Illinois Poker Tournament Calendar

There are several major poker events on the horizon in Illinois. Multiple poker rooms in the state will be hosting big-time tournaments in November.

Millions of dollars are on the line this month. The World Series of Poker will be back in the state, with an exciting tournament set in Elgin.

PlayIllinois will keep you in the loop for all poker action in the Land of Lincoln. All tournaments are in person, as Illinois online poker for real money is still prohibited. There are social poker sites, however, where Illinois players can develop and enhance their poker skills.

WSOP Circuit coming to Grand Victoria Casino

In November, the Grand Victoria Poker Room will host the World Series of Poker Circuit. It takes over from Hammond, which concluded its run last month. Elgin will welcome the renowned WSOP Circuit Series from Nov. 9-20.

Much like the previous Hammond series, this event will feature a main tournament and numerous ring events. Additionally, the series will include two seniors tournaments and a ladies-only event for a diverse and exciting poker festival.

Sixteen official ring events will be played on the Grand Victoria Casino‘s 20 tables. And it comes with a $1.5 million prize pool.

Other stand-out events at the tournament include:

$600 NLH Event 2: Nov. 9-12 ($250,000 guaranteed)
$400 NLH Senior’s Event 4: Nov. 12 ($100,000 guaranteed)
$400 NLH Monster Stack Event 8: Nov. 14-16 ($100,000 guaranteed)
$1,700 NLH Main Event 9: Nov. 16-19 ($750,000 guaranteed)

The full schedule is here.

Windy City Poker Championship will feast on Thanksgiving weekend

The Windy City Poker Championship Club will be off Thanksgiving Day. It will, however, host poker events the day before, the day after and all weekend long. Each weekend in November the club presents multiple small buy-in events.

The Thanksgiving special events include:

$60 NLH: Wednesday, Nov. 22, 6:30 p.m.
$60 NLH: Friday, Nov. 24, 6:30 p.m.
$135 NLH: Saturday, Nov. 25, noon
$80 NLH: Saturday, Nov. 25, 6:30 p.m.
$60 NLH: Sunday, Nov. 26, noon
$60 NLH: Sunday, Nov. 26, 6:30 p.m.

According to owner Kirk Fallah, “Cash games run all four days at noon on Thanksgiving weekend.” Check with the club each week for new promotions and events.

Horseshoe Hammond resumes regular schedule after WSOP event

The Horseshoe Hammond in Chicago recently closed out the WSOP circuit series in October. The poker room is now back to its regular tournament schedule in November.

Weekly tournaments include:

$120 NLH: Tuesdays, noon ($5,000 guaranteed)
$220 NLH: Wednesdays, noon ($10,000 guaranteed)
$120 NLH: Thursdays, 6 p.m. ($5,000 guaranteed)

A few Illinois residents cleaned up big in the October WSOP Series.

Joseph Laz: Event 2, $29,600 (Naperville)
Jill Bryant: Event 3, $17,616 (Aurora) (2nd ring)
John Colella: Event 4, $20,900 (Oak Park)
Angelo Kozonis: Event 5, $20,210 (Chicago)
Joe Chen: Event 6, $41,387 (Bartlett)
James Casement: Event 9, $30,076 (Saint Charles)
Jorge Galarza: Event 12, $13,467 (Bridgeview)
Bin Liu: Event 14, $42,551 (Chicago)
Matthew Porter: Event 15, $14,422 (Mchenry) (2nd ring)

Also at the event was Las Vegas professional Ari Engel. In Event 7, Engel took down the field for $10,749. He continues to be the all-time ring leader with 16.

Each winner of an event won cash plus a WSOP Circuit ring. Players who locked up a ring this year have earned a seat at the 2024 WSOP Tournament of Champions. The $1 million freeroll is available to all 2023-24 bracelet and circuit ring winners, whether they competed online or in-person.

The TOC will occur in the Las Vegas World Series of Poker during the 2024 live series.

Rivers Des Plaines Bad Beat Jackpot doubles in 1 month

The Rivers Casino Des Plaines Bad Beat Jackpot continues to swell. The room does not offer tournaments, but the cash games continue to thrive among its 22 tables. Players can pre-register on the Rivers website to lock up a cash game seat before arriving at the casino.

The bad beat jackpot as of Oct. 20 was $89,963. There are also High Hands events for $500 every hour, Sundays through Thursdays, from noon to midnight.

Get your bad beat on across Illinois in November

Each month, the bad beat jackpots draw cash players into poker rooms across Illinois. Generally, when four of a kind is beaten, it activates the bad beat jackpot. Jackpots are hard to come by, but players like chasing the big paydays.

Here is a look at active bad beats in the state: