2012 WSOP announced!

The World Series of Poker has announced the 2012 WSOP schedule, along with numerous changes and additions. This year, 61 gold bracelets will be up for grabs from May 27 through July 16, 2012, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel in Las Vegas.

The most notable changes involve the Main Event. First, instead of the usual four starting days, there are only three (Saturday, July 7; Sunday, July 8; and Monday, July 9). Also, the traditional day off has been removed. Finally, there will be no November Nine this year because the final table has been moved up a week to accommodate the U.S. presidential election. Instead of happening in November, the final table will be held in two stages. First, nine players will play down to two on Sunday, Oct. 28, and the heads-up battle will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

There are also some new events on this year’s schedule, including Event #3: $3,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha; Event #6: $5,000 Mix-Max No-Limit Hold’em; Event #28: $2,500 Four-Handed No-Limit Hold’em; and Event #49: $1,500 Ante Only No-Limit Hold’em. Furthermore, there will be two new non-bracelet events including a $560 Doubles No-Limit Hold’em and a $560 Bracelet Bounty No-Limit Hold’em, which will see a bounty placed on any former bracelet winner to enter the field.