Casino City’s Friday Five: WSOP kickoff and openings edition

The 56th World Series of Poker is officially upon us and we already have the first bracelet awarded. In addition, we have an Illinois casino set for an August opening, a six-figure jackpot win out of Delaware, a new tower at Tropicana in Atlantic City, and Circa Sports NFL contests coming back with record numbers.

Let’s begin with some jackpot fun from Dover:

5. Local player wins $365,992 at Bally’s Dover
A lucky guest at Bally's Dover Casino Resort in Delaware hit a massive $365,992 table games jackpot on 22 May.

The winner, a resident of Bear, Delaware, struck it big while playing AK Blackjacks Matching Suits Progressive, a side bet game that rewards players for matching suited aces and kings in blackjack.

4. Circa Sports announces a record $21 million prize pool for football contests
Circa Sports is raising the stakes higher than ever for its record-breaking NFL football contests. Circa Survivor and Circa Million VII will make history with its highest payout to date of $21 million, no rake.

Additionally, the Las Vegas-based venture will debut Circa Grandissimo – a high-stakes survivor-style contest with $1.5 million guaranteed, no rake at $100,000 per entry.

Last year, Circa Survivor guaranteed the winner $10 million. The eight winners split a final prize pool of $14,266,000 after entries surpassed the guarantee.

All contests will run from 4 September 2025 through 4 January 2026.

The World’s largest Football Contests are back @CircaSports!!!https://t.co/Cdg0WisMsp #CircaSportsMillionVII #CircaSurvivor #Vegas pic.twitter.com/V7jBF1nGwb
— Derek Stevens (@DerekJStevens) May 22, 2025

3. Tropicana Atlantic City to unveil new Solana Tower
Tropicana Atlantic City will offer guests another reason to visit with the debut of the new Solana Tower, featuring reimagined rooms and suites in the resort's west wing.

The project will commence later this year and is expected to debut in early 2026.

The 604-room and suite transformation will draw inspiration from Tropicana’s Palm Walk, known for its palm trees around the dynamic casino floor.

Reservations are slated to go live in fall 2025.

2. Hollywood Casino Joliet’s grand opening set for 11 August
Earlier this week, PENN Entertainment announced that it expects to open the new land-based Hollywood Casino - Joliet in Illinois on 11 August.

The property will feature approximately 1,000 slots and 43 live table games, including a baccarat room, a retail ESPN BET sportsbook, an approximately 10,000 square foot event center with meeting areas, and roughly 1,330 parking spaces.

PENN has also partnered with celebrity chef and entrepreneur Giada De Laurentiis to debut her fusion of classic Italian cuisine and modern California influence in the Chicagoland region for the first time.

1. 56th World Series of Poker is underway
The cards are in the air! On Tuesday, the World Series of Poker launched its 56th edition and many of the top names in poker are in attendance, including Daniel Negreanu and Kirsten Foxen.

You can expect this year’s tournament to be another big hit, especially with the help of the WSOP+ app that aims to streamline the entire WSOP experience.

Event #2 was the first to conclude and dish out a bracelet at this year’s series. It was Phovieng Keokham who claimed the $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold’em event, taking home his first gold bracelet and $64,369.

This was just the first of 100 bracelets to be awarded so this is just the very tip of the iceberg for the next nearly two months.

Phovieng Keokham ???? wins Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em for $64,369 & his first #WSOP bracelet! ?? #WSOP2025 #Poker pic.twitter.com/RAr7r4p1hV
— WSOP - World Series of Poker (@WSOP) May 29, 2025