World Series of Poker (WSOP) Comes to Europe This Fall

Harrah's Entertainment announced earlier this week that it is launching the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Europe this fall. This represents the first time ever that WSOP bracelets will be awarded at events outside of Las Vegas.

WSOP Europe events will be held at London Club International (LCI) casinos at different locations in the U.K. Three events during one poker series have been scheduled so far, and more are forthcoming.

The first WSOP Europe series will debut in London September 6-16, 2007. The WSOP Europe Main Event will be a six day 10,000 pound (USD $19,650 or 14,870 Euros) No-Limit Texas Hold'Em Championship. It will begin September 10 at LCI's Leicester Square, The Sportsman and Fifty. The playing field will be consolidated beginning September 13 at Leicester Square.

In his announcement, Jeffrey Pollack, World Series of Poker Commissioner said, "The World Series of Poker Europe will have a unique identity, style and flair, but will remain true to the 38-year tradition and heritage of the WSOP."

He added, "This new tournament has been designed with European players in mind, but registrants from every country are welcome. We hope it becomes an annual tradition for poker enthusiasts and a home for WSOP fans after the action concludes in Las Vegas each summer."

Pollack was quoted by CardPlayer as saying that as soon as he heard Harrah's was to buy LCI, he began working on how to bring the WSOP to Europe. He is aware that they are late into the tournament circuit in Europe. But he feels between his outstanding WSOP Europe Team, the brand recognition of the WSOP, and the fact that the WSOP bracelet is the most recognizable poker hardware globally will allow them to quickly catch up.

To make these tournaments uniquely European, Harrah's is debating whether to introduce a dress code, which is standard across many European casinos. For example, male poker players could be asked to wear blazers.

Harrah's shared that they are also debating whether to make the first few WSOP Europe events exclusive to only European players to make a splash in an already crowded European poker tourney scene, in their comments to CardPlayer. No decision been made on either of these proposals.

"We are honored to host this unique extension of the world's richest and oldest poker tournament," said Bill Timmins, chief executive officer of London Clubs International.

He added, "As the exclusive offline satellite host, LCI will enable players to compete in our poker rooms in London, Manchester, Nottingham, Southend and Brighton for a seat in every WSOP Europe event."

Online qualifiers are a slightly different story.

Harrah's is now prevented by the U.S. from directly acknowledging WSOP qualifiers from online poker sites. Many poker analysts feared this will slash 2007 WSOP attendance, since half to two thirds of the 8,773 players who entered the 2006 WSOP main event were online qualifiers (no official percentage has ever been confirmed).

But the U.K. Gambling Act of 2005, which goes into effect September 2007, will legally license and regulate online poker sites. So qualifying online to a WSOP Europe event would be no problem.

Pollack would only say "stay tuned" when asked whether Harrah's has plans to build an online site or to partner with existing online poker sites to provide WSOP satellites.

Beginning May 1, 2007 further details about structures, payout percentages and satellite dates and times for the WSOP Europe tournaments will be available on the World Series of Poker website (click here to visit it).

Since Harrah's reserves the right to cancel, change or modify the tournament or any tournament event, be sure to regularly check back on PokerPages Tournament Schedule page to keep up to date (click here to see WSOP Europe Schedule).

More Poker News Articles

World Series of Poker: Ante Up for Africa
12am Fri Jul 3rd, 2009

The Ante Up for Africa Charity Tournament is one of the biggest poker charity events of the year. This charity tournament supports the refugees from the Sudan region of Darfur. After nine hours of play, Alexander (Alex) Bolotin was crowned the champion of the Ante Up for Africa tournament and won $177,730 for his first place finish.

World Series of Poker Event 56: Matt Hawrilenko Takes Down Bracelet and $1 Million
12am Fri Jul 3rd, 2009

The $5,000 Six Handed No Limit Hold'em event was the last event to be held at the World Series of Poker 2009 before the famous Main Event starts. Event number 56 saw 928 players register for their chance to win the last bracelet to be offered this summer. The next bracelet of the Series will not be awarded until November when the Main Event final table wraps up. Adding to the excitement of this event, there was a total prize pool of over $4.3 million, and the winner of the event was guaranteed to come out a millionaire.

World Series of Poker Event 54: Tony Veckey Wins
12am Thu Jul 2nd, 2009

Event 54 sold out in a hurry as 2,818 people gobbled up all of the seats for the last low buy-in No Limit Hold''m tournament of the World Series of Poker. This was a new event added to satisfy the enormous public demand for this level of event. $1,500 from each of the entrants produced a prize pool of $3,846,570, with payouts down to 297.

World Series of Poker Event 52: German Jorg Peisert Wins
12am Wed Jul 1st, 2009

Jorg Peisert from Dusseldorf, Germany won the inaugural Triple Chance No Limit Hold'em event at this year's World Series of Poker. Peisert outlasted 853 other players who put up $3000 to play in this No Limit Hold'em event. The total prize pool was $2,357,040 and 81 players took home a cut. 81st place took home $5,892, but the lion's share, $506,800, went to Peisert. On the final day, Peisert started in 6th chip position and worked his way up to a chip juggernaut, eliminating players and collecting chips along the way. Notable players who cashed in this tournament include, Eric 'Rizen' Lynch (12th), An 'The Boss' Tran, Mike 'The Mad Genius of Poker' Caro (23rd), and Antonio 'The Magician' Esfandiari (24th).

World Series of Poker Event 53: New Orleans Resident David Halpern Wins
12am Wed Jul 1st, 2009

David Halpern from New Orleans, LA won the $1500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo 8-or Better Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Halpern outlasted 467 other players to win $159,048 for winning the tournament. Halpern has already cashed once this year (Pot Limit Omaha), but this is his first WSOP bracelet. The $657,455 prize pool was spread out amongst 48 players who cashed. Halpern battled William Kohler for over three hour heads-up. Battled is a strong word, as both players seemed enamored of each other and even went to dinner together during the break. They traded the chip lead back and forth until Kohler seized it for good. Other notable players who cashed includes Chad Brown (4th), Matt Savage (5th), Andy Bloch (23rd), and Norman Chad (32rd).

World Series of Poker event 49: David Bach Wins $50K HORSE Event
12am Wed Jul 1st, 2009

The 2009 $50,000 HORSE event attracted 95 of the world's best poker players. The number of entrants decreased from the previous year which attracted 148 entrants. As play began, player's speculated as to the reason why the numbers decreased so dramatically. Was it the economy? Was it Scotty Nguyen's drunken tirade last year? Many believed that it was ESPN's unfortunate decision to not televise this year's final table. Even though the field decreased, the players still had a full five days of play. 87 players would be eliminated on the way to a star studded final table. After 20 hours of play, David Bach was proclaimed the winner of the 2009 $50,000 HORSE event. He took home the bracelet, the Chip Reese Memorial trophy, and the $1,276,806 first place prize.

World Series of Poker Event 55: Abe Mosseri Wins First WSOP Bracelet
12am Wed Jul 1st, 2009

Abraham Mosseri from New York City won the $2,500 Deuce to Seven Lowball (Limit) event at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Mosseri outlasted 257 other players to win $165,513 and the accompanying gold bracelet. This is Mosseri's first WSOP bracelet and third cash. This was his 2nd final table of this year's Series. Mosseri and others amassed a prize pool of $593,400. Only 24 players got a piece of it though. Mosseri ended Day 1 in 13th place with 39,100 in chips. By the end of Day 2, Mosseri was the chip leader with 447,000. Mosseri maintained his chip lead through most of the day. It would come down to him and Masayoshi Tanaka, who started the day with second most chips. Tanaka had the lead as heads up began, but it was meant to be for Mosseri who played aggressively and caught cards at the right time to eventually eliminate Tanaka. Notables at today's final table included three time bracelet winner John Juanda (4th), Blair Rodman (5th) and Nam Le (9th). Daniel Negreanu cashed in 16th and Hasan Habib finished in 18th.

World Series of Poker Event 51: Carsten Joh Wins Sold Out NLHE Event
12am Tue Jun 30th, 2009

Carsten Joh defeated a sellout crowd to win his first bracelet in the penultimate $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event of 2009. Joh beat Andrew Chen heads up to bring home Germany's first bracelet of the Series. The event began with a largely amateur crowd, and the big names that made it to Day 2 quickly found themselves on the sidelines. Men Nguyen, Tony Cousineau, and Matt Brady outlasted most of the field but failed to make it to Day 3.

World Series of Poker Event 50: Greg 'FBT' Mueller Wins 2nd '09 Bracelet
12am Mon Jun 29th, 2009

The $1,500 Limit Hold'em Shootout should put to rest any questions about the skill required to play Limit. By the time the event was down to two players, it was a heads up match between the owners of the last two Limit bracelets awarded at the WSOP. Greg 'FBT' Mueller defeated Marc Naalden to win his second bracelet of the year, making him the fourth person to claim more than one in 2009. Naalden now has 1st and 2nd place finishes in Limit tournaments this year. He also cashed in a Mixed Hold'em event.

World Series of Poker Event 48: Brandon 'any2cantu' Cantu Wins
12am Sun Jun 28th, 2009

After finishing runner-up at a final table a week ago, Brandon Cantu got a second chance to win a second bracelet in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Split event. This time, Cantu closed the deal in a tough heads up match with Lee Watkinson and picked up the WSOP gold. Brandon 'any2cantu', known for his creative and sometimes loose style of play, was as shocked as everyone else when he turned over Aces more than ten times on Day 2. "This is the hottest streak I've ever been on in my life," he told Phil Hellmuth, who was eliminated in 14th place. By the time the field was narrowed to 25 players, Brandon had nearly 25% of the chips in play.