The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has just announced that the 51^st edition of the festival is set to take place on May 26 to July 15, 2020 and will once again be held at the Rio in Las Vegas. The world’s biggest and richest poker festival will once again feature more than $200 million in guarantees, with dozens of gold bracelets up for grabs.
Record-Breaking 50^th WSOP
The WSOP marked its 50^th year in 2019 with record-breaking numbers and massive success. The poker festival attracted a total of 187,298 entries, creating an astonishing $293,183,345 in total prize pool.
The inaugural BIG 50 No Limit Hold’em event also became the biggest ever live poker tournament of all time after drawing 28,371 entries. It was Femi Fashakin who emerged victorious, walking away with the $1,147,499 first-place prize.
The 2019 Main Event also created a new record as the second largest Main Event of all time with 8,569 entrants, just behind the 2006 edition which holds the all-time record of 8,773 entries. German pro Hossein Ensan triumphed in the event, defeating Dario Sammartino heads up to become the biggest winner of the festival and just the second German to capture a WSOP Main Event title. The Iranian native took home $10,000,000 and his maiden gold bracelet.
The festival’s signature events all exceeded the 5,000 entry mark, including the Deepstack No-Limit Hold’em, Double Stack, Monster Stack, Colossus, Crazy Eights, and Little One for One Drop, all of which are also expected to hit the Rio felt once again next year.
2020 WSOP Main Event Details                                                  
The 2020 WSOP Main Event is scheduled to take place on July 1-14, 2020, featuring three starting flights running on July 1-3. Survivors of the starting flights will advance to Day 2 taking place respectively on July 4 and 5. The fields will then come together on July 6, until a final table is reached. Finalists will take a one-day break and will return for a televised final table, with the winner declared on July 14.
The WSOP Main Event has been among the most well-attended events in the WSOP schedule, with players, both professionals and amateurs alike, from all over the globe travel to Vegas for a chance to walk away as multi-millionaires.
The 2019 WSOP Main Event saw the top 1,286 players each took home a slice of the massive $80,548,660 prize pool, with a min-cash of $15,000. The nine players who made it to the final table walked away with at least $1 million. Runner-up Sammartino earned $6 million as runner-up, while Alex Livingston, Garry Gates, and Kevin Maahs each banked $4 million, $3 million, and $2 million respectively for taking the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th spots.
Confirmed Events for 2020 WSOP
Apart from the Main Event, the WSOP has also set the date for the BIG 50 event, which takes place during the opening weekend of the festival. The event will have four starting flights which will kick off on May 28. Players can buy into the event for $500, and they will kickstart the action with 50,000 in starting chips, played in 50-minute levels.
The $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold’em Championship is also set to return next year, taking place from June 18-21. The 2019 event was captured by Florida player Howard Mash who defeated a huge 5,916-entry field for a top prize of $662,594.  The event is open for players aged 50 and up.
The dates for the Casino Employees, Poker Players Championship, Ladies Event, Millionaire Maker, Heads-up Championship and other WSOP signature events are yet to be announced, but the full schedule is expected to be made available in early 2020, during which the WSOP will have fully configured the slots for the rest of the events in the 2020 edition. Pre-registrations could begin by March or April.
Side Events & Satellites
The 2020 schedule will also be filled with plenty of side events with buy-ins starting from as low as $75. Satellites will also be running throughout the festival.
The Rio has been home to the WSOP for the last 15 years, and it will once again play host to the massive festival with its luxurious hotel rooms and a spacious ballroom space ready to accommodate players and guests.
The above dates are still subject to change. To follow the latest updates for the 2020 WSOP, visit the tournament’s official page.