The word has been out for a while now that Harrah’s Cherokee is one of the best stops each year on the World Series of Poker Circuit.
Fittingly, the WSOP has granted the casino three circuit stops on the 2023-24 calendar, the third straight year it has done so. If you haven’t marked your calendar yet, the circuit will be in town once more from May 2-13.
This stop looks to be the largest ever at Harrah’s Cherokee. The schedule is jam-packed with 20 events and nearly $3.5 million in guaranteed prize pools, including a $1 million guaranteed Main Event.
WSOPC Cherokee guarantees almost $3.5 million across 20 events
Despite North Carolina online poker remaining illegal, Harrah’s Cherokee draws among the largest fields on the WSOP Circuit. The upcoming stop will build on successful festivals from earlier in the season, including ones at Cherokee last August and November.
For the first time, the schedule is offering guaranteed prize pools in 19 of its 20 events. Nine of those events include guarantees of $100,000 or greater. All will award WSOP Circuit gold rings to the winner.
The $1,700 Main Event has the largest guarantee on the schedule, $1 million. It has two starting flights on Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, and will conclude on Monday, May 13. Two more events have $500,000 guarantees.
Events with smaller guarantees include the Ladies and Seniors events, several single-day $400 No-Limit Hold’em tournaments and the opening $600 Mystery Bounty tournament.
The only event without a guarantee is one of the only two non-No-Limit Hold’em events, a $400 Pot Limit Omaha 8 or Better (Hi/Lo) event.
WSOP Circuit schedule at Harrah’s Cherokee
Over the course of its 12-day schedule, the majority of the WSOP Circuit events at Harrah’s Cherokee will be No-Limit Hold’em tournaments. Just two of the 20 gold ring events will be different Omaha variants.
The full schedule begins with an opening weekend $400 No-Limit Hold’em event with a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool. Most events are in the $400-$600 price range.
Multiflight events
Event No. 2: $400 NLH ($500K guaranteed) is the first multiflight event of the WSOP Circuit festival. It will have four starting flights from May 2-4 before concluding on Sunday, May 5:
- Thursday, May 2: Flight A (4 p.m.)
- Friday, May 3: Flight B (11 a.m.) and Flight C (4 p.m.)
- Saturday, May 4: Flight D (11 a.m.)
Event No. 9: $400 Monster Stack NLH ($500K guaranteed) runs from May 7-9, with three starting flights over the first two days:
- Tuesday, May 7: Flight A (10 a.m.) and Flight B (4 p.m.)
- Wednesday, May 8: Flight C (10 a.m.)
Event No. 10: $1,100 NLH ($300K guaranteed) runs from May 8-10. It has one flight starting on each of the first two days:
- Wednesday, May 8: Flight A (4 p.m.)
- Thursday, May 9: Flight B (11 a.m.)
Last but certainly not least, the $1 million guaranteed $1,700 Main Event (Event No. 13) begins on Friday, May 10, at 11 a.m. Anyone who does not advance to Day 2 will have a second chance on Saturday, May 11.
The field will combine on Sunday the 12th and play down to a final table before a winner is determined on Monday the 13th. The first-place prize from last May’s Main Event was $302,131.
Single-day events
Week 1
- Thursday, May 2 (11 a.m.) Event No. 1: $600 NLH Mystery Bounty ($25K guaranteed)
- Saturday, May 4 (4 p.m.) Event No. 3: $400 NLH ($100K guaranteed)
- Sunday, May 5 (10 a.m. ) Event No. 4: $400 Seniors Event ($150K guaranteed)
- Sunday, May 5 (6 p.m.) Event No. 6: $400 PLO 8 or Better (two-day event)
- Monday, May 6 (6 p.m.) Event No. 7: $600 PLO ($75K guaranteed, two-day event)
Week 2
- Thursday, May 9 (4 p.m.) Event No. 11: $400 NLH ($75K guaranteed)
- Friday, May 10 (10 a.m.) Event No. 12: $300 Ladies Event ($20K guaranteed)
- Friday, May 10 (4 p.m.) Event No. 14: $400 NLH ($75K guaranteed)
- Saturday, May 11 (2 p.m.) Event No. 15: $600 NLH ($50K guaranteed)
- Saturday, May 11 (6 p.m.) Event No. 16: $400 NLH Turbo ($50K guaranteed)
- Sunday, May 12 (10 a.m.) Event No. 17: $300 Seniors Event ($75K guaranteed)
- Sunday, May 12 (6 p.m.) Event No. 19: $2,200 NLH High Roller ($100K guaranteed, two-day event)
- Monday, May 13 (11 a.m.) Event No. 20: $400 NLH Double Stack Closer ($50K guaranteed)
Three stops remain before the summer
The upcoming WSOP Circuit Harrah’s Cherokee festival will be the final stop on the East Coast for the 2023-24 season. Two more stops remain: Caesars Southern Indiana (May 9-20) and Commerce Casino in Los Angeles (May 10-24).
After the final cards are dealt at Commerce, the poker world’s eyes will shift to Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas for the 2024 World Series of Poker.
Last year’s edition was the largest yet, awarding more than $403 million in prize money. This year’s edition features 99 events and is expected to be even bigger.