Here’s the link for anyone interested.

http://www.worldpokertour.com/Tournaments/Seasons/Season_7.aspx

As expected, the following stops are gone: Mirage, Mandalay Bay, Turks and Caicos, Barcelona, Tunica, and Reno.

Also as expectecd, the Biloxi stop moves from hurricane season to January to replace Tunica.

(That leaves Borgata in September as the only WPT stop where hurricane/tropical storms are an issue.)

Bellagio will have 4 WPT stops out of 14.

The only real surprise: Niagara Fallsview remains on the schedule.

Unfortunately, like the U.S. government looking for Montgomery Burns’s stolen trillion-dollar bill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_with_Trillions), I can only tell you that they aren’t keeping the upcoming WPT schedule on the roof.

I think BJ said he does have inside information. He’s at the office all the time, and he knows exactly what’s going on. He’s only being mysterious with his answers for dramatic effect.

I don’t think the regulations rule out poker tournaments entirely, but there is so much complicated bureaucracy that neither the WPT nor the EPT wanted to risk it. France could be back on the schedule again, now that lawyers have had more time to dig through the red tape and the fine print.

Of course, the major tours (WPT, EPT) might be waiting for someone else to hold a major tournament there first. It’s the old saying — “Pioneers get the arrows, settlers get the land.”

I haven’t heard anything regarding Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls, but they seemed extremely pleased with the tournament while we were there. The media guidelines were pretty oppressive (due to local and/or Canadian gaming regulations), but now that we’ve been through that drill once, it will be easier to handle next season.

Again, I have *no* inside information, and I am probably more curious to see the official schedule than the rest of you.

Wasn’t Paris originally canceled as an WPT event because there were going to be online qualifiers or something like that? I’d think there’s other cities out there that could do a WPT event that aren’t EPT/WSOPE locations.

Kevin…

Having said that, “lead online tournament reporters” aren’t privy to any inside information about future scheduling. (I’ve never even been to their corporate offices.) So I don’t have anything even remotely resembling an “inside scoop.”

However, I see some definite upside to this if it’s true. I’ve long wanted to change the poker calendar from January to December to something either starting or ending with the World Series. The two tourneys mentioned in this rumor (Mirage and Mandalay Bay) are currently the first two WPT events of each season — and the only two to fall *before* the WSOP.

Also, based on Poker Shrink’s comment, it’s possible that the Mirage will just reschedule it’s tournament to a different time of year, something that suits it’s convention schedule better. In 2004, it was in July — *after* the WSOP.

I definitely don’t want to see the WPT downsize, but sometimes you have to get leaner to get stronger. (Are you paying attention, Microsoft?) If the WPT does drop two tournaments, then I hope that is the case. Though I’m secretly hoping that they’re adding a second European event (Paris & Barcelona?) to the schedule.

I guess rumors become irrelevant later this week when the schedule is officially announced. But keep in mind that, in the past, there have been WPT schedule changes (such as adding WPT Barcelona) even after the schedule was released.

Last year, Mandalay got 228 players, and Mirage only got a little over 300. But Mirage has been on the schedule for years and is one of the player favorites.

They add ladies-only tournaments but cancel ones that all players like?

I think there’s more here than meets the eye, but I’m going to wait until the schedule is released to speculate further…