The big summer party in Las Vegas is starting to wind down and attention in the poker world is turning to the post-Vegas action. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) does not slow down after the summer series plays its last hand — instead, the operator transitions to WSOP Circuit events around the world.
Among the more popular destinations on the International Circuit in recent years, Canada has stood out. With Calgary coming onto the scene in 2022 to complement the already world-renowned Playground Poker Club just outside of Montreal, Canada has become a must-go destination on the International Circuit.
For the month of August, the Circuit will be traveling the Trans-Canada Highway from Calgary, starting on Aug 7 for 16 events over 13 days. The final day of play in Calgary, Aug 19, also marks the opening day for WSOP Circuit Playground, and the venue in Kahnawake, QC, just outside of Montreal, hosts the Circuit through Sep 3.
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While the two Canadian series in August are separated by just a single highway, the Trans-Canada, foreign players should be aware that Canada is really big. GPS will say players need to just “drive east on Trans Canada” for a little bit to get from Calgary to Montreal, and while that is technically true, in Canada “a little bit” is something like 3,500 km or about 5 days of solid driving. Players coming to Canada for both series should be aware that they’ll almost certainly need to fly domestically from Calgary to Montreal and cannot rely on ground transport.
First August Circuit for Calgary
With the first Circuit event in January of 2022, Deerfoot Inn & Casino in Calgary quickly established itself as the poker center of western Canada. Calgary and Alberta already had a vibrant poker scene with several local tournament series running every year across multiple venues in both Calgary and the provincial capital of Edmonton. The entry of WSOP Circuit into the scene was just the spark it needed to jump straight to a world-class poker destination.
Since 2022, six series have played out in Calgary with more than $24 million ($Cdn) in total prizes. Until now, the Calgary series have come in January and May, with the January games proving to be the biggest every year so far. Jan 2024 nearly capped $6 million in prizes and none of the six series to date have given away less than $2.5 million.
The newest addition to the Calgary calendar covers new dates that have never seen a WSOP event before. Generally, early August plays host to the Summer Super Stack, part of a local tournament series run by Deerfoot that were among the hottest tickets for poker players prior to WSOP coming to town.
This year, that game is being replaced by WSOP-C Calgary August, and it is likely that in the coming years, the May event will be dropped for the August dates. That will likely make 2024 an unusual year and the only one where Calgary hosts three Circuits in a single calendar year.
16 Events, 13 Days of Cowtown Poker
Calgary action kicks off on August 7 with the traditional opening event, the $400 Big 30 Stack and proceeds to follow a very familiar schedule for a total of 13 days. Among the other events to watch out for this August in Calgary are the ever-popular 4-Flight, which always sees the biggest fields of the whole series, starting Day 1 action on Aug 8, as well as High Roller, Seniors and Ladies events, and, of course, the $1,700 Main Event.
Action for the big game kicks off on Thu, Aug 15 for Day 1a and there are a total of three flights before Day 2 kicks off on Aug 18. While there are no guarantees on the Calgary event, typical Main Event Prize pools for the Calgary series are in the range of ~$2 million with all previous Main Events playing for more than $1.3 million in total. The most recent January series posted more than $5.8 million in total prizes ($2.2 million for the Main) with the most recent May series coming in at almost $3.7 million ($1.3 million for the Main).
As the August series are new dates, it is hard to estimate whether the series is more likely to follow the January or May templates, but either way, it seems pretty clear there will be around $4 million or more to play for in Calgary. See the attached schedule for room code details, and book early as Deerfoot Inn tends to fill up for these events, and while there are other close accommodations, staying right at the venue is always the nuts.
From West to East: Paris of North America
From the western-themed city of Calgary, the circuit goes 3,500 km east to possibly the most cosmopolitan city in Canada, Montreal. Dubbed the “Paris of North America”, that nickname isn’t just because the city is infused with the Quebecois French culture of its home province — Montreal is a cultural mecca of Canada with the most “European” flavor of any city in the country, making it an easy comparison to the French City of Love.
With the addition of Playground Poker Club in Kahnawake, which is on the outskirts of Montreal proper, more than a decade ago, the city also transformed into Canada’s eastern poker mecca. Playing host to huge festivals like the WPT, the Canada Cup, and others, Playground puts on some of the biggest games in Canada, in pretty much every category from field size, to prize pools, to prestige.
The August Circuit event, which kicks off on the 19th, the final day of proceedings in Calgary, looks to continue that tradition with more than $3 million guaranteed. While the full schedule for Montreal does not appear to be out, watch for details soon.
While the thoughts of the poker world are still firmly focused on Las Vegas, a month of WSOP Circuit poker in Canada is just on the horizon when the final hands are dealt in Vegas. Get more information on the Canadian series from Deerfoot Inn & Casino and Playground Poker Club. Check out KKPoker for online satellites to both series, as well as live qualifiers at each venue.