Casino City's Friday Five: World Series of Poker returns to Las Vegas edition

Due the COVID-19 pandemic, last year’s World Series of Poker was moved online and had a totally different feel to it than we’ve been used to over the years. However, this year the world’s most prestigious poker tournament is heading back to the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Before we dive into those details, including another slate of online bracelet events and news about this year’s WSOP Europe, we are seeing the return of entertainment at many resort casinos across the U.S. Also this week, we have bonus spins for Easter at Intertops Poker, a Pai Gow jackpot at Gold Coast and several casino openings and expansions.

Let’s kick it off with some bonus offers:

5. Easter bonus spins at Intertops Poker
Over the Easter weekend, Intertops Poker is giving free spins on four Betsoft slots: Spring Tails, The Hive, Mystic Hive and Fruit Zen.

Players who claim the first three deposit bonuses can get 80 bonus spins with no further deposit required. Players can win up to $250 with their spins.

For the rest of the month, Intertops Poker is giving up to 100 free spins on Book of Darkness, April’s Slot of the Month.

"No Easter Bunnies for you," laughed the manager of Intertops Pokers' casino games section. "Just rats, bees, fireflies and cherry blossoms!"

4. Pai Gow Poker progressive jackpot won at Gold Coast casino
A California visitor received a special welcome to the city by winning Boyd Gaming’s regional linked Pai Gow Poker progressive jackpot of more than $182,000 at Gold Coast Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Wednesday, 24 March.

The guest, who requested to remain anonymous, was playing Pai Gow Poker at 11 p.m. and won the regional linked progressive jackpot of $182,148 after hitting a seven-card straight flush.

The Pai Gow Poker progressive jackpot has reset at $75,000.

A California visitor, who plans to move to #LasVegas, received a special welcome to the city by winning @boydgaming’s regional linked Pai Gow Poker progressive jackpot of more than $182,000 at Gold Coast Hotel and Casino! #GoldCoastCasino #PaiGowPoker #BoydGaming #BConnected pic.twitter.com/VJNiwp02SI
— goldcoastcasino (@goldcoastcasino) March 26, 2021

3. Entertainment returning to several resort casinos
As more vaccines rollout, resort casinos are feeling more comfortable with welcoming back live entertainment for guests enjoy and gain a sense of normalcy again. We are seeing more concerts and performances being announced in the coming weeks and months.

Last week, Foxwoods Resort Casino announced it will be bringing back live indoor entertainment. Dave Chappelle announced two performances of Dave Chappelle and Friends at The Grand Theater at the Connecticut resort on 25-26 June. Masks will be required at all times while in the venue. Additionally, each ticket holder will receive a mandatory rapid COVID-19 antigen test, prior to entering the venue.

Styx will return to Las Vegas for a two-night limited engagement at The Venetian Theatre inside The Venetian Las Vegas. The American rock shows will be held on 25 and 26 September 2021 at 8 p.m.

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas will also welcome the pioneer of punk, Billy Idol, to The Chelsea stage for an exclusive engagement, Saturday, 16 October – Sunday, 17 October and Friday, 22 October – Saturday, 23 October. To ensure guests can comfortably and safely enjoy live entertainment, social distancing, reduced occupancies and additional safety measures are strictly enforced throughout the resort, and guests are required to wear face coverings unless eating or drinking.

2. Casino openings and expansions
Earlier this week we posted our top 10 casino openings and expansions for spring 2021. The top item covered was the grand opening for Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

The new resort experience includes with 1,500 chambers and suite; the 60,000 square-foot Mohegan Sun Casino; a five-acre desert pool oasis including a multi-functional event lawn; and a portfolio of 12 food and beverage venues.

Located off-Strip on the former location of Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Virgin’s new Mohegan Sun Casino is the first Native American-operated casino in Las Vegas and features 650 slots and over 150 table games.

In our top 10, we also covered the new rooms coming to the Bellagio on the Las Vegas Strip. The new experience encompasses all 2,568 guest rooms in the Strip resort’s main tower.

The new designs includes bespoke features on either side of the bed and around the TV media center. A spacious built-in closet and two comfortable, multipurpose seating nooks encourage full use of the room.

Bellagio's room remodel will continue through the summer with the first collection of rooms available for guest stays beginning in April.

1. World Series of Poker announces plans for 2021
On Thursday, the World Series of Poker announced much-anticipated plans for 2021, including the return of the live, in-person World Series of Poker event and $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em World Championship, best known as The Main Event.

The tournament will be back in-person at Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino this fall. Cards will be in the air for a diverse calendar of events beginning Thursday, 30 September with all play concluding on Tuesday, 23 November. The Main Event is expected to begin Thursday, 4 November and run through Wednesday, 17 November.

Building off last summer's record-setting success for both domestic and international online poker tournaments, the WSOP plans to fill the summer void with an exciting slate of WSOP Gold Bracelet online events. Complete information about the WSOP Online tournament schedule will be released and published online on 15 April.

In addition, WSOP Europe is expected to round out the year of poker action with its return to King's Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic running from Friday, 19 November through Tuesday, 8 December. The tournament is expected to include 15 gold bracelet events, including a €10,000 buy-in WSOP Europe Main Event and a €50,000 High Roller event.

This isn't an April Fools jokes: the WSOP is back. We couldn’t wait another day to share the good news :
- WSOP back in-person from Sept. 30 to Nov. 23 at @RioVegas
- Summer to see the return of WSOP Online
- WSOP Europe @PokerroomKings to round out 2021https://t.co/kOacLy6PaE pic.twitter.com/lFXNRiN7E6
— WSOP (@WSOP) April 1, 2021