The World Series of Poker Circuit has announced that everything will be bigger and better as they release the North American legs of the 2018/19 tour.
What are all of these people doing here?
It can’t be the coffee; you can get that shit at home, and for a third of the price. It’s not for the company. A few are locked in dialogue, but most stare at their phones like the little bear seeing Goldilocks lying in his bed for the first time. The rest stare into the main road, watching cars splashing rain onto Lululemon.
They’re bored.
The Coffee Shop gives them something to do.
No more.
No less.
In a few days time, if you are serious about your poker, then you won’t be short of things to do. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is back. May 29 – Jul 15. Nothing but poker. No kids. No dogs. No cats. No dogs chasing cats. No nagging wives. No nagging husbands. No life. Nothing but cards, chips and a dream.
It’s an invasion.
An opportunity to release a mouth full of moths.
But it’s worth remembering, for the WSOP to exist, a robust framework must support it, and the Caesars have it with the World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC).
The WSOPC Release 2018/19 Schedule
The 14th Season of the WSOPC recently ending in New Orleans. It was a spectacular festival that saw Valentin Vornicu win back-to-back events, pulling away from Maurice Hawkins at the top of the All-Time WSOPC Gold Ring chart with 12, only for Hawkins to pull the deficit back to one with a victory of his own.
133,892 entrants.
$66,585,658 in prize money.
The season was a hit, and the WSOPC are setting their sights on bigger numbers after releasing the schedule for the 2018/19 season.
Season 15 will be bigger than ever with 28 stops. Horseshoe Baltimore and Seminole Hard Rock, Hollywood are the notable absentees. But everywhere else remains in tow.
And there are some significant changes on the felt.
The $365 buy-in side event moves up to $400, and the $1,675 buy-in Main Event is now $1,700. Chip stacks also increase with a $400 buy-in earning you 15,000, not 10,000, and a $1,700 buy-in moving up from 20,000 to 30,000. The Big Blind Ante format will also be more widely used next season, surely on its way to 100% implementation across the board at WSOPC level before becoming a permanent fixture in WSOP events.
Buy-ins range between $250 and $5,300, and I have a feeling we will see more High Roller events, given the success of some of these this past season, and their inclusion in tour stops throughout the world.
Once again the Main Event winners and Casino Champions earn seats into the Global Casino Championship, as will the top point earners in the WSOPC Leaderboard.
The WSOPC is also encouraging their casino partners to include Senior and Ladies events at all stops with gold rings for the winners, but not Global Casino Championship points due to the restrictive nature of the games.
One imagines the WSOPC International Circuit will also grow, but we will have to wait a tad longer for that announcement. Jack Effel and the team are busy boys after all.
Here is the schedule.
