Though we are still a while away from the 2008 World Series of Poker opening event, Harrah’s Entertainment has announced the full schedule for the 39th WSOP. For the first time ever, the event will begin and end with $1,000 buy-in world championship tournaments. It will also feature no less than eight $1,000 buy-in championships.

As was the case with last year’s set, the WSOP will host 55 events in total. The 2007 event boasted the largest ever prize pool in poker – almost $160 million, and though the prize pool for this year’s WSOP remains unknown until all entrants have registered, it is expected to surpass last years amount.

The 2008 World Series of Poker will begin two days earlier than last year - on May 30, 2008 - with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em. It will end on July 16th with what is traditionally considered to be the highlight of the competition - The WSOP Main Event, which is the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em.

The other six $10,000 buy-in events, which are all World Championship competitions in their own right, are: Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’Em, Limit Hold’Em, Pot-Limit Omaha, Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven-Card Stud, and a new Mixed Event. The mixed event is made up of no less than eight (!) different poker variants: Limit and No-Limit Hold’Em, Omaha Hi-Low and Pot-Limit Omaha, Seven Card Stud, Razz, Seven Card Hi-Low Split, and Duce to Seven Triple-Draw Lowball.

Another crowd favorite scheduled to return to the WSOP for its third straight year is the popular $50,000 buy-in HORSE event. The prestigious event is made up of 5 different limit games, and boasts the highest buy-in in the WSOP. The event is designed to attract professional players and to keep amateurs away. All events will once again be held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Harrah's Entertainment is the world's largest gaming company, with yearly revenue of over $7 billion. It was founded in Reno, Nevada almost 70 years ago, and is currently based in near-by Las Vegas. Harrah's Entertainment purchased the rights to the WSOP from the founding Binion family back in 2004, and has been hosting the annual event in its very own Rio Hotel and Casino ever since.

Harrah’s is looking to improve on some logistic shortcomings from previous years. Most notably, the lack of indoor space led to the building of what was known last year as ‘the poker tent’. Some players have openly complained about the facility. Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the WSOP, took the complaints to heart. “The poker tent is gone,” he said. “We heard folks loud and clear last year, and there will be no tents used for tournament play at the 2008 WSOP.”

After addressing the pressing accommodation issues, Pollack moved on to make a few statements about the games themselves. “This is our most exciting schedule yet,” said the commissioner. “Both amateur and professional poker players will have new opportunities to compete for a WSOP bracelet and can choose from the widest variety of games and buy-ins ever offered in one poker tournament and certainly at the WSOP. We’re holding steady at 55 events this year, but we’ve mixed it up a bit to keep it interesting for our players and fans.”

At the WSOP, players compete not only for the largest cash prizes in tournament poker, but also for the coveted World Series of Poker gold bracelets. These exclusive bracelets are specially crafted for the event by luxury Swiss watchmaker CORUM. Winners of these bracelets are considered to be among the distinguished elite of the game.

Players can pre-register for the 2008 WSOP from the beginning of February on-site at the Main Cage of the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, or at www.worldseriesofpoker.com, where a full schedule of the events can be found.

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