2018 WSOP Gets Underway in Las Vegas

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Wednesday, May 30th, 2018 | Written by Charles Washington

The 2018 World Series of Poker gets underway in Las Vegas later today, with the game’s most prestigious tournament series kicking-off at noon with its traditional opening event, the $565 Casino Employees tournament. At 3:00 p.m, its first open bracelet event will also take place, Event #2: $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty, which is new addition to the schedule, and is expected to be concluded by the end of the day.

In 2017, the annual poker festival broke all attendance records after around 121,000 from 111 different countries took part in competition looking to win a coveted gold bracelet and a share of the $231 million in prize money. This year, the organization has expressed optimism that records will be smashed again, and furthermore there will be plenty of opportunities to follow the action via the WSOP’s online streaming partner Poker Central.

“We’re looking forward to having Poker Central and ESPN tag team coverage for the WSOP again this year,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director. “Fans can expect stellar storylines and wall-to-wall coverage throughout the event and during the ‘Big One for One Drop.”

78-Event Schedule

The 2018 WSOP will be held from May 29th to July 17th at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino, and will feature buy-ins from $365 to $1 million, although online super satellites will be available from just $1. This year’s WSOP will feature 78-event tournaments, four more than in the previous year, and amongst the nine new tournaments making their debut are:

Event #2: $10k No-Limit Hold’em Super Turbo Bounty
Event #5: $100k No-Limit Hold’em High Roller
Event #11: PLO GIANT – $365 Pot-Limit Omaha
Event #34: $1k Double Stack No-Limit Hold’em
Event #47: $565 WSOP.com ONLINE Pot-Limit Omaha 6-Handed
Event #67: $1.5k Pot-Limit Omaha Bounty
Event #73: $1k Double Stack No-Limit Hold’em
Event #75: The Closer – $1.5k No-Limit Hold’em
Event #77: $50k No-Limit Hold’em High roller

$10k Main Event

Last year, Scott Blumstein won the $10k Main Event for $8.15 million, and this year the 26 year-old new Jersey pro will be vying to become one of a select group of players to claim back-to-back titles, namely Johnny Moss (1970/71), Doyle Brunson (1976/77), Stu Ungar (1980/81), and Johnny Chan (1987/1988).

The Main Event’s three starting days will take place from July 2-4, with Days 2A/B and 2C held on July 5-6, followed by a combined Day 3 on July 7. On July 11, the final table will then be set with nine finalists subsequently playing for three more days before determining a winner.

Coverage of all 13 days of the Main Event can be seen via a number of options, including ESPN/ESPN2, PokerGo, and the PokerCentral Twitch channel.

$1 Million One Drop

On July 15th, Event #78: The Big One for One Drop returns for its fourth iteration at the WSOP, with the $1 million buy-in event last held in Las Vegas back in 2014. Cirque du Soleil’s founder Guy Laliberté started the world’s most expensive tournament back in 2012, with its past winners including Antonio Esfandiari ($18,346,673), Dan Colman ($15,306,668), and Elton Tsang (€11,111,111).

The One Drop charity helps provide sustainable access to clean water in the poorer communities around the world, and since the WSOP and foundation partnered up has raised an incredible $20 million from the $1 million buy-in event.

“The Big One is an important landmark in the history of poker,” explains Ty Stewart. “Players that I meet here and there remind me on a constant basis that this history lives on and that they want to be a part of it. The thrill to compete for the chance of walking away with millions all the while contributing to an important cause – providing safe water access globally – has given strong roots to the event.”

Other Highlights

Amongst the other highlights poker fans can look forward to over the next few weeks is Event #7: COLOSSUS – $565 No-Limit Hold’em with the 6 day event getting underway this weekend. Next weekend, Event #21: $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em MILLIONAIRE MAKER will be held, while on June 15 the $50,000 Poker Players Championship will begin, which last year was won by UK player Elior Sion for $1,395,767.

Casino Workers Strike

One potential spoiler looming over this year’s WSOP is a casino workers strike that may be called over the next few days. More than 50,000 members of the city’s Culinary Union representing casino workers on the Strip and Downtown Las Vegas are due to have their contracts expire at midnight on Thursday, with the Union looking to secure new contracts supporting industry innovations, but not excessive automation that destroys jobs.

“Our industry must innovate without losing the human touch,” explains Geoconda Argüello-Kline, Secretary-Treasurer for the Culinary Union.

A strike is supported by a whole range of staff representing the catering side of the casino industry, including bartenders, cocktail servers, food servers, porters, and kitchen workers. It also has the potential to severely interfere with the enjoyment of the millions of tourists expected to visit Las Vegas during the WSOP, although the Rio is not one of the venues that’s at risk from the dispute, according to WSOP spokesperson Seth Palansky.