WSOP 2025 — Reasons (Not) to Go This Year

5 Reasons to Go to the WSOP 2025 for the First Time

1. Crowds should be smaller this year ✅
   This is also going to appear on the other list, but if you are looking for a chance to play poker at the World Series but were worried about the crowds, WSOP 2025 may be the year to go. International tourism has taken a hit in the Unites States, and while flights may be reduced, the hotel rooms will be there and at potentially lower prices looking to lure tourists to Sin City.  Not every cost in Las Vegas will be lower but expect less issues getting a hotel room at Paris, Horseshoe or one of the close hotels to minimize your commute to your table.
2. More choice for lower bankroll players ✅
   This year’s schedule feels like it has more choice for poker players with smaller bankrolls and those not looking to go all-in on the main event. The lowest in-person bracelet event being the Gladiators of Poker $300 buy-in that takes place the last week of June, not to mention the COLOSSUS, and the other events with $500, $600 and $800 buy-ins, there is a sizable schedule available to players looking to risk small amounts at the glory of a bracelet.
3. Online Influence ✅
   This is the first year that the GGPoker brand has owned and managed the series, so expect that one of the industry leaders in online poker will have a positive effect on the schedule, the events around the series, and the overall experience. If recent WSOP Paradise events are an indication, this should be positive for poker players attending the series
4. Poker Popularity ✅
   Poker’s popularity around the world is on the rise and the numbers at many of the bigger stops for the WSOP Circuit, the EPT, and WPT have grown – not to mention the return of some live series like from partypoker. With the rise in popularity, there has been a flood of new players into the game, some of which may be going to the WSOP 2025 for the first time. Therefore, expect to see some players looking like deer in the headlights, and potentially ripe to give up their chips before others.
5. WSOP App ✅
   Although in its infancy, the new WSOP App is poised to be a game changer when it comes to streamlining the information flow to players. Notifications, registration, and tournament clocks are all contained within the app that you can download and use at your leisure. The app arms players with everything they need to know about WSOP 2025.

5 Reasons Not to Go to the WSOP 2025 for the First Time

1. Border Issues ❌
   We’ve previously covered this, but potential issues with having your personal devices searched at air borders, to having to register if you are a foreign national staying in the US longer than 30 days may deter players from making the trek to Las Vegas from outside the United States.
2. Expenses ❌
   While hotel rooms might be marginally more affordable, resort fees and food continue to eat away at poker player’s budgets. A recent survey found that food alone in Las Vegas is higher than the national average in the US, and that’s not considering premiums you’ll pay to eat on the strip. Since many poker tournaments have a dinner break in the evening, you’ll need a plan to cover food to last the long days and nights at the series if you don’t want to spend more on food than your poker tournaments.
3. License Requirements for Flights ❌
   While many states already have enhanced licenses but in May, the rules for flying changed, forcing travelers to have real ID to board airplanes – this means in States where this has not been fully implemented, players will need to get new driver’s licenses or use their passport to fly to Las Vegas. Not an issue for some who have this, or are close enough to drive, but for those who can’t drive and don’t have this already makes travelling to Vegas next to impossible.
4. Rake ❌
   With the purchase of the WSOP brand by GGPoker, it appears that the rake on most events have gone up slightly – in most cases up only a percentage point, but that’s a lot more money being taken away from prize pools and devoted to paying the dealers, the tournament staff, and the infrastructure needed to run the series. If you believe more rake is good, then go for it but most poker players feel that they pay enough rake as they are.
5. World Issues ❌
   The number of countries fighting with each other currently is alarming and there’s no guarantee that the battles will stop anytime soon. Having relatives, loved ones or friends in Ukraine, India, Pakistan, or any other region experiencing fighting will be unnerving as it is, but also given the economic situation  with tariffs being applied and retaliatory tariffs in response, the world is a chaotic place at the moment and it will be enough to stop some poker players – domestically or internationally – from heading to Vegas as who knows what the world economy will look like next week, let alone in a month or two.

At the end of the day, everyone will have their own reasons for deciding whether to go to the WSOP 2025 or not. If you are the type that has playing the World Series on their bucket list and are considering going this year, no one will blame you for going given everything going on in the world, or not going given the challenges flying to Las Vegas could pose domestically or internationally – let alone these or other reasons that will impact your decision. 

If you go – do your research before hand and have a plan for your entire trip.  If you don’t go – plan to cross it off your bucket list sooner than later as who knows what the situation in the world twelve months from will be now.