by Mario Alfonsi | Published on Mar 9, 2012 | Updated on Mar 9, 2012The 2012 World Series of Poker Europe will see the tournament series once again return to Cannes, France, awarding seven bracelets over the course of two weeks this autumn. All events will be held in the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette and Hôtel Majestic Barrière, just as in last year’s event.Year after year, players see subtle but important changes to the WSOP schedule in Las Vegas. However, the WSOP Europe schedule received just a few minor tweaks when compared to the 2011 version of the series. This is due in large part to French gambling laws, which only allow Texas Hold’em and Omaha to be played. With that in mind, the WSOP made the decision to keep the number and format of the events the same, only making minor adjustments to the buy-ins for the tournaments.The series will begin on September 21, when a €2,700 six-handed no-limit hold’em tournament will kick things off. The three day event will then be followed by three more hold’em tournaments and two Omaha events, before the €10,450 Main Event begins on September 29. The Main Event will feature two starting days and five total days of play. Organizers expect a strong turnout for the championship tournament, even eclipsing the record turnout of 593 players a year ago.“The media is already speculating on 1,000 players for the main event and we will be ready for them,” said Ty Stewart, vice president of the WSOP. “We can’t wait to return to the Cote D’Azur.”The World Series of Poker Europe was first held in 2007, in order to provide full bracelet-level events to the growing European poker player base. Last year, Elio Fox won the WSOP Europe Main Event and claimed a prize of €1,400,000, the largest yet in WSOP Europe history. As in the 2011 version of the WSOP Europe, the results of these tournaments will contribute to the overall WSOP Player of the Year standings.
