More WSOP Circuit in Europe: New Netherlands Stop Announced
Building on last week’s announcement of six additional series during the 2016-17 WSOP Circuit International Tour, Circuit officials have now announced a brand new WSOPC International stop in the Netherlands. The latest addition to the slate: A stop in Rotterdam, at the Holland Casino Rotterdam.
According to the latest WSOPC announcement, “Holland Casino has entered into an unique agreement with Caesars Interactive Entertainment whereby the prestigious event, as part of the WSOP International Circuit Series, will be organised annually in the Netherlands. The Dutch version of the WSOP Circuit will take place in the fully renovated Holland Casino Rotterdam in autumn 2017.”
Exact dates for the new Dutch stop have yet to be released and likely won’t be until the 2017-18 WSOPC International slate is announced. That should occur in the spring of 2017. Of note is that the new Rotterdam stop is not the upcoming WSOPC International stop still unannounced and slated to be wedged into the 2016-17 season’s schedule.
Holland Casino’s CEO, Erwin van Lambaart welcomed the new series stop, stating, “We are proud of the collaboration between Holland Casino and the largest poker brand in the world. The WSOP is a wonderful addition to our already broad range of poker, and it has national and international allure.”
Added WSOP Director of Events Gregory Chochon, “As a European, I know Holland Casino to be a party that is capable of organising large and prestigious poker events, such as the historic Master Classics of Poker. We are very proud that the WSOP can work together with such an iconic casino chain and we are looking forward to seeing more Dutch players take part in the WSOP in Vegas.”
Players from the Netherlands have always been prominent on the international scene, and the creation of the stop at Holland Casino Rotterdam is likely to provide a further boost to that established presence.
Circuit officials also noted that the new Rotterdam WSOPC stop comes with all the trappings of other Circuit International events. Both the Rotterdam series champion (based on a points system covering each stop’s slate of events) and the winner of the stop’s main event will qualify for the WSOP’s 2017-18, season-ending Casino Championship. That event will not be officially scheduled for several more months, but will likely be held in Las Vegas in May of 2018.
The state-licensed Holland Casinos are the only legal brick-and-mortar casinos in the Netherlands, and the WSOPC Rotterdam stop will join a lengthy list of tournament offerings held by other branded series at other casinos. The EPT Dutch Open (likely to be rebranded as a “PSLive” event), and the WPT are among the other international tours already having a Dutch presence. Several of the Holland Casino venues also run recurring, in-house poker series.
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