If there’s a heartbeat to the WSOP Circuit, it’s undeniably Harrah’s Cherokee.
The Circuit has many staples of its year that attract players, with some locations hosting more than one event each season, but there truly is nothing quite like this North Carolina poker hotbed.
As the second half of the 2025 season kicks into gear, there isn’t a place that can hit the gas quite like Cherokee, as its latest series is set to get underway on Thursday, August 7, for an 11-day romp in the Smoky Mountains that will see 18 rings awarded before wrapping up on August 18.
More massive fields and guarantees
The biggest parts of what make Cherokee THE must-play destination on the Circuit are the massive turnouts and huge prize pools that come with it. This series will be no different, promising nearly $6 million in guarantees, headlined by a $1.5 million guaranteed Main Event running August 15–18.
The series will see all the popular marquee events of a WSOP Circuit stop, including the $400 Mini Main Event and Monster Stack, both boasting $750,000 guarantees, along with Ladies, Seniors, and High Roller tournaments as well.
With four WSOPC series hosted here each year (the most of any venue on the Circuit, domestic or international), the debate over who the defending champion of a Main Event is always a bit tricky. Is it the player who won the last one here or the player who won the Main in this specific edition of the series at this time last year?
The heck with that, let’s tell you about both of them.
Huge paydays for Cherokee Main Event champs
Most recently, in May, Tuyen Dieu became one of Cherokee’s most memorable champions, topping a field of 1,224 entries to claim $287,230 and his first Circuit ring in incredibly dramatic fashion.
As impressive as that Main Event’s prize pool of $1,854,360 was, traditionally, the May stop is the smallest of the four WSOPC series each year at Cherokee.
Nearly $2 million in the prize pool for a $1,700 Main Event — small, right? That’s Cherokee.
Case in point, last August’s Main Event, won by Donovan Dean, saw 1,451 entries build a $2,198,265 prize pool. Dean’s victory was his second Main Event title at Cherokee, as he took home $326,206 for that one to go with the $356,952 that he won here in December 2022.
Cherokee is truly a special place on the WSOP Circuit calendar, as the area not only has the biggest tournaments of the season, but it also provides plenty of unique attractions for those times away from the felt.
Incredible poker and so much more
The area surrounding Harrah’s Cherokee offers some of the most picturesque scenery anywhere, with the topography of the Smoky Mountains providing incredible locations for hiking around the woods and rivers of the area.
Foodies will no doubt be impressed by the incredible regional fare as well, with Carolina BBQ at the top of the list of culinary offerings. One of the most unique and convenient offerings for players at Cherokee is the outstanding food truck scene in the region, with some of them right outside the tournament area.
And that’s not even mentioning the outstanding fare offered within the walls of Harrah’s Cherokee.
Play the best tournaments of the season, eat like a king or queen, and then burn off those calories exploring the amazing scenery of the area. The WSOP Circuit series at Cherokee is truly one of a kind (or we guess four of a kind with the four stops each season), and the latest iteration is hours away, starting this Thursday.
See you there!
PokerOrg will be there to provide live updates throughout the series, with one of our newest teammates, Brett Slezak, manning the reporting desk in his Cherokee debut. We can’t wait to share those updates with you (and hear Brett’s reviews on some of that Carolina BBQ!)
Join us for wall-to-wall coverage of all the action from Harrah’s Cherokee.
