2026 Non-WSOP Tournaments
This thread is for all Summer 2026 non-WSOP tournaments. Now that the WSOP schedule is out, the countdown for others is
The Golden Nugget should have a tournament series so long as they are home to the Bar Poker Open.
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Orleans Summer Open : May 22nd -> July 5th
They have only annonced the main event
Orleans definitely knows their market and got great turnout last summer. That being said, 30 minute levels on day 1 in your big marquee summer main event strikes me as unserious. Appealing if you want a big lottery with a huge prize at the end of the rainbow. If you are seeking bang for your buck, there are going to be better options. WSOP itself has better options in the $500 Colossus and $600 Deep Stack Championship (which seems to have shed the PokerNews branding after two years of that). Nugget main is also likely to have more S points.
The rake is pretty low relative to other venues
WSOP is 504+96
Venetian and Wynn are 505+95 or 510+90. Adds up on large fields
I think DogFace is right that the Orleans knows their market. In general I don't think the Orleans competes a ton with the WSOP. It's off strip and generally lower buy in events. I think their market is more local and lower buy in focused . They also fill the middle and low limit mixed games market. WSOP cheapest mixed games events start at 1500 and orleans offers a bunch in $600 and under range along with a 1k "Championship" event for them.
The WSOP event that would compete most directly with the orleans main it is the Summer Celebration, which appears to be the same structure but an $800 buy in. Yes it would be an improvement for them to make this event 40 minute levels on day 1, but I think part of their issue is space. They already, from what I remember, in their more popular events have alternates almost from the start, extending the structure exacerbates that and will make them less money.
Working with modest means, Resorts World is my go-to. Orleans and Nugget are tricky if you don't have a car. Apparently Orleans offers shuttle service back to the strip, which is relevant for a cheapskate like myself.
Orleans used to have a shuttle to The Strip (stopping near Fashion Show Mall) back in the day, but this one was eventually discontinued (maybe another victim of P
I confirmed with the front desk today that there's no shuttle.
Ride share and taxi are the options.
For the mixed game fans. Last year Chainsaw ran a mixed game series right before the WSOP started and he has run it again several times since then. I checked with Allen and he said he will be having another one just before the WSOP at Caesar's Palace, I don't know the exact dates yet but his next one is April 18-25, also at Caesar's Palace.
I am a mixed game fan and will be in LV in mid April. Where can I find more information the tournaments at Ceaser's Palace? I went on their website but couldn't find anything.
For the mixed game fans. Last year Chainsaw ran a mixed game series right before the WSOP started and he has run it again several times since then. I checked with Allen and he said he will be having another one just before the WSOP at Caesar's Palace, I don't know the exact dates yet but his next one is April 18-25, also at Caesar's Palace.
BTW - Do you about how many runners these tournaments get?
From another thread, haven't been able to find an "official" announcement anywhere, but according to the below, Resorts World is closing the poker room at the end of the month. I know some people here enjoyed their room and tournaments during WSOP.
From another thread, haven't been able to find an "official" announcement anywhere, but according to the below, Resorts World is closing the poker room at the end of the month. I know some people here enjoyed their room and tournaments during WSOP.
Dang, that sucks. I’ve heard good things about it and was going to go play there this year.
I wonder if it’s possible they’ll still host a series. Maybe host it in another room like Golden Nugget does
Unfortunately not surprising if true. Their turnout has cratered in their daily and nightly events, and the cash game action never looked strong except for the huge game that runs in the separate room (300/600 mix?).
About two years ago I played a daily there that had 100+ entries. Last year they were often hovering around 20-25 entries. This year the tournament doesn't even run most days because they don't get enough players.
For whatever reason, they just never really found an enduring niche in the ecosystem.
This is true of RW itself. It's a great property with a dumb name and a crappy location. People just don't want to be that far up the strip. Fontainebleau is suffering the same fate. The RW Poker Room was great, but I'm not too surprised to see it closing, and I won't be surprised if the entire casino suffers the same fate at some point.
I'll miss them as a lower buy-in 1-day tournament option this summer. Those were often a good backup plan to bigger events.
Hopefully there will be a great new poker room in the new Hard Rock when it opens late next year, and we'll get another good tournament series - hopefully something with <$1, 000 buy-ins - in Summer 2029.
This is true of RW itself. It's a great property with a dumb name and a crappy location. People just don't want to be that far up the strip. Fontainebleau is suffering the same fate. The RW Poker Room was great, but I'm not too surprised to see it closing, and I won't be surprised if the entir
For lower buy-in 1 day tournament, I use to love Sahara !
This is true of RW itself. It's a great property with a dumb name and a crappy location. People just don't want to be that far up the strip. Fontainebleau is suffering the same fate. The RW Poker Room was great, but I'm not too surprised to see it closing, and I won't be surprised if the entir
I agree with most of this, but if you look at Encore poker room on a map, it's not a whole lot more convenient than RW's location. Despite that, Wynn gets huge turnout in their tournaments.
RW was getting enough turnout to sustain their daily tournaments as recently as 15-20 months ago. I can't entirely explain why the bottom fell out of their player pool. There are probably many variables.
Resorts World sits on the far north end of the Strip, but unlike Encore it isn’t part of the connected walkway corridor. Encore flows into Wynn, which flows into Palazzo and Venetian, and that steady foot traffic is what keeps poker rooms alive. RW is close on a map but isolated in practice, and that kills casual walk‑ins.
The room opened in 2021 and had early hype because it was the first new Strip casino in a decade. By 2024–2025 the novelty faded, Vegas visitation dipped, and RW never built the daily traffic needed to survive.
NAPT had a strong relaunch in 2023, but the numbers dropped each year because Wynn and Venetian offered better structures and bigger guarantees. Players follow value, and RW couldn’t compete.
RW had solid mixed games but couldn’t sustain NL or PLO. Some days there were no NL tables at all, which is a death sentence for a poker room.
Add in a cheating accusation, a credit scandal involving the casino, dealer layoffs, and constant rumors of the room closing, and the reputation never recovered. Locals tried it, saw the low traffic, and went back to Wynn, Venetian, and Aria. Once locals leave, tourists won’t sit down either, and the room just slowly emptied out.
Resorts World sits on the far north end of the Strip, but unlike Encore it isn’t part of the connected walkway corridor. Encore flows into Wynn, which flows into Palazzo and Venetian, and that steady foot traffic is what keeps poker rooms alive. RW is close on a map but isolated in practice, and that kills casual walk‑ins.The room opened in 2021 and had early hype because it wa
That unprotected stretch of the outdoor strip between Wynn and RW is a killer. Like you said you can walk to Wynn from the middle strip almost entirely indoors. Going to RW in the summer heat effectively means you need to get an Uber, or walk outside and arrive a sweaty mess.
It's too bad because RW had a nice poker room. They just didn't have enough to differentiate themselves and get people to go so far out of their way.
We should be getting some schedules soon, right? When were they released in the past? I thought it was around late March to early April
This was posted by salette earlier in the thread.
Last year :
Wynn Mar 29th
Venetian Apr 10th
Aria Apr 17th
Orleans Apr 18th
MGM Apr 21st
Nugget Apr 22nd
Looking at probably a 4-5 week wait for the full slate.
Wynn posted their April Signature Series several weeks ago, so presumably they'll be quick with the summer schedule once the current series is done (3/22).
Venetian website says "More information to be available in April 2026".
Surely we must be getting close to some schedules from the peripheral series sometime soon?
Anyone heard anything about some release dates for 2026?
