A new era for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) begins in May, and everyone can start planning a trip to Las Vegas on Monday when the 2025 WSOP schedule is released.
In anticipation for one of the most exciting days on the poker calendar, we have some predictions for what to expect from the first ever WSOP under GGPoker’s ownership.
Caesars Entertainment sold the series to NSUS Group Inc., GG’s parent company, for $500 million. The sale was announced two weeks following the conclusion of the 2024 WSOP, and the deal was finalized just before Halloween, perhaps a bit sooner than some projected.
New Era for Poker at the WSOP
The 2025 World Series of Poker runs May 27 to July 16 inside Horseshow and Paris Las Vegas, and the Main Event kicks off July 2. That much we learned in December. But the rest, it’s all a bit of a mystery that will be unraveled on Feb. 17.
For now, without having viewed the schedule, we can make logical predictions based on what we know of the company and individuals involved in the process. Jack Effel, Ty Stewart and team are still around, so don’t expect wholesale changes to the schedule. The iconic tournaments will return such as the $10,000 Main Event, $50,000 Poker Players Championship, $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, etc.
It’s also likely that dozens of other popular annual events will be back this summer. That list includes the $1,500 Millionaire Maker, $1,500 Monster Stack, $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, among others.
GGPoker’s Influence on the 2025 WSOP Schedule
One other thing is certain, and that is there will be a GGPoker brand influence on the schedule (duh!). There’s a bit of Texan in the GGPoker mindset as everything the online poker giant does is big. Big fields, big prize pools, big guarantees. The World Series of Poker Paradise (WSOPP) series in the Bahamas a couple months ago was the first bracelet series under GG ownership, and that series featured the first ever $50 million guaranteed prize pool.
The $25,000 buy-in WSOPP Super Main Event, won by Yinan Zhou for $6,000,000, attracted 1,978 entrants. It’s hard to imagine the WSOP scheduling such an event in the summer that would potentially overshadow poker’s most prestigious annual tournament (Main Event). But there’s likely to be a new tournament or two on the schedule that could set some records, perhaps the largest guaranteed $1k ever, or something along those lines.
There will undoubtedly be a heavy GGPoker influence on the 2025 WSOP schedule. The gimmicky FLIP & GO gimmicky low-stakes tournament, one would think, will be back given that it’s a GGPoker creation. Perhaps, the WSOP will add some extra high rollers to appease Daniel Negreanu, GG’s top ambassador.
We could also see a Las Vegas edition of the $500,000 buy-in Triton Million Invitational, a mixed pro-recreational player event that drew attention during the WSOP Paradise series in December. Or, perhaps, live poker versions of GG’s signature online tournaments, GGMasters and GGMillion$.
The schedule release is right around the corner, and before you know it, the poker community will be in Las Vegas welcoming in a new World Series of Poker era.