Holding the event in California and not Las Vegas isn’t sitting well with some players
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) recently announced its schedule of events and all the details for the upcoming Tournament of Champions. The tournament will take place from May 22 to 24 at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. It will run immediately after the season’s last WSOP Circuit event, which will be hosted at the same venue.
“For years, the Commerce has been the home of poker in Los Angeles and one of the leading card rooms in the world,” said WSOP Senior Vice President Ty Stewart. “We look forward to kicking off our new strategic relationship with a special WSOP Circuit finale and the Tournament of Champions bracelet event. We also look forward to qualifying more players from Los Angeles for the WSOP Main Event than ever before.”
Players who won a WSOP bracelet or WSOP-C Ring over the last year will be invited to the Tournament of Champions freeroll event, which awards the winner a WSOP bracelet and a share of the $1 million guaranteed prize pool.
The decision to relocate the event to Los Angeles has proved unpopular among most eligible players, as they expected the tournament to be played during the WSOP this summer in Las Vegas. Not only will players have to pay to travel to the freeroll event, but anyone who cashes will have to pay a 7% tournament tax on their winnings in Los Angeles.
Criticizers have commented that the venue change was made to boost numbers at the final WSOP-C event at the Commerce. Eighteen rings are up for grabs at the series, with winners qualifying for the Tournament of Champions.
