Last year was truly an odd one for poker gaming. Live events came to a complete halt for quite some time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As casinos began to close, so did poker rooms, which meant scheduled events had to be canceled or rescheduled. Even when casinos began opening back up, social distancing requirements left poker the odd man out, so to speak. Thankfully, the online sector picked up the slack and events started taking place via online operators. The WSOP decided to take circuit events online and was quite successful in the undertaking. Now that 2021 is upon us, the WSOP is wasting no time in offering online action for players in the US.
Full Schedule
To get the ball rolling, the WSOP announced plans to offer monthly events for the online Circuit. In a press release, the WSOP said that there will be over 180 gold rings provided via WSOP.com events. During each Circuit, players can expect to compete for 12 to 18 rings.
As the season moves forward this year, there will be a buildup to the championship event at the end of the year. There will be small events that have freerolls so players can gain access to competition free of charge.
Unfortunately for players in the US, the Circuit events will only take place in Nevada and New Jersey, at this time. Players will have to be located inside either state to take part via WSOP.com. However, the schedule does include an event that’s location is pending the launch of the WSOP.com service.
We suspect this might be Michigan since it was the last state to legalize online poker gaming. However, WSOP is not an expected brand to launch in this state. It might be Pennsylvania the WSOP is talking about as Harrah’s Philadelphia may consider becoming involved with online poker gaming.
Circuit Stop Details
So far, the WSOP has announced a circuit stop for each month this year. The first is the Winter Online Super Circuit, which will run from January 14-31. The next is the Planet Hollywood Circuit, which runs from February 17-28. Side note, many of the events are branded after Caesar’s properties. These events will have special room rates available so that players from out of town will be encouraged to travel to compete.
In March, the Silver Legacy Circuit is on the schedule, taking place on the 19th and 20th. Next up on April 10-27, you have the Spring Online Super Circuit. Additional stops include:
• Caesars Atlantic City Super Circuit: May 8-25
• Summer Online Super Circuit: June 10-27
• Bally’s Online Circuit: July 16-27
• Rio Online Circuit: August 20-31
• Caesars Las Vegas Online Circuit: September 15-26
• Fall Online Super Circuit: October 9-26
• Paris Las Vegas Online Circuit: November 10-21
• Harrah’s Las Vegas Online Circuit: December 8-19
Year-End Championship
At the end of the year, the WSOP Circuit will host a Championship event on December 28. Ring winners from this season will earn a ticket to the event. There will also be tickets given to the monthly leaderboard winners. Winners of the Second Chance Fast Forward will also be able to participate.
Additional seats will be provided to players who are the top 50 points earners who do not win a seat during the season. Once the event begins, there will be 256 players competing.
