The World Series of Poker circuit tour has added its final two stops to the 2010-11 schedule: West Palm Beach, Fla. and Chester, Pa.
The Palm Beach Kennel Club stop runs from Feb. 17-March 1, while Harrah’s Chester is slated for April 28-May 9.
With a third of this year’s November Nine hailing from the great state of Florida, it is clear poker is a popular game in the southern state. So, the WSOP circuit will stop at Florida’s largest poker room, the 60-table Palm Beach Kennel Club, which is adjacent to the Palm Beach Airport, north of Miami.
PBKC becomes just the third non-Caesars property to be awarded a WSOP circuit event (joining IP Biloxi and Choctow Durant).
“I visited the Palm Beach Kennel Club last summer and had a wonderful time,” said 2007 WSOP Main Event champion Jerry Yang. “The staff, the accommodations and the poker players were all top notch.”
The tournament dates, February 17 to March 1 come at a great time for poker players looking to escape the winter weather. The schedule for the 13-day series of tournaments in February is being finalized, but one can expect a similar event schedule to other WSOP stops, with 10 official ring events offering points good toward the WSOP circuit national championship in Las Vegas, as well as two automatic qualifiers for the main event winner and the casino champion.
“Florida was definitely a market we wanted to serve, as the residents of the Sunshine State have been loyal participants at the WSOP in Las Vegas,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart. “After careful consideration of our options, it was clear that the Palm Beach Kennel Club could accommodate the kind of numbers we expect for a circuit event in this market. Players who have visited there rave about the staff and the unique dynamic of playing poker overlooking the live action on the track.”
The second and final addition to the WSOP circuit tour schedule is Caesars Entertainment’s own property in Chester, Pa., the highest-grossing poker room in Pennsylvania. The property is just south of the Philadelphia airport on the Delaware River waterfront.
The 25-table WSOP-branded poker room is new and ready to host its first WSOP circuit event, which is sure to become a regular stop on the tour.
The property’s convention space will be turned into a tournament facility to offer more than 50 tables for WSOPC action. This stop will also award points toward the cumulative total, along with two automatic seats into the season-ending 100-seat televised tournament for a WSOP gold bracelet.
Harrah’s Chester Casino and Racetrack is guaranteeing poker players a $400,000 prize pool for its main event, as part of a unique promotion from the Harrah’s Pennsylvania and Atlantic City properties.
