by Hillary LaClair, Senior Editor
April 25, 2009
Europe will see its third annual World Series of Poker this year in London. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has announced the dates for this year’s events, with tournaments running from mid-September through to October.
“The World Series of Poker Europe has quickly established itself as the most prestigious tournament outside the United States,” said Pollack. “Winning a gold bracelet is recognized globally as the top prize in the sport and we look forward to awarding four more bracelets in 2009 at the Casino at the Empire in London.”
The announcement of the 2009 WSOP Europe schedule comes just one month away from the start of the tournament series in Las Vegas at the Rio on May 26th. In London, the events will be held at the Casino at the Empire in historic Leicester Square – also home to the highly anticipated Poker in the Park.
Michael Silberling, COO of London Clubs International, commented in a press release distributed by Harrah’s, “The Casino at the Empire has quickly become the destination for poker in the U.K. We look forward to hosting the best players in the game for the WSOPE this fall and will continue to offer the finest poker action daily for those in Leicester Square.”
The commission has altered the schedule from that of the previous year. The buy-in for the opening No Limit Hold’em event has been dropped from £1,500 to £1,000 and the HORSE event has also been eliminated and replaced with a half Pot Limit Hold’em, half Pot Limit Omaha tournament with a £2,500 buy-in. The Main Event will be a five-day event with the first of two starting days slated for September 26.
Pre-registration is open for players at any London Clubs International venue in the United Kingdom. Players at the WSOP in Las Vegas can also preregister for WSOPE events at the tournament cage at the Rio Hotel and Casino. Betfair Poker, who is sponsoring the event, will host several satellite entry tournaments, as well as PokerStars and a number of other online poker rooms.
Here is the schedule of events as they were announced:
Friday, Sept. 18, 2009
Event #1: £1,060 No Limit Hold’em Day 1A
Saturday, Sept. 19, 2009:
Event #1: £1,060 No Limit Hold’em Day 1B
Monday, Sept. 21, 2009
Event #2: £2,650 – Pot Limit Hold’em/Pot Limit Omaha
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2009
Event #3: £5,250 Pot Limit Omaha
Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009
Event #4: £10,350 Main Event Day 1A
Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009
Event #4: £10,350 Main Event Day 1B
In addition to the four bracelet events, cash games and satellites will also be held, although specific details have not yet been announced. ESPN and ESPN 360 will broadcast the events as they unfold in the U.S., Europe, Mexico and Brazil.
Top traditional and online poker players have competed in WSOPE in the past, including Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Annie Duke, Phil Hellmuth, Dave Ulliott, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, Gus Hansen, Eric Seidel, Mike Matusow, Joe Hachem, Vanessa Rousso, Andy Bloch, David Benefield, Ivan Demidov, Sorel Mizzi, Jennifer Tilly, Layne Flack, Andrew Black, Barry Greenstein, Tom Dwan, Chris Ferguson, Scotty Nguyen, Max Pescatori, Chris Bjorin, Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Patrik Antonius, John Phan and Annette Obrestad.
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