WSOP: "No stinking patches!"
War breaks out among poker operators on eve of WSOP
If you love the smell of poker petrichor in the morning, you’ve come to the right place.
There is a dress code at this year’s World Series of Poker, and that code is: well…nobody really knows for sure. We are now a week away from the beginning of the year’s biggest tournament series, and if you can’t smell the silliness, confusion, and controversy in the air, you’re not sniffing hard enough.
The WSOP has already fired the first shots of this summer’s poker operator war. So put on your helmet, restock your popcorn rations, and get ready to dive in for seven weeks of madness.
The World Series of Poker ain’t messing around: it’s the WSOP’s house, and we’ll all play by their rules…or we won’t play. The first shots of the summer came as the WSOP began denying sponsorship patches from rival poker brands. Now sponsored players like Patrick Leonard are suggesting they may change their plans for the summer.
No doubt, the WSOP can make whatever rules it wants. So says Bob Mather. But does that make it okay? Your opinion goes here.
If you really want to dig into all the WSOP’s rules (and if you are gonna go, you should probably read pretty closely), we’ve got them for you.
If you only have so much time to think about the WSOP, we’ve outlined the five can’t-miss dates on the summer calendar.
Summer programming note! The WSOP begins a week from today, and we’ve decided there is just too much news every week during the summer to limit The Org to once a week. So, keep your eye on your inbox for the biggest news when it happens all summer long!
Another story line we’ll be following this summer: how the new American tax laws affect professional players turning up in Vegas. But you know who is trying to ride in on his white horse and save the day? The UFC’s Dana White, of all people.
In the meantime, we caught up with poker legend Billy Baxter. His warning: “Everyone will be in jail. There won’t be any poker players.”
You can’t keep a good man down. You also can’t keep Joe Stapleton down, apparently. Within minutes of leaving the friendly confines of PokerStars, Stapes is now going to work for the WSOP!
If you aren’t going to be in Las Vegas for the kickoff off the World Series, it’s probably going to be a damned party in Austin, TX, because a week from today, The Lodge is re-opening.
And because The Lodge fought the law (and the law didn’t win) Justin Hammer says Texas poker is exploding.
Maurice Hawkins won his 25th WSOP Circuit Ring, and then he blocked Todd Witteles on X. So, you know, pretty much what you’d expect on any given day.
Marle Spragg quit poker to have a baby…and now she’s back, baby! And there is a pretty damned cool mini-doc about it.
And Kevin Martin says he’s launching a brand new “poker entertainment product” in a few days. From the looks of it, it’s a combination of Star Trek and poker. Well, probably not, but it looks like it!
MOST-CLICKED ON POKER ORG
First major WSOP controversy erupts before a card is dealt
MOST-CLICKED IN THE ORG
Winners, records and scandals: Our 2026 WSOP predictions
MOST-WATCHED ON INSTAGRAM
And people say online poker is rigged
On this day in 2003, the World Series of Poker Main Event began in Las Vegas. I think most of us remember how that ended up.
