WSOP

The long awaited and much anticipated schedule for the 56th annual World Series of Poker has been revealed. The series will take place at the linked casinos of the Horseshoe (formerly Ballys) and Paris in Las Vegas from May-July 2025.

The 2025 schedule will feature the return of a number of popular events, including the Mystery Millions, Millionaire Maker, and the Senior’s Championship, while new events will also be part of the 2025 World Series of Poker schedule.

For the first time in the history of the live poker series, WSOP comes a total of 100 bracelet events. This marks a milestone for the event post its sale to GGPoker’s parent firm NSUS Group for $500 million in 2024. 

WSOP satellites are taking place exclusively at GGPoker.com for players worldwide (outside of the United States).

The series takes place at the linked casinos of the Horseshoe (formerly Ballys) and Paris in Las Vegas from May-July 2025.

Overall, the schedule is similar to last year's, with a few minor changes and additions, and for the first time in World Series of Poker history there will be a total of 100 live bracelet events.

Buy-ins for the 2025 WSOP range from $300 to $250,000 and full details of the 2025 WSOP Bracelet Event Schedule are available on this page.

The World Series of Poker 2025 will again be live streaming online.

Further information will be available in the near future. Check back here for updates.

The WSOP was the vision of Benny Binion, who rebranded a downtown Vegas casino as Binion’s Horseshoe in 1951. 

The former Dallas gangster always looked for some media attention to bring in gamblers and believed a high-stakes poker game featuring some of the best players in the country could do just that.

That first event brought in only a handful of players, many from Texas, including poker legends like Doyle Brunson, Johnny Moss, and Amarillo Slim Preston. 

That initial WSOP didn’t even feature a tournament. Those in attendance played cash games in various formats with the players voting Moss as the best all-around player.

A Texas Hold’em tournament format became the norm the next year and Moss won again. In 1972, the main tournament buy-in (now known as the Main Event) was set at $10,000, and still carries this price point today. 

Amarillo Slim took the title and several appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson followed. Seen as a seedy game at the time by many, Slim’s humorous stories gave a unique insight into the game and some nice media attention.

The series continued to grow in the coming years with increasing numbers of players and additional side events growing the festival’s schedule. In 1976, Binion added what has become the best-known trophy in poker with gold bracelets handed out to winners.

As of 2023, Phil Hellmuth remained at the top of the bracelet standings with 16. He became the youngest player to ever win the Main Event at the time when he took down the tournament in 1989 for $755,000. He now has $16.8 million in WSOP winnings.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Jellmuth said of his own win. “My dad flew out to support me, just on the chance that I won it. It was the first time he ever attended any tournament. Embracing him after winning the 1989 WSOP was one of the sweetest moments of my life. Winning the Main Event was my number one life goal. Luckily, I pulled it off early in my career.”

The series continued to grow both in number of players and events in the coming years. By 1991 the Main Event payout topped $1 million for the first time, remaining so for about a decade. With the popularity of online poker and televised poker, however, the series exploded in the 2000s.

The World Poker Tour debuted on the Travel Channel in March 2003, allowing viewers to see players’ hole cards for the first time and to see how they played. Tournament entries ballooned and online poker also saw massive growth.

Then in May 2003, Chris Moneymaker won an online satellite and went on to win the Main Event for the bracelet and $2.5 million. With a media-friendly perfect surname, Moneymaker proved an amateur could conquer the pros – inspiring poker fans around the world.

The boom continued in the 2000s with massive tournament fields throughout the world and WSOP broadcasts on ESPN drawing major ratings numbers. In 2004, Harrah's Entertainment (now Caesars Entertainment) purchased the rights to the WSOP and moved the series to Rio.

In 2006, Jaime Gold won the Main Event for $12 million. This remains the largest Main Event in series history, attracting 8,773 entries for an $82.5 million prize pool. The WSOP also began moving beyond its Sin City roots with smaller circuits and events played out all over the world.

Recent years have seen a poker resurgence with live streaming on sites like Twitch, YouTube, and PokerGO continuing to grow the game. Online poker continues to see massive numbers in the wake of= the pandemic. 

This has all benefited the WSOP and organizers are using promotions like “Main Event Mania” and “Main Event for Life” in hopes of setting a new record in 2023.

After the 2024 WSOP, Caesars Entertainment announced it had agreed to sell the World Series of Poker brand to NSUS Group, the powerhouse behind GGPoker, for a landmark $500 million. 

Many legends of poker have reached the winner’s circle in the WSOP Main Event and in other key tournaments. Here’s a look at just a few who stand out.

This Texan won the first two Main Event in 1970 and ‘71 then went on to win the title again in 1974. In total, he won nine bracelets and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1979. The lifelong poker player passed away in 1979.

This Texan won the Main Event in 1972 and helped poker earn some of its earliest media attention with his humorous stories on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

The winner of the Main Event in 1976 and ‘77, Brunson remains one of the most respected players in poker. Even into his 80s, the Texan plays some of the biggest cash games in the world. He has a total of 10 WSOP bracelets as well as remains the oldest player ever to win a WOPT title. In 1979, the Hall of Famer also authored Super/System. Many consider the book to be the authoritative to modern poker strategy.

Another Texan, Straus won the 1982 Main Event after being down to a single chip at one point. His comeback victory gave rise to the popular poker saying, “All you need is a chip and a chair.”

After the series was dominated by Texans and southerners in the early days, New Yorker Ungar emerged as the winner of the Main Event in 1980 and ‘81. A gifted card player, many credit Ungar as being one of the best players in history. He became one of only two players, along with Moss, to win the Main Event for a third time in 1997. However in November 1998, Ungar was found dead in a Las Vegas motel room. His death was attributed to a heart condition after years of drug abuse.

This card-playing savant originally from China, who later emigrated to Houston, Texas, became known as “The Orient Express” after winning back-to-0backl Main Event titles in 1987 and ‘88.. He came close to claiming three in a row, but lost in a heads-up battle with Phil Hellmuth in 1989. Chan made a memorable cameo in the poker Rounders in 1998. He is tied with Brunson and Phil Ivey in WSOP bracelets with 10.

His everyman story of winning the 2003 in front of ESPN cameras after winning a seta on PokerStars helped spark the poker boom of the 2000s. Average Joe players around the world now dreamed of getting in the action. Online poker surged as well.

Winner of the 2006 Main Event, which remains the largest in history. The Los Angeles-based talent agent and television producer took down the tournament for $12 million. The tournament field saw 8,773 players for an $82,5 million.