The summer feeding frenzy is officially under way in Las Vegas, where poker venues all over town are gearing up to fight for every inch of their place on the World Series of Poker counter-programming schedule.
Thousands of poker players pour through the WSOP every single week and the 100 gold bracelet tournaments are not near enough poker to meet demand. Players want lower buy-ins and late night alternatives, so many of them will eventually wander away from Paris and Horseshoe and into the many other venues like Caesars, Bellagio, Aria, and beyond.
Getting away from The Strip
One room that has found magic in the art of WSOP counter-programming is The Orleans, a locals-focused spot that sits just a short rideshare trip down Tropicana from The Strip.
Players love the free parking and the short walk to the poker room, combining with a nearby food court for a convenient and comfortable location that contrasts with the chaos of the WSOP.
Locals and traveling players know all about The Orleans, especially their Sunday Special tournament, which is considered one of the best weekly events in town with a $200+$100 buy-in and top prizes that regularly tip into the five figures. The rest of the poker world seemed to catch on throughout the summer of 2025 when the Sunday Special became the Super Sunday Special and broke in-house records almost every week.
The first one was on May 25 and it drew 538 entries in the pre-dawn of the WSOP. A $181K prize pool was their single largest single-day pot, but that record would fall a week later on June 1 when 587 entries turned out. What came next was somewhat unexpected, as 815 entries showed out for a $274K prize pool that would end up chopped seven ways for $17K at sunrise. Another Super Sunday Special on June 22 would lure 819 entries, another record, and the June 29 edition would set the final mark with 904 players and a $305,160 prize pool.
Super Sundays all summer long
This year's Orleans Summer Open schedule is starting to take shape and they are sticking with what works. The Super Special is back on seven different Sundays throughout the series with a $300 buy-in and a $100 add-on that gives you another starting stack. Like last year, each will carry a $100K guarantee, but that's not expected to be much of an obstacle.
The entire Orleans Summer Open will run from May 22 through July 12, punctuated by a $600 Main Event with a $500K guarantee. Last year's finale carried an $800 buy-in and drew 1,653 entries for just over $1.1 million prizes, but the 2024 edition sold 2,726 tickets at the $600 price point for a prize pool over $1.4 million.
More information is expected soon about the rest of the series. Vegas venues play a game of chicken with the summer schedules, but we should hear more from Aria, South Point, Wynn, MGM Grand, Venetian, and maybe even the Golden Nugget in the coming weeks.
