Big Changes to 2012 WSOP Schedule

The 2012 World Series of Poker schedule was rolled out yesterday, and includes more than a few changes. The biggest of these is the fact that the November Nine will be moved to October.

The shift is less alarming than its sounds. The final table will take place only one week earlier than it has in previous years, but will occur in two stages. Nine players will will be trimmed to two on Sunday, October 28, followed by the big heads up finish on Tuesday, October 30. The primary reason for the switch is the U.S. Presidential election, which is to be held the first Tuesday in November.

In an interview last November, WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky referenced the potential for future changes when he said: “If you’re doing something live do you really need to delay it four months and try to build this anticipation to get people to watch? It doesn’t quite work.”

Additional changes have been made to the Main Event itself. Instead of running 13 days, as in previous years, the WSOP Main Event will last only 10, from July 7 to 16. To achieve this, WSOP organizers made the below changes:

• Eliminate one of the event's starting days - Starting groups 1A and 1B will play their day two on July 10, while starting group 1C will play its day two on July 11. All fields will be combined on day three.
• Eliminate the day off that followed the end of day 2A and 2B.
• Eliminate the play down day (with the guarantee from organizers that all days will play the standard five lives, with the possible exception of the day prior to the setting of the final table).

Despite persistent rumors of a possible venue change, the 2012 WSOP will stay at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The poker tournament's 61 events will run from May 27 to July 16. An extra 92 tables will be added this year, for a total of 470 poker tables in play throughout the summer event.