A longtime World Series of Poker Circuit tradition resumes this weekend with the tour making its annual January stop at Northern California’s Thunder Valley Casino.
The Circuit returns to the Sacramento area poker room Jan. 16-27, with 16 Ring Events on the schedule. The centerpiece of the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley schedule comes in the form of the $1,700 Main Event, which plays out Jan. 24-27.
The Main Event will feature two opening flights, with Flight A on January 24 and Flight B on January 25. The tournament offers a $500,000 guaranteed prize pool.
More than $1 million guaranteed at WSOPC Thunder Valley
In addition to the $500,000 guaranteed Main Event, six other tournaments on the Thunder Valley schedule offer guaranteed prize pools. Those six events combined will award more than $1 million in guaranteed prize money.
Some of the highlights from the 16-event slate include:
- Jan. 16-19 - $400 The Opener ($250,000 GTD)
- Jan. 19-20 - $600 No-Limit Hold’em ($75,000 GTD)
- Jan. 20 - $400 No-Limit Hold’em ($50,000 GTD)
- Jan. 22-23 - $400 No-Limit Hold’em ($100,000 GTD)
- Jan. 23-24 - $3,200 High Roller
- Jan. 24-27 - $1,700 Main Event ($500,000 GTD)
- Jan. 26-27 - $1,125 No-Limit Hold’em Last Call ($100,000 GTD)
The series kicks off properly with a $400 buy-in tournament dubbed “The Opener,” which promises at least a $250,000 prize pool. Expect that tournament to draw big numbers if previous WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley stops are any indication.
The Circuit made two stops at Thunder Valley in 2024, and The Opener went well over the guarantee both times.
The January 2024 edition of the Opener drew 1,656 players and a $547,110 prize pool over four Day 1 flights. David Nguyen took down the win for a $79,950 payday, and the final prize pool ended up at more than double the $250,000 guarantee.
The WSOP Circuit came back for the second of two 2024 stops at Thunder Valley this past October, with The Opener featuring five Day 1 flights at a $300,000 guarantee. Tournament champion William Ferguson took home the first-place prize of $66,782, and the final prize pool reached $481,140.
You can find the full schedule for the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley series here.
$500,000 Guaranteed Main Event
Both of the 2024 WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley stops saw the $1,700 Main Event prize pool go over the $1-million mark.
The January 2024 Main Event guaranteed $500,000, but ended up awarding $1,124,130 in total prize money. Denis Lee topped the field of 742 entries to take home the tournament trophy and the $207,020 winner’s prize.
The Main Event guarantee increased to $1 million for the October 2024 series, and 812 entries registered to create a $1,230,180 prize pool.
Mark Egbert came away with the Main Event win, earning $214,565.
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