The WSOP is piecing together its 2019 schedule and after sharing seven events last week is now releasing 13 additional tournaments for the World Series of Poker’s 50th anniversary. And it does include the massive-field Colossus, but with some major changes.
Some new events such as the $1,000 Mini Main Event are on the schedule. Last year, the WSOP catered more towards the high-stakes crowd than ever before. With events like the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop and new $50,000 and $100,000 high rollers, those with money to burn were in heaven.
But those responsible for planning are unsure if this summer’s series will have a heavy dose of high roller events.
“We haven’t finalized the full schedule,” Seth Palansky, Vice President of Corporate Communications for Caesars Entertainment, told CardsChat. “So, we don’t know definitively the high roller plans.”
World Series of Poker complete schedules are typically released by the end of February. For now, we know 20 of the tournaments. Last year’s series had a record 78 bracelet events.
Colossus Returns, But With a Twist
For the fifth straight year, the Colossus is back on the schedule. But this time it’s going to look a bit different.
The $565 buy-in tournament launched in 2015 with a world record 22,374 entries. In 2018, that dropped to a somewhat disappointing 13,070. Some speculated the event would be eliminated in 2019. That isn’t the case, however, it’s not going to be the exact same event.
Instead of a $565 buy-in, this year’s edition will cost just $400. And another change will be the date the tournament takes place. The Colossus was one of the first few events the past four years. But this time around it’s scheduled for June 26 with the first of two Day One flights (there were six in previous years). Palansky explains why they’re changing things up with this unique event.
“The ($500 buy-in) Big 50 is our opening weekend event, and a compelling one at that,” he said. “As such, we wanted to differentiate the Colossus to ensure folks didn’t just assume it was the same. Changing the buy-in and other elements help us do that.”
The Big 50 is a new event that starts May 30. It costs $500 to enter and guarantees at least $5 million in prize pool money, with $1 million going to the winner. The tournament is similar to the old $565 buy-in Colossus, so it makes sense why Palansky and his team want to separate the events.
Popular Events Return, New Event Added
On July 1, two days before the Main Event, the WSOP will host the first ever Mini Main Event, a $1,000 “mini” edition of poker’s world championship tournament. Players in the cheaper buy-in tournament will receive 60,000 chips, the same amount as the Main Event (it was 50,000 in recent years).
The other tournaments released by the World Series of Poker are returning events such as the $1,111 Little One for One Drop (July 6) and the $1,000 Ladies event (June 20).
Remainder of Newly Released World Series of Poker Events
- $500 Casino Employees (May 29)
- $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty (June 4)
- $1,000 Double Stack (June 9)
- $2,620 Marathon (June 10)
- $1,000 Super Seniors 60+ (June 17)
- $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty (June 24)
- $1,000 Tag Team 2-4 Players Per Team (June 24)
- $1,500 Double Stack (July 11)
- $1,500 The Closer (July 12)
It also appears there will be numerous events following the Main Event for the second straight year. This decision received mixed reviews in 2018 from the poker community. Some feel the series should end with its most important tournament. Others enjoyed having additional opportunities to win money.
