51 Days of 2026 World Series of Poker Coverage Is About to Begin

by Roy Brindley, 28 May 2026

51 days of live streaming coverage and dealer ratings are the new initiatives at the recently underway 2026 World Series of Poker.

The 2026 World Series of Poker is underway. © WSOP

Key Facts:

• The first of 100 WSOP bracelet events is now underway in Las Vegas.
• Organisers’ new ‘rate your dealer’ feature does not earn five stars from players.
• 51 days of WSOP coverage on YouTube, X, Twitch, and Facebook are about to begin.

The 2026 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is underway in Las Vegas. The 57th edition of the famous card-playing event started with a $550 buy-in Mini Mystery Millions No Limit Hold ’em and a $5,000 entry 8-Handed No-Limit Hold ’em on Tuesday.

In total, 100 bracelet events will be played at the 2026 WSOP. The last of these, a $1,000 buy-in Super Turbo No-Limit Hold ’em, will begin on July 15. At this point, any individual who has elected to take one entry in each of the preceding 99 events – without rebuys and without any success – will be chasing losses of $1,100,950!

This year, organisers are boasting a significant increase in the number of tables set aside for use at the WSOP’s home venues – the Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas. In 2026, there will be 749 tables, compared to the 667 in use a year ago.

Theoretically, the extra tables will reduce overcrowding and help accommodate anticipated big-entry fields in low-to mid-range buy-in events offering big guarantees, mystery bounties, and ‘life-changing’ prize pools.

Rate Your Dealer With Star Appeal

An increased number of tables means the need for additional dealers, and Caesars Entertainment went on a massive recruitment drive at the start of the year. Cleverly, players who have expressed concerns about the competency of the extra staff have been given an opportunity to provide valuable input.

Our Dealer Rating System is coming to Vegas!

Using the new Dealer Rating System on WSOP Live…

• Players can rate the dealer at their table
• Ratings are shared internally with tournament staff
• Dealers with the highest ratings will earn rewards throughout the series… pic.twitter.com/SvVkmnQCeK

— WSOP – World Series of Poker (@WSOP) May 7, 2026

For the first ever time, the WSOP has introduced a ‘rate your dealer’ function on its dedicated WSOP live app. Results will not be made public, but incentives for highly rated dealers could include financial bonuses, priority selection for premium events, and better long-term job opportunities at Caesars properties.

By day two of the WSOP, players were already saying the star rating system was insufficient, citing the lack of feedback options. One player wrote: “So the dealer rating system is live, but with 5 options to rate a dealer, there should be some feedback comments on why such and such stars have been given.”

“Without feedback comments, it should just have been a thumbs up or down. Clear indication of which dealer to keep and which one not to keep. With a 5-star rating system, how do you even know what went wrong with the dealer’s star rating?”

Footage of a dealer who had clearly failed to verify his deck during opening day one action suggests a fair few one-star ratings could already be in circulation. The incident, posted on X by successful player and podcaster Mike Holtz, shows a joker/instruction card in play and making an appearance on the flop!

51 Days of Comprehensive Live Stream Coverage

Elsewhere, the WSOP had previously announced that ESPN will broadcast the World Series of Poker Main Event – won last year by Michael Mizrachi – live in a cliffhanger format. It has now been confirmed that its coverage will total over 100 hours.

The remaining 99 events will be covered on what the WSOP’s emcee, Jeff Platt, recently described as “new, innovative, comprehensive, live stream coverage” on the official WSOP YouTube channel, as well as X, Twitch and Facebook.

“We will start that [coverage] on May 29 with the $25K Heads-Up Championship,” the WSOP frontman explained. He added that its 51 days of coverage will include “multiple feature tables” and promises its camera crews will capture “anything else that is going on,” stating, “we will be mobile, we’re gonna check it out.”