We expect this [year’s festival] to be the biggest and most anticipated WSOP yet.
Officials of the WSOP have revealed the full schedule for the 53rd Annual World Series of Poker slated to run this summer, from May 31 to July 20, 2022.
A total of 88 live bracelets have been finalized for the 2022 WSOP — all but one will be open to the public. Close to two dozen online bracelets will also run alongside the live series for players in Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
The prestigious $10,000 buy-in Main Event will kick off on Sunday, July 3, and run through Saturday, July 16. Buy-ins for other events range from $400 to $250,000.
WSOP 2022: At a Glance
- Starts on May 31 and runs through July 20.
- New venues Bally & Paris set to provide the largest tournament capacity in WSOP’s history
- No mask nor vaccination requirement, but WSOP to follow CDC guidelines that would be in effect during the event
- 88 live bracelets open to the public, 21 online bracelets, & a Tournament of Champions to culminate the series
- $500 buy-in, $5 million guaranteed “ Housewarming” to take place during the opening weekend
- $10K Main Event to kick off on Sunday, July 3
- Mystery Bounty tournament with $1 million top bounty prize to debut
- WSOP deepens its partnership with GGPoker and will run exclusive satellites outside of the US
- WSOP officials expecting it to be the biggest series in its history
- WSOP Europe 2022 to return in October
Notable new events include the long-anticipated Mystery Bounty event that was originally part of the 2020 schedule. It will finally make its debut as a gold bracelet event for a buy-in of $1000 with a guaranteed $1 million top bounty.
The $5 million guaranteed “The Housewarming” will be the highlight of the opening weekend to celebrate the return of WSOP to the Horseshoe.
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WSOP 2022 Expected to be the Biggest Yet
As announced previously, this year’s WSOP will return to its traditional summer slot and will move to the Las Vegas Strip for the first time, saying goodbye to its home of the past seventeen years — The Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino.
The new WSOP venues — Bally’s (soon-to-be rebranded to the Horseshoe Casino) and Paris — boast over 200,000 square feet of convention space and support for 600 poker tables. The new venue “will create the largest tournament capacity in the event’s history,” Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director said in the press release.
“This year is particularly historic for the WSOP with its move to the heart of the Las Vegas Strip and debut in the best facilities we’ve ever had,” Stewart continued. “We’re ready to welcome players from all over the world to our housewarming party at Bally’s, soon-to-be Horseshoe, and Paris. The schedule is jam-packed with first-class events and we expect this to be the biggest and most anticipated WSOP yet.”
No COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate to Attend WSOP 2022
While “get vaccinated” was the theme for 2021, this year it has been confirmed that players will no longer be required to be vaccinated to take part in the series. Furthermore, as per the current state guidelines, masks will not be required either. However, officials will continue to follow the local, state, and CDC guidelines that would be in effect during the event, so there is a possibility things could change.
Last year, the in-person 2021 WSOP required proof of vaccination from all participants including spectators, media, and staff, sparking a heated discussion within the poker community, with many poker players stating that they would not be making the trip to Sin City because of these mandates.
However, with the world adapting to the new norm, more and more live events are moving away from requiring players to be vaccinated. The latest example is the EPT Prague series.
It is a positive sign for the industry and should attract many players who could not attend last year’s event due to the vaccine mandate and travel restrictions.
Premium news and data analytics platform Poker Industry PRO recently predicted that this year’s Main Event could attract over 8000 entries and possibly become the largest in its entire history.
The $10,000 WSOP Main Event
The world’s most popular and prestigious tournament — the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em World Championship, also known as the “Main Event” — will return to its traditional timeframe, around the July 4 holiday, kicking off its first Day 1A flight on Sunday, July 3.
Three more starting flights (Day 1B, Day 1C, and Day 1D) will run on July 4, 5, and 6. This will be followed by two Day 2s before the two flights join together for a Day 3 on July 9. The event will play down to a winner on July 16.
Last year, the Main featured six Day 1s, as the organizers added two Day 1s at the last second after the US government eased travel restrictions for international tourists.
The Popular Mystery Bounty Event
The intriguing Mystery Bounty event that is being widely spread in live casinos across the US and Asia will make its first appearance as a gold bracelet event this year. Billed as “Million Dollar Bounty,” the $1000 buy-in event will kick off on July 2 and feature four starting flights.
The tournament will play out as a regular tournament on Day 1s but will then switch to the knockout format, allowing players to claim the bounty of players as they get knocked out. The twist is that the bounties will have different values and will only be revealed once a player is eliminated. The officials have guaranteed a top bounty prize of $1 million.
The event was originally part of the 2020 schedule but could not take place as the series was canceled due to the COVID. In 2021, the event did not return. At the time, the officials told pokerfuse that they would “revisit it in the future.”
The mystery bounty event made its WSOP debut at a Circuit stop this month in Florida. It attracted 3334 entries to amass a total prize pool of $1.1 million.
Other Highlights of the WSOP 2022 Schedule
The usual WSOP signature events will all be making a return for the 53rd edition. This includes the Millionaire Maker, Colossus, Monster Stack, and The Closer. Furthermore, the schedule also includes more than a dozen Championship events, as seen every year, including the Poker Players Championship costing $50,000 to enter.
The schedule also includes a couple of Seniors events, a Ladies event, Tag Team, and plenty of WSOP classic brands. It also promises a slate of freezeouts, a heads-up event, and a $250,000 high roller event.
The thrilling Flip & Go game by GGPoker will also be returning for the second year in a row. In this tournament, players are forced all-in every hand until one player remains at each table. From there, the survivors make the money, and action resumes as normal.
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Notable omissions include the Big 50 that set the record in 2019 and The Big One for One Drop Million buy-in event.
The bracelet events will be accompanied by the Daily Deepstack tournaments, side events, cash games, and satellites over the course of eight weeks.
In total, 88 live bracelets will be available to all players. The series will culminate in a brand new event — The Tournament of Champions that will be open to all the 88 bracelet winners and gold ring winners from the 2022 WSOP Circuit season. It will run from July 18 to 20.
In addition to the live bracelet events, 21 online bracelets will run in three states.13 of which will run for players on WSOP New Jersey and WSOP Nevada (sharing the same player pool) and 8 on WSOP Pennsylvania. No online bracelets have been announced yet for WSOP Michigan which is expected to go live soon.
Officials also took the opportunity to announce that it has extended its partnership with GGPoker. The rising giant will once again host exclusive satellite WSOP packages for players outside the US. It also released details for the WSOP Europe (WSOPE) series scheduled to run in the fall. WSOPE will take place from October 12 through November 3 at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.
WSOP 2022 Online Bracelet Schedule (New Jersey & Nevada)
| Date | Buy-in | Tournament | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, June 5 | $5,300 | NLH High Roller | Freezeout |
| Sunday, June 5 | $500 | NLH BIG $500 | 3x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, June 12 | $400 | NLH Ultra Deepstack | 2x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, June 19 | $1,000 | PLO 6-Max | 3x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, June 26 | $600 | NLH Online Deepstack Championship | 2x Re-Entry |
| Tuesday, June 28 | $500 | NLH Turbo Deepstack | 2x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 3 | $500 | NLH Deepstack | 2x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 10 | $7,777 | NLH Lucky 7’s High Roller | 1x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 10 | $1,000 | NLH Online Bracelet Championship | 2x Re-Entry |
| Tuesday, July 12 | $3,200 | NLH High Roller 8-Max | 2x Re-Entry |
| Saturday, July 16 | $777 | NLH Lucky 7’s Second Chance | 3x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 17 | $5,300 | NLH High Roller Encore | Freezeout |
| Sunday, July 17 | $500 | NLH Summer Saver | 3x Re-Entry |
WSOP 2022 Online Bracelet Schedule (Pennsylvania)
| Date | Buy-in | Tournament | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, June 5 | $500 | NLH BIG $500 | 3x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, June 12 | $400 | NLH Ultra Deepstack | 2x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, June 19 | $500 | PLO 6-Max | 3x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, June 26 | $600 | NLH Online Deepstack Championship | 2x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 3 | $500 | NLH Deepstack | 2x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 10 | $1,000 | NLH Online Bracelet Championship | 2x Re-Entry |
| Saturday, July 16 | $777 | NLH Lucky 7’s Second Chance | 3x Re-Entry |
| Sunday, July 17 | $500 | NLH Summer Saver | 3x Re-Entry |
WSOP Returns After Seven Months
The 53rd Annual World Series of Poker will return barely seven months after the conclusion of the 52nd edition, which ran at the late Autumn slot due to COVID. The fall 2021 series collected 127,245 entrants and paid out $237.9 million in prize money over 99 gold bracelet events, of which eleven were played out online. It ended up being the third-largest series in history by total prize money awarded and the second largest in total entries, despite taking place during the pandemic with travel restrictions.
With no vaccine requirement and hopefully no travel restrictions, the upcoming summer series could well end up being the biggest WSOP in its entire history.
The WSOP 2022 series returns to its traditional summer slot at Bally’s (rebranded as the Horseshoe Casino) and Paris from May 31, 2022, and runs for nearly two months. The WSOP Europe takes place from October 12 through November 3, 2022.
