Automatic Shufflers, Main Event Giveaways, And More at the 2019 WSOP

Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor
4 min read
WSOP

The 2019 World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas is special due it being the 50th anniversary of the world’s longest-running poker tournament festival.

Players from around the world will sit down with more chips and better structures than ever before in the 89 scheduled events. It is difficult to narrow down this extensive schedule into a handful of highlights, although every poker player in Las Vegas is hoping to be crowned the winner of “The Big Dance;” the 2019 WSOP Main Event that runs for 14-days from Jul. 3.

It is not only the structures of the events that have been improved, as the WSOP organizers put player experience to the top of their objectives. Several new additions, for both tournaments and features, have been added to this year’s festival.

100 Automatic Card Shufflers Installed

One-hundred DeckMate2 automatic shufflers have been installed in the Amazon Room, which is primarily used for the 3:00 p.m. starting events and all restarts. Provided by Scientific Games, these automatic shufflers should speed up the action somewhat and allow the dealers to concentrate on keeping the games flowing, and that can never be a bad thing.

Five Main Event Seats to be Given Away

$50,000 worth of WSOP Main Event seats are being given away to the most loyal of tournament players. A draw on Jul. 1 awards five seats to the 2019 WSOP Main Event and it's possible to be entered into the draw up to five times.

Everyone receives a free entry by swiping their Caesars Rewards card at the Rio Caesars Rewards desk. Additional entries are awarded when you play in two bracelet events. One more entry is given for each additional gold bracelet event played, up to a maximum of five entries.

$500 Given Away Every Hour of Every Day

Play in the Live Action games in the Rio Pavilion Ballroom from Jun. 3 to Jul. 9 and you are in with a shot of $500 worth of Rio casino chips. Every hour of every day sees a random draw take place to select the “Hot Seat.” Be in the chosen seat, and $500 worth of Rio casino chips are yours to do with as you wish!


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Celebrate Gavin Smith’s Life with the Gavin Smith Memorial Poker Tournament

The poker community mourned the sudden death of one of their own earlier this year when Gavin Smith passed away, aged only 50-years-old. Smith was the life and soul of the party and a familiar face at the WSOP where he won a coveted gold bracelet in 2010.

Players are invited to compete in a $200 buy-in Gavin Smith Memorial Poker Tournament at 6:00 p.m. on May 28 where $100 of the buy-in goes towards the prize pool with the other $100 being donated to the Gavin Smith Trust to help raise fund for his family. It is sure to be an emotional time for everyone, although Smith would want everyone to let their hair down and fully enjoy the occasion we are sure.

Ladies Event Warm Up, Weekly Seniors Deep Stack and Weekly PLO Deep Stack

The Ladies event is always popular at the WSOP, and now poker’s women can play in a special $150 buy-in no-limit hold’em tournament on the eve of it. Jun. 19 at 6:00 p.m. is the start time for this Ladies No-Limit Hold’em Warm Up Tournament that is sure to be well attended.

If you’re 50-years-old or over, you're invited to play in a special one-day Seniors Deep Stack every Wednesday from May. 28 to Jul. 10 at 9:00 a.m. The Seniors event is always one of the busiest on the WSOP schedule with 5,919-entrants in last year’s $1,000 buy-in bracelet-awarding event and 2,191-entrants in the $1,000 Super Seniors event. Expect this tournament to be hectic.

Fans of pot-limit Omaha can play in a weekly $250 one-day PLO deep stack tournament every Sunday from Jun. 2 to Jul. 14 at 5:00 p.m. These weekly tournaments are in addition to the PLO events scheduled during the 2019 WSOP and the busy cash games that run around the clock. Whether you’re a PLO expert or complete beginner, these tournaments should be a heap of fun.

Easier Than Ever To Register For Events

One gripe that every player at every WSOP has is the massive registration queues. With several thousand players competing in each event, having to stand in line to buy in is inevitable, but also highly frustrating.

This year, players have the option to wire funds for WSOP tournaments or put money on account when they arrive at the Rio. Once an account has been set up at the WSOP Main Cage in the Tropical Room, it's possible to register for WSOP events online or via a mobile device and then print seat cards and receipts at one of the kiosks to avoid long registration lines.

While cash is king, there is now the option to use credit and debit cards to buy into WSOP events thanks to the all-new CasinoPay payment system that is powered by Bravo. Fees do apply if you chose credit or debit cards over cash or casino chips, although these are not levied by the WSOP but by the company processing the cards.

The 2018 WSOP was a massive success with a record 123,865 entrants creating record-breaking prize pools worth a combined $266,889,193 and the 2019 WSOP should be even bigger and better thanks to the series celebrating its 50th anniversary. PokerNews’ Live Reporting team will be on the ground throughout the entire 2019 WSOP bringing you coverage of every event! We can hardly contain our excitement!

2018 WSOP Main Event Final Table
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Matthew Pitt
Senior Editor

Matthew Pitt hails from Leeds, West Yorkshire, in the United Kingdom, and has worked in the poker industry since 2008, and worked for PokerNews since 2010. In September 2010, he became the editor of PokerNews. Matthew stepped away from live reporting duties in 2015, and now concentrates on his role of Senior Editor for the PokerNews.

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