Palm Beach Kennel Club has $1 million WSOP Circuit event coming

PALM BEACH, FL
December 19, 2011

The Palm Beach Kennel Club officially announced Thursday that it's going to hold the largest guaranteed World Series of Poker Circuit Event of all time: $1 million in prize money.

Buy-in is $500 plus a $55 fee. It'll be event No. 1 when the series stops for the second year at the kennel club in West Palm Beach. The idea: to separate this venue from others in the 17-stop circuit.
"$1 million on a $500 event gets people to change their plans," Poker Room Director Noah Carbone said.

So will the first prize money: Presuming it's 25 percent to the winner, that'd be a $250,000 first prize, which organizers called a good "ballpark" number.

The series, consisting of 12 events, runs from Feb. 16 through Feb. 27. The main event, which carries a $1,500 buy-in, starts Feb. 25.

The kennel club says it's adding tables, which it will have to do in order to run the three flights of 700 players each for the $1 million event (they have 64; they'll grow to 75). Carbone cautioned players to sign up for Day 1A, to avoid being shut out. The tournament is tied to PokerTickets.com for those wishing to preregister.

To break even on their guarantee, they'll need 2,000 entrants, a big jump from last year, when they set a state record (later broken by other card rooms) with 877.

WSOP officials called last year "a success," especially because it was the first WSOP series held at a kennel club. There were more than 7,000 overall entrants, with 64 percent of them coming from outside of the county -- an indication that the WSOP drew new faces to Palm Beach County.

At least two players will go to the WSOP circuit end-of-season free roll in Vegas: the overall points winner and the main event winner. Carbone mentioned that last year's winner, John Riordan, was under 21, so he was not eligible for the Vegas trip because poker in Florida is 18 and over, while Vegas has a minimum age of 21.

Carbone also pointed out that this year might have a rush of younger players, because Black Friday on April 15 shut down the internet as a form of getting to play, and internet poker skews young.

Source: Sun Sentinel: Palm Beach Kennel Club has $1 million WSOP Circuit event coming

Eighth Season of WSOP Circuit Events Begins September 8th at Horseshoe Bossier City

WSOPC National Championship, cumulative ranking system and optimized structures return for 2011/2012

BOSSIER CITY, LA – September 2, 2011 – On the heels of a successful 2010/2011 tour, the eighth season of the World Series of Poker Circuit Events gets underway Thursday, September 8th at Horseshoe Bossier City.

This year marks the first time ever that Horseshoe Bossier City will host the WSOP Circuit. The casino and its 25-story luxury hotel are located just outside of Shreveport, LA and a short distance from Texas and Arkansas.

A number of improvements were made to last season’s WSOPC, including optimized, standardized structures, a cumulative ranking system and the addition of a season-culminating National Championship. These enhancements will return for the 2011/2012 season for what promises to be the Circuit Events’ biggest and brightest year yet.

This season’s unofficial motto is “12 Rings in 12 Days.” Beginning with Horseshoe Bossier City, the sixteen stops of the 2011/2012 Circuit Tour will each begin on a Thursday and open the three-day Main Event on the second following Saturday, thereby encompassing a total of 12 official WSOP gold ring events over 12 consecutive days.

As with all stops this year, the Main Event will follow a re-entry format, meaning there will be two starting flights with players eliminated in flight A having the option to re-enter into flight B. The Horseshoe Main Event begins Saturday, September 17th.

In addition to first place prize money and the coveted WSOP Circuit gold ring, the winner of the Main Event will receive an automatic entry into the WSOP Circuit National Championship. A second seat to the national championship will be awarded to the player who earns the most points through the 12 ring events scheduled at Horseshoe Bossier City.

This year, the 12 ring event final tables at each Circuit stop will be streamed live at WSOP.com.

In addition to the 12 ring events scheduled at the Horseshoe, the Seniors No Limit Hold’em event will take place Sunday, September 11th while the Ladies NLH Event kicks off the following Sunday, September 18th.

There will also be nightly 7pm $120 buy-in no-limit hold’em events and satellites held throughout the 12-day series. See the full schedule of events here.

Specially-discounted room rates for WSOPC participants will be available. Click here for more details.

Media Contacts: Nolan Dalla, WSOP Media Director – nolandalla@aol.com

CHOCTAW CASINO RESORT SET TO HOST FIRST-EVER WSOP CIRCUIT

DURANT, OK - (January 5, 2011) – WSOP Circuit action comes to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area when Choctaw Casino Resort hosts the WSOP Circuit’s first stop of 2011 beginning Thursday, January 6th through Monday, January 24th.

The 8th of 15 official tour stops scheduled for the 2010/2011 season, the upcoming WSOP Circuit series will be the first-ever held at Choctaw, which is located in Durant, OK, one hour north of Dallas.

“This is a huge poker market that has clamored for high stakes tournament poker and we’re ecstatic to be hosting a WSOP Circuit in this gorgeous property in Durant,” said WSOP vice president, Ty Stewart.

Ten official WSOP Circuit ring events are among the 51 total events scheduled for the 18-day Circuit stop, which concludes with the $1,600 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em Main Event starting Saturday January 22nd.

The schedule, put together by noted tournament director Jimmy Sommerfeld, features a broad selection of poker games that includes variations such as PLO, PLO/2-7 triple draw mixed, H.O.R.S.E., Omaha 8 and Hold’em.

Also scheduled for Choctaw are the $235 buy-in WSOP Circuit Ladies Event, which takes place Sunday, January 9th and the $235 buy-in Seniors Event to be held Sunday, January 16th. Along with first place prize money, the winner of the Ladies Event receives the WSOP Circuit diamond-encrusted gold pendant.

Online registration for any of the 51 events is available through Startickets.com.

Tournament staff and organizers have worked diligently for months in preparation for what will undoubtedly be one of the largest gaming events ever held in the region.

“The vibrant poker markets in Texas and Oklahoma deserve a local to regional WSOP Circuit opportunity and Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant couldn’t be a better choice,” said Choctaw Casino Resort Director of Gaming & Hotel Operations, Steven Loyd.

“The Choctaw Nation is proud to be the newest member of the WSOP Circuit family.”

WSOP Circuit leader board points will be distributed to players based on their performance at Choctaw with the winner of the Main Event earning an automatic entry to the $1 million WSOPC National Championship to be held May 27-29 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.

In addition, one more National Championship entry will be awarded to the player earning the most points through Choctaw’s ten ring events.

Special room rates in the resort’s new hotel tower will be available to WSOP participants and start at $69. Players can call 1-800-788-2464 to make reservations or book online. Use promo code WSOP2011.


Media Contacts:
Jay Newnum, WJ Media Marketing,
317.946.5334
jay@wjmedia.net

Alan Fowler, WSOP/Caesars Interactive Entertainment,
702.498.7532
afowler@caesars.com

ABOUT THE WSOPThe World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest and most prestigious gaming event in the world awarding millions of dollars in prize money and the prestigious gold bracelet, globally recognized as the sport's top prize. Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker's longest running tournament in the world, dating back to 1970. In 2010, the event attracted 72,966 entrants from 117 different countries to the Rio in Las Vegas and awarded over $187 million in prize money. In addition, the WSOP has formed groundbreaking alliances in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships, while successfully expanding the brand internationally with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of Poker Europe. The WSOP Circuit Tour is entering its seventh season in 2010-11, and will feature 12 stops throughout the U.S., plus for the first ever, a stop in South Africa. For more information on the World Series of Poker, please visit www.WSOP.com.

* World Series of Poker and WSOP are trademarks of Harrah's License Company, LLC ("Harrah's"). Harrah's does not sponsor or endorse, and is not associated or affiliated with, This and That or its products, services, promotions or tournaments.