Dates, Venues and More!

The 2010 World Series of Poker has scheduled in the official Circuit Event, including dates, venues, competitions and more. For a full low-down on what to expect, keep reading.

After last year's 10-stop WSOP Circuit Event, Harrah's has bumped up the 2010 schedule to include 11 stops spanning over 250 miles across Indiana and an eight month period beginning from October 16th 2009. The 11th stop in St. Louis will offer poker players located in around the Midwest an accessible entry-point into the competition, in the same way the that World Poker Tour will also offer a stop there for the first time.

Harrah's released the final Circuit Event schedule last Friday, outlining everything from dates and venues to times and reigning champions taking part in each event. While the specifics for each of the stops making up the circuit have not yet been released, the stops themselves are all available and ready to be booked into the calendar.

One of the main differences between the WSOP Vegas events and the Circuit event is that the winning players are uniquely awarded gold rings instead of the traditional bracelet. In addition, the buy-in for the main event is set at exactly half of that of the Vegas main event buy-in - $5,000. According to the Chief Marketing Officer of Harrah's, David Norton, the WSOP Circuit Event is highly effective in drawing people into the company's venues. Once there, he explains, everyone is treated to a quality poker playing experience despite their level of skill or familiarity with the casino.

Similarly, Jeffrey Pollack, the WSOP Commissioner, believes that the Circuit Event offers players the rare opportunity to see what a live tournament is like, as well as the WSOP itself. He added that the experience will be "best in class" with the combination of quality poker and a local touch. It will also make the WSOP more accessible to amateur players since the buy-in for the preliminary rounds is generally set at about $250.

The first stop is currently set to take place on October 16th at the Horseshoe Hammond in Chicago, featuring Steve "MrSmokey1" Billirakis. It will then progress on to the Luoisville Horseshoe Southern Indiana on October 23rd to see Samuel Oberlin compete. Fast-track nine stops later and it will arrive at Harrah's in New Orleans on May 7th 2010 with Jean "Prince" Gaspard for the final showdown!