A spokesperson from Harrah's denies any plans of selling the Rio venue in Las Vegas.

The World Series of Poker have since 2005 been hosted by the prestigious Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, but earlier this year rumors started circulating about a potential sale of what has become somewhat of a world poker centre stage.

The rumors gained renewed attention recently after pokerblog pokerati.com published a post which announced the final decision of selling the famed casino.

Rio is owned by the Harrah's conglomerate, who have so far been quiet about any initiative to sell off the hotel and casino, a move which would also mean moving the WSOP.

Now Harrah's and the WSOP management have however thoroughly denied any such plans, at the same time trying to put an effective stop to the rumors.

"We have already had meetings regarding the 2011 WSOP, and we are planning to host the finals at the Rio and the Main Event Final Table in the Penn & Teller Theater as usual" spokesperson for Harrah's, Seth Palansky, said today.

Rumors however continue to circulate and among the strongest indicators of a sale is the disastrous economic state of the Rio which continues to struggle with huge deficits and unbalanced books despite the successes of the WSOP.