Poker Writer
The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) is once again taking place in Rozvadov, a tiny town on the Western border of the Czech Republic. Hopefully, it’s for the last time.
Since 2017, King’s Resort has hosted the WSOPE each year except 2020. If the WSOP wishes to realize the full potential of the event, it must relocate it from its current tired and bland location.
Players Sick of Rozvadov
One of Italy’s most successful pros, Mustapha Kanit, criticized the WSOP on X for placing the series in the same spot again.
From all the places in Europe how the **** you end up organizing the wsope in rozvadov. Over and over.
Even if you win you don’t want to go back there.
That place is bad for poker. Bad for the soul.
I hope they found a location one day because I would like to play that main.
Kanit, who has played all over Europe, made the point that there are so many other places where the WSOPE could be hosted. He expanded on why Rozvadov is a poor location.
WSOP is the best brand, and their only series in Europe is literally in one of the worst places I’ve been in Europe. No history. No culture.
Several players agreed with Kanit’s sentiment. Nacho Barbero called King’s “the worst venue I have ever been to,” and Tony Dunst said he “went once and will never, ever go back.”
Rozvadov’s Secluded Location
Rozvadov is in the middle of nowhere in Central Europe. The municipality is located on the far Western border of Czechia, only a few miles from Germany. There is no large city nearby, with the closest being Nuremberg, Germany, about 90 minutes away.
This forces incoming players to drive a couple of hours from Prague or Germany to get to Kings Casino.
Through personal experience, I can attest that the venue itself does not make up for the seclusion. It is a drab and basic casino hotel resort on the outskirts of a very small town. The town, with a population of about 800, has one small supermarket and not much else. Arranging cars to and from the casino can be challenging, even with help from King’s staff.
One trip is certainly enough to make you wish to not come back, as Dunst suggested.
Food options are limited to the buffet on site and a single nearby restaurant which has very limited seating.
Killing Potential of WSOPE
The WSOPE should be a huge event, the complement to the summer WSOP in Las Vegas. Instead, the location is the exact opposite to the glamor of Vegas.
European poker players are used to playing in glitzy spots on the European Poker Tour and other tours. Some of the popular poker destinations in Europe include London, Monte Carlo, Paris, and right on the beach in Barcelona.
Jesse Lonis pointed out how much better the WSOP brand could be in Europe with a better location:
Put it in a huge exotic Europe city somewhere. The field sizes would be 5 times the size.
Rozvadov does draw some local money from nearby Germany. But overall, the field sizes undoubtedly suffer from the difficult-to-reach location.
While live poker events in general have exploded worldwide, including in the U.K. with the Goliath and in other European events like in Barcelona, the WSOPE fields have remained relatively stagnant with only mild growth. The 2024 WSOPE Main Event saw a drop in entries from 817 in 2023 to 768. These fields are less than 10% the size of the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
A more prominent European location would certainly draw larger numbers. It would also be more likely to attract players from the U.S., Asia, and elsewhere.
Lack of Buzz Online
There has also been a noticeable lack of media attention and player buzz on this year’s WSOPE. Four-time WSOP bracelet winner David Baker made this observation on X this week:
I scroll X 16 hours a day
I love the WSOPI didn’t know WSOP Europe was going on until yesterday
Seems like maybe they missed an opportunity to promote this series
A few other players, such as 2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams and 11-time circuit ring winner John Holley echoed Baker’s thoughts.
The lack of buzz online can be attributed to the stale nature of the series. There is nothing new or buzzworthy about Rozvadov anymore in the eighth year of being at the same location. Returning to the same location each year, one which offers nothing to the players outside of the poker action, continually diminishes its attractiveness.
Deeb Goes Against Grain and Wins Bracelet
Going against the grain of negativity about Rozvadov was Shaun Deeb who defended the longtime WSOPE location.
It’s last year here but I think this was one of the best stops for so long I enjoy good poker action and no distractions this place was always perfect for me and looked forward to it. And yes I felt this way before winning a bracelet here
Deeb mentioned that this year is the last one in Rozvadov, which was also hinted at by others, suggesting that the Czech capital, Prague, is the next destination.
The 2025 WSOP Player of the Year cited the lack of distractions as a positive for Rozvadov. A lack of distractions paid dividends for him this week as he won his eighth career bracelet in a 38-entry field, his second bracelet of the year.
Kabrhel Wins on Home Turf
One player who appreciates the WSOPE being in Czechia is home country hero Martin Kabrhel. With big success at King’s in the past, he added more this week with his fifth career bracelet.
After a breakout summer at the WSOP in Vegas, where he finished in the top five of the Player of the Year race, his strong 2025 continued.
Kabrhel won the €10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Mystery Bounty event. That one also had a small field of 88 entries, and Kabrhel added to his collection of wins at WSOPE. He has been one of the most successful players at Rozvadov, collecting four bracelets there, along with five WSOP Circuit rings.
