World Series of Poker Europe – Background of the WSOPE

The introduction of the World Series of Poker Europe in 2007 has opened up a whole new world for poker professionals around the world.

Background of the World Series of Poker Europe

The World Series of Poker is an international series of poker tournaments that since 1970 has been held exclusively in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States. Some circuit events were held in other locations, but to take part in the main event, players had to travel to Las Vegas where the main event was always held in the Horseshoe Casino, and then later in Harrah's The Rio All-Suite Casino. After purchasing the rights to the WSOP label in 2004, Harrah's Casino also purchased London Clubs International (LCI) which operates three casinos in the London area. Harrah's decided to take this opportunity to expand the WSOP into Europe. In 2007, The World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) was launched. This marked the first time that a WSOP gold bracelet was awarded outside of Las Vegas.

Participants in the World Series of Poker Europe

Due to the relatively smaller size of casinos in England, the number of participants in the WSOPE is limited. This results in fewer amateur players and more professional players participating in the events. In the first 2007 WSOPE event, the final table consisted of five players – four of whom had previously won a WSOP gold bracelet.

Differences between WSOP and WSOPE

The legal age of gambling in Europe differs from that in the United States. The legal age for gambling in the US is 21, while in Europe it is 18, meaning that younger participants can enter the WSOPE. Effective from 2007, due to changes in laws in the United States, WSOP is no longer able to accept money from online gambling companies which means that they are now unable to acknowledge qualifiers from online tournaments. WSOPE does not face this limitation as the United Kingdom Gambling Act of 2005 allows regulated online poker sites and casinos to operate. Also, as mentioned above, participation numbers are limited in Europe due to the relatively smaller size of casinos.

Results of the 2007 WSOPE

Thomas Bihl was the first person to win a WSOP gold bracelet outside of Nevada when he won the £1,500 event. Another record was set in the 2007 WSOPE when Annette Obrestad won the WSOPE Main Event the day before her 19th birthday. She became the youngest player to ever win a WSOP main event and she won £1 million (which at the time worked out to $2.01 million) which was the largest prize ever awarded to a female player for a single-event payout, narrowly surpassing Annie Duke's $2 million win at the 2004 Tournament of Champions.

The 2008 WSOPE

At the 2008 WSOPE, Jesper Hougaard became the first player to win a gold bracelet at both the WSOP and the WSOPE event in one year. Ian Demidov made it to the final table of both the WSOP and the WSOPE Main Events.

The 2009 WSOPE

The 2009 WSOPE includes four bracelet events – the £10,000 World Championship no limit hold'em Main event, the £5,000 pot limit Omaha event, the £2,500 pot limit hold'em/ pot limit Omaha event and the £1,000 no limit hold'em event.