2017 WSOP Dates Announced

(Photo: WSOP.com)

It feels like we’ve hardly finished the 2016 series, but the dates for the World Series of Poker 2017 have already been released!

Kicking off on May 30th, the 48th WSOP – the longest running, richest and most prestigious tournament series – will open its doors once again at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas for 49 days of action culminating in the Main Event final table being set on Monday, July 17, 2017.

Announcing the dates yesterday, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said:

"We want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and best wishes for a safe and successful 2017. We are busy trying to finalize the entire 2017 WSOP schedule. We anticipate a similar series to last year with a few new wrinkles, but ensuring a broad array of options to satisfy every potential participant.”

So, not a complete schedule quite yet, but enough to know that the big favorites from this year will return – including the Colossus, Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, Little One for ONE DROP, Seniors Event and Ladies Championship.

2016 saw record-breaking attendances at the Rio, and the figures are indeed astonishing, the WSOP organising team stating that:

"The average WSOP gold bracelet event in 2016 featured a $3,205,961 prize pool with $555,475 going to the event’s winner.”

The 107,833 total entries at the 2016 WSOP was “the most in the event’s 47-year history” and saw a record 15,767 entrants walking away with prize money, with the WSOP’s new 15% target payout structure utilized for the first time.’

(Photo: WSOP.com)

Of course, 2016’s WSOP was memorable for a number of reasons - Jason Mercier’s nail-biting prop bet with Vanessa Selbst, the return of villains Chris Ferguson and Howard Lederer, William Kassouf’s ‘TV show’ and finally Qui Nguyen’s amazing run to the Main Event bracelet and the $8million payday.

Can 2017 top the incredible stories from this year? Time will tell, but it’s going to be a tough act to follow!