On 22nd June, Friday, the schedule for WSOP 2021 was finally revealed. The events will be held over a few weeks between 30th September and 23rd November. WSOP 2021 is set to be hosted at the Rio All Site Hotel and Casino of Las Vegas. Players and organizers expect a massive turnout at WSOP 2021 because it will be the first major poker event being hosted after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ty Stewart, Executive Director of WSOP, sat down for an interview to answer some of the most critical questions about the 2021 event. He said that the decision to announce the schedule for WSOP 2021 was taken after much careful consideration. He noted that analyzing an increasing trend of relaxing restrictions in Nevada, and the WSOP decided to go ahead with the announcement for their schedule. They are reasonably confident that the situation in the fall will be conducive to holding their events.

He also used his interview to send out a message to all players to use the online registration service so that WSOP can avoid queues at the registration desk as much as possible. He revealed that controlling queues during the registration process will be one of the essential concerns of WSOP organizers. In the last WSOP event in 2019, the organizers had been plagued by massive queues. This year, WSOP is taking the initiative right off the bat to encourage e-registration as much as possible.

The big 50 will not be coming back for 2021. Stewart clarified that it was just a special one-time event to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of WSOP. But in place of Big 50, a new special event has been added to the 2021 roster called the ‘Reunion’ as it will be a reunion of all poker enthusiasts after a long break due to the pandemic. The Reunion will be a massive event, and the guarantee is set very high. WSOP will require a minimum of 10000 participants to raise the stake.

Another issue that has gotten a lot of attention regarding WSOP 2021 is removing the Mystery Bounty event from the roster of 2021. Mystery Bounty was scheduled for WSOP 2020 that ultimately had to be canceled because of the pandemic. But in 2021, the Mystery Bounty event has been replaced with a new bounty event called the Poker Hall of Fame. The buy-in for this event will be set at $1979, and players will get a chance to compete with some of the icons of the poker hall of fame.

WSOP 2021 has made another significant change from its usual procedure. Unlike other years, in 2021, the final table for WSOP will be held over only two days. Stewart has said that this is to be compatible with the broadcasting schedule of the CBS network. Along with other WSOP organizers, he believes that WSOP 2021 this fall will be a comeback event for the gaming industry after last year’s crisis, lockdown, and losses.