2013 WSOP Schedule Includes 62 Events, "Millionaire Maker," One Drops, and "Ladies Discount"

"The day the @WSOP comes out with the schedule is like Christmas morning for me."  So tweeted poker pro Eric Crain yesterday in response to the unveiling of the 2013 World Series of Poker schedule of events. A total of 62 bracelet events make up this year's schedule, with a number of changes including an creative response to the problem of men buying into the Ladies event.

Once again the WSOP will be held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, with the first events starting on May 29 and poker being played every day through July 15. The $10,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em Championship, a.k.a. the Main Event, will begin on July 6, with the plan once more being to play down to a final nine, then halt play until November when the final table will play out nearly live on ESPN and ESPN2.

The total of 62 events sets a new standard as the most bracelet events ever at the WSOP, exceeding last year's 61. WSOP officials hope this year's Series also exceeds the record-setting total of $222,035,192 in prize pools awarded in all events.

"From the opening weekend, where we will make yet another millionaire, to the Main Event, which awards the largest single prize in the world, the WSOP is an annual affirmation about the strength and global appeal of the game," said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart in yesterday's press release accompanying the schedule's announcement.

Stewart's reference to making "yet another millionaire" alluded to the inclusion of a special "Millionaire Maker" event on this year's schedule, a $1,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em tournament in which the first prize will be guaranteed to be $1 million (Event No. 6). To do so, the usual payout schedule will be restructured in order to award more to the first-place finisher than is usually the case in the $1,500 NLHE events.

Other highlights on the 2013 WSOP schedule include Event No. 2, a $5,000 buy-in eight-handed no-limit hold'em event that will likely attract many of poker's elite players while also building an especially large prize pool as the first high profile tourney of the summer.  

Also happening early on is a $1,000 "re-entry" no-limit hold'em tournament that will allow busted players one chance to re-enter (Event No. 3).  Later on comes a $3,000 buy-in "mixed max" tournament (Event No. 27) such as has proven popular at WSOP Europe over the past couple of years. And a two-day, $1,000 "turbo" no-limit hold'em event (No. 34) will also likely attract a lot of attention.

Other events bound to attract notice this summer will be Event No. 38, a $2,500 four-handed NLHE tournament, Event No. 45, a $1,500 "ante only" NLHE tournament, and the $50K Poker Players Championship (Event No. 55) which again will be played as an 8-game mixed tournament up until a NLHE final table.

As had been announced shortly after last year's WSOP, there will be no $1 million buy-in "Big One for One Drop" this year, however there is a $111,111 buy-in "One Drop High Rollers" NLHE tournament (Event No. 47) for which $11,111 of every buy-in will go to the charity. There's also a "Little One for One Drop" NLHE tourney (No. 58) featuring a $1,111 buy-in, with $111 of each buy-in going to the One Drop Foundation.

The $1,000 Seniors No-Limit Hold'em Championship returns to the schedule (Event No. 26). Last year the Seniors event drew a whopping 4,128 entrants, creating the largest single-day starting field in WSOP history.

The Ladies Event also returns (Event No. 51), although rather than the traditional $1,000 buy-in that the event has had since 1992, this year the entry fee has changed. Interestingly, the Ladies Event sports a $10,000 buy-in this time, except for women who will be eligible for a "Ladies Discount Price" of $1,000 to play.

In other words, the WSOP has chosen a new approach when it comes to discouraging men from playing in the Ladies Event, something that has happened each of the last three years.  Now for a man to play, he'll have to pay 10 times the entry fee.  Such "differential pricing" is allowed under Nevada state law which permits businesses to offer "discounted pricing or special offers based on sex."

The two different entry fees for the Ladies Event drew most of the attention yesterday and today as people began responding to the 2013 schedule, with many commending the creativity of the solution and a few suggesting it may create still more problems down the road.  

Meanwhile, a $5,000 Open Face Chinese non-bracelet event has been announced as well, sure to excite the many players for whom the variant has become a new favorite game.

Finally, all look forward to the Main Event which like last year will feature three Day 1 flights, followed by two Day 2s and the consolidation of the field from Day 3 onward. Players will play down to nine on July 15, then return November 4-5 for the delayed "November Nine" final table.

Here's a full rundown of all 62 bracelet events on the schedule for the 44th annual World Series of Poker: