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WSOP Announces Revamped Circuit Tour, with National Championship

Faced with relatively poor attendance in circuit events this year, the World Series of Poker is changing things up in the upcoming season of the WSOP Circuit Tour with a national championship that will award a coveted bracelet.

The biggest change for the WSOP Circuit, a series of events nationwide leading up the World Series off Poker in Vegas, is the addition of a season-ending national championship. Part of determining who makes it into the national championship will be a new rankings system that takes into account results in all of the main circuit events.

A total of 100 players will qualify for the national championship. According to WSOP.com, there are four ways to get into the national championship, which will feature a $1 million prize pool and will take place at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas right before the start of the WSOP:

1. Win the $1,500 main event at any circuit (12 players)
2. Be the “casino champion” accumulating the most ranking points at a single circuit stop (12 players)
3. Make the final table at any of the four $10,000 buy-in regional Championships (36 players)
4. Accumulate enough points through all circuit events to be in the top 36 in the rankings at the end of the season.

The national championship will be televised on ESPN, and it will also be an official “bracelet event,” meaning the winner receives a coveted bracelet like all WSOP winners. Circuit event winners receive rings.

Leading up the national championship will be a series of 12 events, eight of which are regular “circuit events,” with a buy-in for the main event of $1,500. This is down from the $5,000 buy-in of recent years. There will also be four “regional events” with buy-ins of $10,000. The regional events will be featured on ESPN in televised coverage.

Here’s what WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart had to say in a press release:

We recognized the WSOP Circuit Events needed a shot in the arm, and we believe we’ve responded with steroids. The new model is exactly what the WSOP is all about, giving poker players of all bankrolls the chance for compete for the kind of fame, fortune and respect that comes only with a WSOP bracelet and a national television audience.

The 2010-2011 WSOP Circuit begins in August at Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa. Here’s the entire schedule:

August 19 – August 31, 2010
Horseshoe Council Bluffs (Iowa)

October 2 – October 12, 2010
Horseshoe Southern Indiana

October 15 – October 27, 2010 (Regional Championship)
Horseshoe Hammond (Chicago area)

October 28 – November 10, 2010
IP Casino Resort & Spa (Biloxi, Miss.)

November 11 – November 23, 2010
Harveys Lake Tahoe

December 4 – December 22, 2010 (Regional Championship)
Harrah’s Atlantic City

January 27 – February 15, 2011
Harrah’s Tunica

March 2 – March 13, 2011
Caesars Atlantic City

March 11 – March 30, 2011 (Regional Championship)
Harrah’s Rincon (San Diego area)

March 31 – April 13, 2011
Harrah’s St. Louis

April 14 – April 30, 2011
Caesars Palace

May 9 – May 22, 2011 (Regional Championship)
Harrah’s New Orleans

There is also a circuit event planned for South Africa from Oct. 26-31 at the Emerald Casino. It is not considered an official circuit event, however.

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