50th World Series of Poker Under Way as of 28th May

Posted:May 2019

May 28th of 2919 is very special day for poker players all over the world. It marks the beginning of the 50th anniversary of poker's most important annual event, The World Series of Poker.

Through the years, The World Series of Poker has brought fame and infamy to some of the best and worst poker players in the world. The series is scheduled to run from May 28th until July 16th with the "Main event" winner to be determined on July 16 in a showdown between the table’s final three players.

Qualifiers are being played across all major card rooms and even casino sites - good if you are looking to try out these casino games. With more qualifiers than ever before, there are more chances than ever for you to win your seat at this showcase event of the year.

Past winners of the Main Event three-time winners Johnny Moss (1970, 1971, 1974) and Stu Ungar (1980, 1981, 1997) as well as poker legends like Doyle Bronson (1976, 1977), all-time World Series bracelet leader Phil Helmuth (1989), Johnny Chan (1987, 1988), Chris Moneymaker (2003, the man credited with starting the poker craze) and defending champion John Cynn.

This year's WSOP will feature a record 89 gold bracelets to be awarded to the winners. This tops the previous record of 78 bracelets handed out at last year's event.

There will be a total of 80 live bracelet events taking place at the host site, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. There will also be another nine bracelets to be awarded for winners of online events at WSOP.com.

New Events for 2019

With 11 new WSOP bracelets being awarded this year, there’s a number of very interesting events being held.

The Big 50: Requires a $500 buy-in. This event is a $5 million guaranteed no-limit hold’em event that is scheduled to run from May 30 through June 7. The first buy-in will be rake-free for each player. This re-entry event was specially designed to commemorate the WSOP’s 50th anniversary.

The Bracelet Winners Only: Don't have to look much further than the name of this event to know what's required for entry. The event has a $1,500 buy-in, which is set as a no-limit hold’em event that is only open to the 1,078 gold bracelet winners who have already secured the WSOP’s highest honor over the years. Also qualifying for entry will be the 60 or so players who will join these ranks by winning one of the 2019 WSOP events settled before July 10.

The ‘Mini Main Event: New no-limit hold’em tournament that features the same starting stack and blind levels as the $10,000 Main Event world championship with two differences. The first material difference will be an entry fee of only $1,000 instead of $10,000. The other key difference is that the blind levels last only 30 minutes instead of the 120-minute for the Main Event.

The Gavin Smith Memorial Poker Tournament: A non-bracelet event (opening day, May 28). One-Half of each $200 buy-in will be contributed to the Gavin Smith Trust, which will serve as a help resource for family members of late poker pros.

You can find a list of the full 2019 schedule here: http://www.wsop.com/tournaments/