The team behind the World Series of Poker has revealed the full schedule for the 2016 event in Las Vegas. There will be 
69 events; the Big One for One Drop is not one of them.
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has released the full schedule for their 47th iteration of the greatest poker tournament series in the game, and there is one event that’s inconspicuous by its absence.
The $1m buy-in Big One for One Drop has become one of the most exciting tournaments introduced in recent times. We have witnessed it twice. It was due to be held a third time this year. It’s not on the schedule.
But chill.
It will be held sometime throughout 2016, most likely at either the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (WSOP-APAC) or World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE), dependent on which format gets the hat tip. With the WSOPE being held in Berlin last year, poker followers may be expecting a WSOP-APAC this year, but I am not so sure? In my opinion, we will see the Big One for One Drop hitting a WSOPE event near you sometime in this calendar year.
Outside of the Big One Drop, there are changes aplenty. The press release called it the: ‘the most ambitious and diverse schedule in the 47-year history.’
We all know that The Colossus is returning with a few tweaks. The WSOP handed us that Christmas present late last year. The event will be called The Colossus II. The WSOP will guarantee $7m in prize money; $1m for the winner. Players who make it through Day 1 will be in the money.
The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, will still house the action. The festival runs May 31 – July 18. There will be 69 events. Here is a summary of the main changes:
1. The number of people getting paid is increasing by 50% after a decision was made to increase payout percentages on most bracelet and Deepstack events by 15%.
2. The Main Event and other $10k buy-in events will start with 50,000 chips meaning all events across the board will begin with at least five times the buy-in amount.
4. Start times will be pushed forward to 11 am and 3 pm for many events.
5. Structures have been tweaked after consultations with players.
6. Players can only register for one flight at a time in multi-flight events such as Millionaire Maker, Colossus, etc.
7. The Casino Employee event will be a single re-entry event.
8. Both the winner and the runner-up in the Millionaire Maker will be guaranteed a $1m prize.
9. The Extended Levels event is renamed Summer Solstice; 90-minute levels remain.
10. The WSOP.com online event returns.
11. The Little One For One Drop will replace the Main Event as the last event of the series.
There will be eight new events:
1. $1,000 Top Up Turbo No-Limit Hold’em (NLHE) (2-Day event). It will play as a traditional event, but players cashing in $55 single table satellites on WSOP.com, before the event, can boost their stack to double the starting chips.
2. $565 Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) with re-entry.
3. $2,000 NLHE
4. $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw (A-5, 2-7 and Badugi)
5. $1,500 Mixed NLHE/PLO
6. $1,500 Mixed PLO
7. $888 Crazy Eights Eight-Handed NLHE with $888,888 guaranteed for first place and four starting flights.
8. $1,000 Tag Team NLHE featuring 2-4 person teams. Players must register together. The cost is $1,000 per team. All winning participates receive a gold bracelet.
The full schedule can be found right here. Don’t be shy. Share your view. What do you think of the changes?
