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If you’re the kind of person who likes to plan out your year well in advance, there’s one exciting fixture you might like to pop in the diary today. If you like live poker games, and quite fancy visiting Las Vegas this year then book your tickets now to the biggest and most prestigious poker tournament in the world – the World Series of Poker 2017.

As well as being able to enjoy all the sights and sounds of Las Vegas, the WSOP is where the biggest names in poker come together to compete alongside underdogs and novice players from over 100 nations. If you have the buy-in cash, you can even compete yourself! So, what does 2017 have in store for poker lovers? Today we look at what you can expect from WSOP 2017.

Exciting new events
This year, eight brand new events will be added to the WSOP schedule. These include a $10,000 Tag Team No-Limit Hold’em; for teams of 2-4 people taking place over three days. This event is a big hit and this year, with its higher stakes, it kicks off your chances to win your own WSOP bracelet. Next, you have the $333 WSOP.com No-Limit Hold’em; a one-day event with unlimited re-entry and a chance to take home $333,333. There’s the $365 ‘The Giant’ No-Limit Hold’em held every Friday with big cash prizes to be won. June 12th will see the $2,620 “The Marathon”, a five-day event that kicks of at 11am, has 26,200 starting chips, and extended 100-minute levels. Next there’s the $1,000 Super Turbo Bounty and the $10,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8 or Better. The final additions to the exciting new schedule arethe $2,500 Mixed Big Bet Event, and the $3,333 High Roller WSOP.com No Limit Hold’em event.

Improved player experience
In 2016, a number of changes were tried out in a bid to improve the experience for the players. These changes included paying out 15% of fields, five times buy-in starting chips, online registration and pushed forward start times. This year, approval has been given to allow credit cards to be used as a form of payment, meaning that you can now use cash, credit, or casino chips to buy in. In addition, the amount players can charge on their credit cards is up from $1,500 in 2016, to $10,000.

Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director commented on what players and spectators can expect from this year’s event: “With the new $365 buy-in Giant anchoring Friday nights, alongside a ten pole event awarding millions every weekend, we believe we have the offering to be well worth the trip. Plus, for the serious and high-stakes player, we remain committed to having the most diverse schedule of events of any tournament in the world. Whatever your game or bankroll, let the bracelet chase begin.”

If you’ve always fancied attending the WSOP, 2017 looks set to be a good year to make it a reality. The event takes place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino, which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week from Tuesday May 30th to July 17th.