Dates for 2008 World Series of Poker Announced

After much criticism from the participants of this summer's World Series of Poker, Harrah's Entertainment seems already to be taking steps to rectify some previous mistakes for the upcoming 2008 WSOP. The 39th-Annual WSOP will be taking place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino for the fourth year in a row, and the official dates are May 30 through July 17 - with scheduled opportunities to pre-register - which once again increases the length of the Series.

The WSOP tournament room will be open the week of May 26 for two special events, which will also give players a chance to pre-register for events. The schedule was constructed this way with the hope of avoiding the nightmarish registration lines of this year.

The dates for the 2008 Series are similar to that of the 2007 Series - which was held from June 1 to July 17 - except it will be two days longer. This increase has been the trend for the last few years, as each year has extended the schedule by a day or two.

The WSOP has taken place through the month of June and into the middle of July since 2004, with the exception of 2006, when the schedule was June 25 through Aug. 10. The 2003 WSOP was held at the beginning of the summer from April 15 through May 23 and was only 38 days. The starting and ending dates of the Series may have changed over the years, especially since the poker boom which started with Chris Moneymaker winning the main event, but the one constant is the increase in the number of days added.

More information on the schedule of events has yet to be released.