It’s astir clip to shuffle up and deal.
The 57th variation of the World Series of Poker gets underway Tuesday astatine Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas. The bid features 100 unrecorded events, including the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship Main Event, on with 30 online tournaments.
Here are 5 storylines to travel during the series, which runs done July 15:
Players to watch
The 2025 WSOP was the twelvemonth of the aged guard, with Michael Mizrachi steamrolling the tract to triumph the Main Event and galore different professionals picking up bracelets, which are awarded for tourney victories.
Benny Glaser won 3 events successful 2025, and the mixed-game specializer from England continues to ascent the all-time database with 8 vocation bracelets. Poker hallway of famers Brian Rast and Nick Schulman picked up their seventh vocation bracelets, and Spain’s Adrian Mateos added No. 5.
As always, superstars specified arsenic Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu volition bid attraction arsenic they look to adhd to their bracelet totals.
Another notable to support an oculus connected is Japan’s Shiina Okamoto, who volition look to triumph the Ladies Championship an unprecedented 3rd consecutive year.
Main Event returns to ESPN
ESPN’s sum of the WSOP helped substance the poker roar of the aboriginal 2000s, and the Main Event is backmost connected the worldwide person aft leaving successful 2021.
The tourney begins July 2 and volition intermission erstwhile the last array is reached July 13. The 9 remaining players volition past instrumentality for the live, three-day finale that volition aerial Aug. 3-5 connected ESPN from 6-9 p.m. PT.
The “cliffhanger” tv format is akin to the “November Nine” that was utilized from 2008-2016 erstwhile the Main Event paused and was resumed unrecorded connected ESPN astir 4 months later.
Player of the Year changes
The contention for WSOP Player of the Year utilized to beryllium astir bragging rights and having a personalized banner hanging connected the walls astatine the Horseshoe and Paris. That’s it.
But aft years of players bickering astir the strategy that was utilized to find the winner, the WSOP revamped the contention for 2026.
Rather than determining the champion astatine the extremity of the summer, the Player of the Year contention present includes each unfastened unrecorded bracelet events from WSOP Europe and WSOP Paradise successful the Bahamas successful summation to the WSOP successful Las Vegas.
The first-place finisher receives a $100,000 WSOP Paradise package, and a full of $1 cardinal volition beryllium awarded to competitors.
Marius Kudzmanas of Lithuania won the 2026 WSOP Europe Main Event and leads the existent POY standings implicit past year’s victor Shaun Deeb.
New events
The docket features its accustomed tentpole events specified arsenic the $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship, the “Millionaire Maker” and Seniors Championship.
There are besides immoderate notable additions to the summertime including the Mini Mystery Millions No-limit Hold’em lawsuit that kicks disconnected the enactment Tuesday and should gully a sizable field. The $550 buy-in features a guaranteed $1 cardinal bounty prize.
The GGMillion$ High Roller No-limit Hold’em tourney has a $10,000 buy-in.
For cash-game enthusiasts, the “Million Dollar Game” takes spot June 12 and features a $1 cardinal minimum buy-in, which could nutrient immoderate of the largest pots ever seen.
Will attendance suffer?
After 2 consecutive years of five-figure Main Event fields, past twelvemonth had a tiny diminution successful turnout.
Some of the dip was attributed to planetary politics, arsenic the fig of players traveling from Canada and the United Kingdom was noticeably down.
This time, American players could beryllium the ones astir impacted. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act changed however gambling winnings are taxed.
Gambling manufacture officials and taxation professionals reason the change, successful which players tin deduct 90 percent of their gambling losses alternatively of 100 percent, unfairly targets nonrecreational gamblers and high-stakes players.
Contact David Schoen astatine dschoen@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ connected X.
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