play especially postflop.

The biggest event by guaranteed prize money is actually a Seniors event that participants must be 50 years old or above to join. It has $1.5 million guaranteed and costs $1,100 to enter. There are three starting days, June 19 – 21, and then a final second day of play on June 22. Besides this one, there are five other tourneys with guarantees of $1 million, including two that are being held in conjunction with the Major Series of Poker.

The other buyins in the series range from $200 to $2,500. Some of the highlights include an $800-buyin PLO Bounty event with $100,000 guaranteed, a $500K NLHE Bounty event with a buyin of $1,600 and $500 bounties that double to $1,000 when players are in the money, and a $2,500 LIPS Ladies High Roller three-day event with $150,000 guaranteed.

Here are all the details of the Venetian DeepStack Championship Poker Series 2026.

Aria 2025 Poker Classic

# of events: 95 (74 NLHE, 21 non-NLHE)
Average Buyin: $749

Just a bit south of the main WSOP action, there will be a major series running at the Aria consisting of 95 events from May 27 through July 12. The Aria Poker Classic has been going strong since 2017, and this year's edition has over $19 million in guaranteed prizes up for grabs. The number of tournaments has more than doubled from last year while the prize money has grown by $4+ million, so the Aria must be doing something right.

ARIA Resort & Casino

The buyins are $2,200 or less, which means correspondingly small prize pools with guarantees tending to be no higher than $500,000. The most notable exception is the $3,500 BetMGM Championship, which guarantees $4,000,000 and is expected to draw in dozens of qualifiers both from live satellites as well as online qualifiers hosted by BetMGM's internet poker rooms in several states. There are two starting days, July 1 and 2, Day 2 on July 3, and the third day and final table on Independence Day, July 4.

Other intriguing tournaments include the two-day (July 5 + 6) $2,200 PLO Championship with $1 million guaranteed, a Mystery Bounty tourney on June 18 and 19 with a $2,200 buyin and $1 million guaranteed, and an $1,100 5 Card PLO event on June 17 with a $150,000 guarantee.

Click here for further details on the schedule of the 2026 Aria Poker Classic.

MGM Grand Summer Poker Festival

# of events: 51 (31 NLHE, 20 non-NLHE)
Average Buyin: $378

Aria's sister cardroom just across the street at the MGM Grand is also hosting a big MTT series June 3 to July10. Called the Summer Poker Festival, it will distribute more than $2.5 million in guarantees over the course of 51 tournaments. This is a newer series, having only been running for a few years, which might explain why such a large poker room has such modest total guarantees in its summer series.

The MGM Grand Las Vegas

As one might expect, the buyins are all very reasonable in this series being considerably less than $1,000 in every tournament. In fact, the largest buyin is only $700: for the Grand Finale $300,000 guaranteed, which will have five starting flights (one on July 7 and two apiece on July 8 and 9) and will play down to a conclusion on July 10.

Three other multi-day events guarantee $250,000 each for buyins of $500 apiece, and there are also several opportunities to play in $100,000-guaranteed tournaments. Though NLHE accounts for most of the schedule, there are quite a few PLO-8, Big O, and mixed game tourneys within the roster.

View the full MGM Grand Summer Poker Festival schedule here.

Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series

# of events: 89 (68 NLHE, 21 non-NLHE)
Average Buyin: $259

Far away from the glitz and opulence of the Las Vegas Strip lies Downtown: a grittier, old-school environment where the attention is squarely on low-stakes gambling and not on pools, shows, or celebrity restaurants. The Golden Nugget has the only functional poker room downtown, which we have written about, and so it only makes sense that it hosts Downtown's answer to the WSOP, The Grand Poker Series, which has been a mainstay of the Golden Nugget since 2008.

The Golden Nugget in Downtown Las Vegas

The Grand Poker Series will take place from June 3 - 28 and consists of 89 events. No guarantees have been announced for any events perhaps because of a few unfortunate instances last year when participation was low and a few tournaments were canceled rather than being allowed to overlay. As a smaller venue for live poker in Vegas, the Golden Nugget spreads tourneys at modest price points, ranging from $120 to $720.

The most important event on the schedule is the Main, which costs $600 to enter and has four starting flights from June 24 to 27. The rest of the tournament will play out June 28.

Golden Nugget Grand Poker Series 2026 schedule.

2026 Orleans Summer Open

# of events: 160 (96 NLHE, 64 non-NLHE)
Average Buyin: $305

By all accounts, the Orleans hosts one of the best poker rooms of any “locals” casinos in Las Vegas. Though it is but a mile and a half west of the Strip, it feels like a totally different world. It is here that you can enjoy the Orleans Summer Open, which has run since 2018, from May 22 to July 12. There's more than $4.7 million in guarantees spread across 150+ tournaments, up from $3.8 million in 2025.

The Orleans Casino

As a down-to-earth locals casino, the buyins here are well within the wallet requirements of almost everyone: They range from $125 up to $600 with just a few exceptions. There's a surprising number of non-Hold'em events, such as the $1,100 11 Game Mixed Main Event June 22 and 23, which has $60,000 guaranteed, and the $600 O8/Stud 8 Championship on June 15 with $50,000 guaranteed.

The $500,000 Guaranteed Main Event has eight $600 starting flights, two apiece from July 1 through July 4. Then the survivors gather together on July 5 to play out the rest of the tourney.

Click for the whole 2026 Orleans Summer Open schedule.

Play Tournament Series at Home

Of course, if you'd rather stay at home and play tournaments on your computer, that's a viable option as well. There are many offshore online poker providers that serve the United States, and they are legal for you to play at.

One of the best places to go on the internet for poker tourneys is ACR Poker. This site hosts numerous tournament series, like the OSS Cub3d, which often has tens of millions of dollars in guarantees.

You can redeem a $10 no deposit bonus at ACR Poker through our exclusive ACR promo code PRB10FREE then obtain a 100% up to $2,000 first deposit bonus when you're ready. To sign up for ACR today, click the button below:

To read up a bit on ACR first, consult this detailed ACR Poker review. Or learn about other good sites for online tourneys with this guide to the best online tournament poker rooms.

Last Updated: April 19, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief