The World Series Of Poker (WSOP), owned by Caesars Entertainment, Inc., has confirmed its relocation to the Vegas Strip for its 53rd annual event next year. The tournament will be held at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas.
The WSOP (World Series of Poker) is set to take place between May 31 and July 19, 2022. After a few years of deviating from its usual schedule, the poker tournament will be returning to its customary summer time slot.
After Caesars announced the sale of the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in 2019, speculation arose about the new location of the WSOP.
There is a lot of excitement about the prestigious tournament moving to the center of the famous Las Vegas Strip after a 17-year stint at Rio.
Ty Stewart, Senior Vice President of WSOP, said in a statement:
“We are extremely pleased with the turnout this year, both from within the country and overseas. As we conclude this phase at the Rio, we’re thrilled to have the legendary Vince Vaughn inaugurate a new epoch of WSOP at Bally’s and Paris next summer.”
In January 2022, Caesars and WSOP will release a comprehensive schedule of events.
Vince Vaughn named Master of Ceremonies
The 53rd annual WSOP will have Vince Vaughn as its official celebrity Master of Ceremonies.
The “Wedding Crashers” star, Vaughn, who has been a poker player for a significant portion of his life, is set to take on this role for a good reason. He is eagerly anticipating participating in the 2022 WSOP.
Being a long-time fan of poker, it’s a dream come true for me to witness something as historic as the WSOP finally shifting to the Strip. Vegas, here we come!
WSOP taking Covid-19 in stride
The WSOP primarily conducted their event online last year, creating a unique hybrid format for it.
Though not the best solution, this method helped to keep the event going when majority of the global population was staying indoors to curb the spread of Covid-19.
Participants were required to have Covid-19 vaccinations to ensure the comfort of more players in a room with thousands of poker players.
This year saw the world’s largest poker tournament postponed to fall. Coincidentally, the US opened its borders to international tourists around the same time as the start of the WSOP. But that was probably just a coincidence, right?
The number of participants, 6,650, was less than the 8,569 entries in 2019.
Nonetheless, neither the organizers nor the participants were disappointed by the number of players this year.
WSOP 2021 crowns champ in final year at Rio
German Koray Aldemir was crowned Champion of the 52nd World Series of Poker. On November 17, Aldemir secured his first WSOP Main Event victory, outperforming 6,650 players.
Winning the WSOP Main Event, Aldemir received a prize of $8,000,000.
He’s also the proud winner of the much-coveted championship bracelet, a stunning piece crafted from 10k yellow and white gold and adorned with 2,230 rubies, white and black diamonds.
Regarding his WSOP victory, Aldemir stated the following:
“It was an incredible feeling. The final table is the pinnacle of global poker, so it’s like a dream realized. Likely, every poker player envisions this moment as they watch, thinking ‘perhaps that could be me someday’.”
While this wasn’t the largest field for WSOP, the 6,650 entries made a powerful impact, particularly considering the impact of Covid-19.
The final event of this year’s WSOP began at approximately 2 p.m. on Nov. 17 and extended beyond dinner time into the late evening.
The last three players standing were Aldemir, Jack Oliver, and George Holmes. Oliver was the first one to be eliminated. The final showdown was between Holmes and Aldemir, which lasted just over six and a half hours into the night.
Aldemir won the 2021 WSOP World Championship title on the 223rd hand of the final duel between the last two players.
The final hand began with Aldemir accepting Holmes’ 6,000,000 bet and concluded with Holmes going all in for 133,000,000. Aldemir emerged victorious, holding two pairs of tens and sevens.
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