The high-stakes action of the World Series of Poker, the richest sporting event on the planet, returns to the Philadelphia area when Harrah’s Chester hosts the WSOP Circuit Events April 25 – May 7, 2012.
This marks the second year that Harrah’s Chester, located just 12 minutes from Philadelphia International Airport, will play host to the WSOP Circuit. One of the two final stops of this record-breaking WSOPC season, Harrah’s Chester is expected to draw much larger fields than it did in 2011.
“We've put more time and attention into the preparation of our second year as a WSOP Circuit Event host with the expectation of an even bigger and better turnout than our prior year. We are very excited to host the event,” said Harrah’s Chester poker room manager Bruce Dixon.
12 official ring events are slated for the upcoming series, which gets underway Wednesday, April 25th at noon with a $125 No-Limit Hold’em warm-up event. The first official Ring Event of the series, a $345 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em, will kick off the following day, Thursday April 26th at noon.
The $1,600 buy-in Harrah’s Chester Main Event begins at 12 noon Saturday, May 5th. Last year’s Main Event champion, Kenny Nguyen of Lynwood, IL took home $94,901.
In addition to the 12 official Ring Events taking place at Harrah’s Chester, the $230 buy-in Seniors Event will be held Sunday, May 6th. Nightly 7PM $120 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournaments will also run throughout the 13-day series along with mega satellites and around-the-clock single-table satellites. See the full schedule of events here.
One of the final two stops of the 2011-2012 WSOP Circuit Season, scores of players at the cusp of locking up a seat to the WSOPC National Championship are expected to make their way to Harrah’s Chester to pick up last-minute qualifying points.
But while Harrah’s Chester expects to see its fair share of pros this year, it was amateurs who dominated last year’s series as over half of those making it to a final table had never before cashed in a major tournament.
Players who cash in any of the 12 official WSOPC Ring Events scheduled at each stop will earn qualifying points toward a free seat to the season-culminating WSOP National Championship which takes place Friday, July 6th during the 2012 World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The WSOP National Championship is an official Bracelet Event with a minimum $1 million prize pool and will be nationally televised on ESPN.
Learn more about the WSOP National Championship and view the current points leader board here.
The Ramada Philadelphia Airport is offering a special $89/night room rate for WSOP Circuit participants. Call 1-610-521-9600 and mention WSOP when booking.