The World Series of Poker just keeps on growing. This year’s epic poker festival at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas features 74 tournaments, a new record; it starts May 30 with a series of four Daily Deepstacks with low buy-ins, and wraps up July 22 with the crowning of the $10,000 NLHE Main Event champion. Here’s a look at the most important poker tournaments to watch for in between.


June 2: $565 The Colossus III
After two successful years of bringing “recreational” players to the Rio, the Colossus returns with three separate starting days from June 2-4, and two starting flights each day. Last year’s Colossus pulled in 21,613 entries.

June 2: $111,111 High Roller for One Drop
At the other end of the spectrum, you have this year’s largest buy-in at the One Drop, with a portion of the proceeds going to the One Drop charity for water access. Fedor Holz won this tournament for nearly $5 million last year as part of his epic summer.

June 9: $365 The Giant
This new tournament could blow the roof off the Rio. There will be five separate starting days, once each Friday, with five different starting flights and unlimited re-entries during the registration period. Survive Day 1, and you’ll already be in the money – or if you don’t like the looks of your stack, you can turn in your chips and enter a different flight instead.

June 10: $1,500 Millionaire Maker
This popular tourney guarantees a $1-million prize to the winner; Jason DeWitt took down last year’s event for his second WSOP bracelet. One re-entry per flight only.

June 12: $2,620 The Marathon
Another new NLHE tournament with some strange parameters: Each player starts with 26,200 chips, and the levels are 100 minutes long. Don’t forget to bring a toothbrush.

June 24: $1,500 Monster Stack
Will the Marathon steal the Monster Stack’s thunder? “Only” 15,000 chips in the starting stacks for this annual fixture. It’s a freeze-out tournament with just one entry per participant, and like many of these featured tourneys, will take five days to complete.

July 2: $50,000 Poker Players Championship
For serious poker players only – or anyone with $50,000 lying around. This is a 6-handed, 8-game mix and arguably the most prestigious tournament outside the Main Event; Brian Rast is the defending champion.