The temperature in Las Vegas is slowly climbing and the last pieces of the summer schedule are falling into place, so you know the WSOP is right around the corner.
Everyone knows about The Big Show over at Paris and Horseshoe with 100 bracelets and countless deepstacks, but the real fun of a WSOP is burning around town to the poker rooms that want to lure you in with a big summer schedule.
Festivals at Wynn, Venetian, Aria, MGM Grand, Orleans, South Point, and Golden Nugget are now on the books and the final summer schedule has taken shape. You can find the whole thing on one of the summer's best resources: Kenny Hallaert's 2026 Vegas schedule.
Bookmark that guide and you'll have the daily scoop in the palm of your hands. In the meantime, let's look at a few of the highlights from around Las Vegas:
Wynn, Aria leads the way with millions in guarantees
Wynn
Wynn Las Vegas will drop over $40 million in guarantees from May 20 through July 13 with 11 different million-dollar tournaments. It all builds to the $10,400 Wynn Summer Championship with $10 million guaranteed.
Million-dollar guarantees at Wynn Summer Classic
- May 24 (Six flights) $1,100 NLH - $1,000,000
- May 29 (Four flights) $1,100 NLH - $1,000,000
- June 1 (Six flights) $1,100 NLH - $1,500,000
- June 8 (Six flights) $1,600 NLH - $2,000,000
- June 11 (Four flights) $3,500 NLH - $5,000,000
- June 15 (Four flights) $2,200 Mystery Bounty - $3,000,000
- June 21 (Four flights) $10,400 Wynn Summer Championship - $10,000,000
- June 27 (Three flights) $1,600 PLO - $1,000,000
- July 1 (Three flights) $3,000 PLO Mystery Bounty - $2,000,000
- July 4 (Four Flights) $1,600 NLH - $2,000,000
- July 7 (Two flights) $2,200 NLH - $2,000,000
Venetian
The never-ending Deepstack Championship Series will hold down the fort at Venetian, where more than $16 million is guaranteed across 121 events from May 12 through August. Venetian will pick up the slack near the end of the series, as well, with two million-dollar MSPT events as the WSOP wraps up business.
Venetian highlights
- June 19-22 - $1,600 Seniors NLH ($1,500,000 GTD)
- June 30-July 2 - $2,500 LIPS Ladies High Roller ($150,000 GTD)
- July 11-14 - $1,100 MSPT ($1,000,000 GTD)
- July 15-19 - $1,600 MSPT ($1,000,000 GTD)
Aria
The Aria Poker Classic returns from May 27-July 12 with a lot of mixed games and more PLO than ever. Aris will also fire the $3,500 BetMGM Poker Championship at the beginning of July with a $4 million guarantee.
2026 Aria Poker Classic schedule highlights
- June 13 - $1,100 BetMGM PLO ($250K GTD)
- June 14 - $1,100 BetMGM Mystery Bounty ($300K GTD)
- June 29 - $1,100 BetMGM Mystery Bounty ($500K GTD)
- June 30 - $1,100 BetMGM Mystery Bounty ($500K GTD)
- July 1&2 - $3,500 BetMGM Championship ($4M GTD)
- July 5 - $2,200 PLO Championship ($1M GTD)
- July 7/9 - $1,600 NLH ($500K GTD)
MGM Grand
The casino with the Big Gold Lion will roll out a schedule from June 3 through July 10 with $2.5 million in guarantees scattered throughout. MGM Grand focuses more on smaller events and lower buy-ins with a lot of starting flights.
Orleans
The popular local poker room is in a great spot to capitalize on a record-breaking 2025 with over $4.7 million in guarantees spread throughout the summer. It gets started early on May 22 and runs through July 12 with more mixed games than ever before and the usual supersized Sunday Special tournaments.
South Point
South Point doesn't necessarily roll out a full summer schedule, but they do enhance a daily lineup of tournament guarantees and they will add a weekly multi-flight tournament with $300K guaranteed. You can always take advantage of South Point tournaments throughout the day until 10pm, when you can usually find a good lineup of familiar WSOP faces chasing a few free drinks and the last tournament of the night.
Golden Nugget
Golden Nugget is the last remaining poker spot in downtown Las Vegas and its distance away from the action has made it difficult for the classic room to find a spot on the summer scene.
A scaled-down Grand Series will push forward this year from June 3-28 and the focus is pulled toward an ongoing series of reliable and fun regular tournaments, including partnerships with LIPS, Gulf Coast Poker Tour, and the 10th anniversary of Bar Poker Open. Free parking and low room rates will try to draw players away from the strip, where they can get after TORSE, Tag Team, a $300 Ladies event on June 21 and the $600 Championship on June 24.
