Editor
The World Series of Poker has announced the schedule for the second half of the 2025 Circuit season. This will be the last run for the split-year season format. The 2026 season will run in a single stretch from January to December.
Another significant change for next year is that the WSOP will retire the $1 million Tournament of Champions freeroll that traditionally takes place during the mid-season break.
Instead of entry to the Tournament of Champions, next year’s WSOP Circuit ring winners will earn a “$5k Ticket to Paradise” – a non-transferable and non-refundable package that includes $2,500 in tournament buy-ins, plus a similar amount towards accommodations in the Bahamas.
Players who won a ring in the first half of this year earned entry to the 2025 Tournament of Champions, which already took place in May. Accordingly, they are not eligible for a Ticket to Paradise unless they win a second ring in the second half of the season.
Familiar Haunts and Favorite Spots
The second half of 2025 has tons of poker on the schedule with 17 domestic stops and 12 international stops. The season kicks off July 16 at the Choctaw Casino Resort. Harrah’s Cherokee will also host two stops, and the Circuit will return to other player-favorite stops like Horseshoe Hammond, Harrah’s Pompano Beach, and Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe.
Some other older venues are making a reappearance. After a few years off the schedule, the WSOP Circuit will be returning to Harrah’s Atlantic City, Caesars New Orleans, and Horseshoe Council Bluffs. International Circuit stops include Playground Poker in Montreal, WSOP Europe in Rozvadov and San Remo, Italy.
“The WSOP Circuit continues to be the biggest live tournament series in the world, bringing the excitement and prestige of WSOP action across the globe,” said Ty Stewart, CEO of WSOP. “Continuing to elevate the WSOP-C is a strategic focus of ours, and we hope that players enjoy the new benefit of winning any WSOP Circuit gold ring this fall.”
The WSOP Paradise series will once again take place at the Atlantis Resort from December 3 to 14. Following a successful rollout at the ongoing summer WSOP, all future WSOP Circuit stops will use the WSOP+ app and platform for all events. Feedback about the app has been largely positive, as it speeds up the registration process and also assists reporters in providing live coverage.
Farewell to the Tournament of Champions
The Circuit’s Tournament of Champions debuted as the National Championship in 2012 with a ring and points system to qualify players. From there, it morphed into the Global Casino Championship before turning into a bracelet event in 2022, using a combination of bracelet and ring winners as qualifiers.
The original National Championship provided amazing value for players, as it was a $1 million freeroll for the top 100 players, equating to $10,000 in equity per seat. The switch to the Global Casino Championship was off-putting to many Circuit players because the addition of bracelet winners to the field without a corresponding increase in the prize pool drastically reduced the statistical value for each qualifier.
Although the Tickets to Paradise are also worth less than $10,000, they are at least fixed in value and won’t be diluted if WSOP decides to award them to others.
What Can We Expect?
The 2025 TOC had 1,169 eligible participants, though only 485 made the trip to attend the event at the Commerce. The last full year of the Circuit generated $168 million in prize pools across 45 locations and nearly 300,000 entrants.
Assuming all stops have 12 events (which is the minimum, though Cherokee, at least, will host 18), the WSOP will qualify 348 players for the Bahamas. The move will ultimately cost the WSOP $1.74 million rather than the $1 million annually earmarked for the event.
However, the majority of those winners will be winning their Tickets in events with an average buy-in between $400 and $600. Will those working-class players be able to take advantage of the international travel involved?
Most likely, no. If we look at the 41% that showed up in May for the TOC, then it’s logical to assume that they’ll average about the same in December and have 143 players make the trip. If that happens, then the WSOP will be getting a massive discount on its promotion and will spend only $715,000.
Then, factor in that roughly 120 qualifiers come from the International Circuit and produce fewer players traveling to the event. Being generous, we’ll assume that 40% of the international qualifiers make the trip and the total number of entrants could drop closer to 100 players at the felt, costing the WSOP just $500,000.
2025 WSOP Circuit Domestic Schedule
- Choctaw Casino Resort (Durant, OK) – July 16 – July 27
- Harrah’s Cherokee (Cherokee, NC) – August 7 – August 18
- Harrah’s Atlantic City (Atlantic City, NJ) – August 14 – August 25
- Graton Resort and Casino (Rohnert Park, CA) – August 14 – August 25
- Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Council Bluffs, IA) – September 4 – September 15
- Horseshoe Hammond (Hammond, IN) – September 11 – September 22
- Caesar’s Southern Indiana (Elizabeth, IN) – September 18 – September 29
- Thunder Valley Casino Resort (Lincoln, CA) – September 25 – October 6
- Horseshoe Baltimore (Baltimore, MD) – October 2 – October 13
- Harrah’s Pompano Beach (Pompano Beach, FL) – October 9 – October 20
- Caesars Republic Lake Tahoe (Lake Tahoe, NV) – October 23 – November 3
- Choctaw Casino Resort (Durant, OK) – October 29 – November 9
- Grand Victoria Casino (Chicago, IL) – November 6 – November 17
- Commerce Casino (Los Angeles, CA) – November 6 – November 24
- Harrah’s Cherokee (Cherokee, NC) – November 27 – December 8
- Horseshoe Las Vegas (Las Vegas, NV) – December 4 – December 16
2025 WSOP Circuit International Schedule
- Olympic Casino (Tallin, Estonia) – July 25 – August 3
- Card Casino (Bratislava, Slovakia) – August 1 – August 12
- Playground Poker (Kahnawake, Canada) – August 18 – September 2
- WSOP Europe (Rozvadov, Czechia) – September 17 – October 8
- Deerfoot Inn & Casino (Calgary, Canada) – October 1 – October 13
- Merit Royal Diamond (North Cyprus) – October 9 – October 21
- King’s Resort (Rozvadov, Czechia) – October 22 – November 4
- Playground Poker (Kahnawake, Canada) – November 3 – November 18
- Hilton Hotel (Panama City, Panama) – November 6 – November 16
- Dusk Till Dawn Poker Club (Nottingham, UK) – November 14 – November 24
- Casino Sanremo (Sanremo, Italy) – November 21 – December 2
