The World Series of Poker (WSOP) may still be a few months away, but those looking to play poker and rack up WSOP hardware in Sin City only have to wait one more day. On Thursday, the WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas gets underway with 12 days of Circuit action and 12 rings up for grabs. Play in Event 1, a $365 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event, and continues through Monday Febraury 18th.
Las Vegas has been a destination on the Circuit schedule since its inception in 2005, but its home casino has changed a bit over the years. The event originally took place at the Rio, but ever since the second Circuit season, Caesars Palace has been the home of the event. This stop is always on of the more pro-heavy events on the tour thanks to its Las Vegas locale. A glimpse at the long list of past Caesars Palace Las Vegas Main Event winners reveal several notable names, including Allen Cunningham, Justin Bonomo, Andrew Lichtenberger, and reigning Main Event champ Kevin Calenzo.
Last year, Calenzo defeated a field of more than 650 to pick up almost $200,000, a Circuit ring, and a seat into the 2012 WSOP National Championship. Like last year, this year the Main Event winner and the Caesars Palace Casino Champion will each earn a seat in the WSOP National Championship presented by Southern Comfort 100 Proof.
Some of the noteworthy events on this schedule include an opening weekend $365 re-entry event, a $1,125 No Limit Hold’em event on Monday the 11th, a $365 Pot Limit Omaha event, and, of course, the $1,675 buy-in single re-entry Main Event. This Main Event features two separate starting days, with Day 1A running on Friday February 15th and Day 1B running on Saturday February 16th. The final table of the Main Event is on Monday the 18th and will be livestreamed on ESPN3 with hole cards and commentary from Circuit host Bernard Lee.
A full schedule of events is available on WSOP.com. More information about the Caesars Palace Las Vegas Poker Room can be found on their website. If you want to keep up with the action on Twitter, be sure to follow @WSOP and @CLVPoker for updates.
The Circuit Blog will also be frequently posting on the action, including all the latest news, winners, and happenings during the event.
Caesars Palace Las Vegas is located in the heart of the Las Vegas strip, which means participants in this year’s Circuit event should have no problem getting around town and taking in all the Strip has to offer. More information about booking a hotel room for the event is available on the Caesars Palace Poker Room website as well. For those who haven’t visited Caesars Palace in a while, there are several new additions to the property, including the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill, a variety of new shops, and the recently opened Nobu Tower, which features world class luxury hotel rooms as well as the world’s largest Nobu restaurant with 327 seats spread across 11,200 square feet.