The World Series of Poker just released its schedule for 2012 including details on new events, the $1 million Big One and the introduction of the October Nine.
With 61 bracelets up for grabs, three more than 2011, the biggest changes to this summer’s WSOP come in the way of a shorter Main Event final table delay and the world’s first $1 million buy-in tournament.
Things kicks off in earnest on May 28th with a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event, that’s one day after the series officially starts with a non-bracelet $500 Casino Employees event.
The first bracelet event is one of 21 tournaments available to players at the $1,500 buy-in level.
New Bracelet Events for 2012
New events for 2012 include the aforementioned $1 million Big One, a $3,000 Mixed NLHE/PLO Heads-Up event, a $5,000 event following the same “Mix-Max” format we saw at the WSOP Europe in Cannes, a $2,500 four-handed No-Limit Hold’em event and a $1,500 Ante Only tournament.
The $50k Players Championship will play out over five days beginning on June 24th and will use the same eight-game mix from last year. The Big One, the only event that outdoes the Players Championship in terms of buy-in, will begin on July 1.
There will be a total of five open $1,000 tournaments, plus the $1,000 Seniors and Ladies events, comprising the summer's lowest buy-in bracelet events.
There will be seven $10k Championship events, including the Main Event.
New October Nine Delayed Final Table for Main Event
The WSOP has also announced expanded playing space in the Rio Hotel Convention Center. 470 poker tables are expected to be in use throughout the series. That’s 92 more than 2011, an increase of almost 25%.
The Main Event has undergone the most visible changes. The traditional four Day 1 heats have been cut to three, but a third Day 2 flight has been added. There will be no day off before the Day 2 flights as we saw in 2011.
The November Nine delayed final table has been moved up roughly a week to the end of October, but with the exception of now being an October Nine, it looks much the same as last year.
PokerListings.com will be in Las Vegas for the entire 2012 World Series of Poker so follow along with us in our 2012 WSOP Live Updates or on Twitter and Facebook for an up-close look at all the action.
