Are you travelling to WSOP 25?

After the COVID 2021 October wsop I was hoping they would leave it there. I knew it was extremely unlikely though and unfortunately it went right back to June for 2022.

I like it right where it is. Would rather it not compete with sitting by the pool watching football and/or baseball playoffs

June also isn’t that bad, it’s August that gets a bit harsh because get a little bit of humidity and monsoons rolling in.

And poker is an indoor activity

Summer WSOP works because of kids summer vaca and Larry from Oklahoma gets to leave the kids with his wife so he can fire off a few 1ks

Isn't this backwards?
Summer vaca means kids not in school and need more attention. Larry from Oklahoma needs to be more present and available than he does during the school year.

June can get really bad although it's not always too bad the first couple of weeks.
Poker is an indoor activity but I don't like having to stay indoors all day. People can save their "dry heat" bullshit when it's 115 degrees out.

I loved watching the baseball playoffs all day in 2021 then playing at night.

Average high temp is 102 in June. Sure I wouldn’t go on a two hour hike but it’s comfy by the pool and it’s not horrendous to take a walk from casino to casino. Ymmv though

But generally just can’t get on board with notion that it should be moved to time period of most pristine weather for an indoor activity. This is my view which is the V in NVG

Average high temp is 102 in June. Sure I wouldn’t go on a two hour hike but it’s comfy by the pool and it’s not horrendous to take a walk from casino to casino. Ymmv though

Seriously?
102 is not that bad?
Can you name a major city that is worse in June ?
I mean, maybe Riyadh?

A 10 minute walk outside between noon and 7 PM and you'll be sweaty.
And your clothes will feel warm when you enter a casino
I deal with it, but please, let's not downplay it.
It's one of the hottest cities in the world in June

102 with no humidity and I’m not sweating after a 10 minute walk but as I mentioned in my V, ymmv

But for the people who do think it’s too hot, thankfully there’s an indoor festival that aligns with their interests going on for a month and a half

Aside from the interesting temperature/timing discussion around WSOP this thread is extremely politicized, and i'd like to try to get it back to a more facts based approach around the original topic (travel to WSOP).

1. Vegas starts to feel economic pressure (not saying this is only due to tariffs, but def. influenced by them). see MGM here starting to fire people
https://www.reviewjournal.com/entertainm...

2. i follow the Vegas locally account on Twitter (can't get myself to calling it X), they report a lot about declining amount of tourists, empty streets, empty casinos, not much going on at the airport etc.
https://x.com/LasVegasLocally

3. there are a lot of credible reports about the decline in container ships coming from China, which will result in emptier shelfs in the coming weeks in your local supermarket
https://x.com/Mollyploofkins/status/1916...
https://x.com/VeritasRegina/status/19169...
https://x.com/toJamesConnor/status/19161...
etc.
this will hit vegas and the US in general, and therefore vegas again (bc people won't spend money on a vegas trip when stuff like this is happening)

4. It's clear that ICE and Customs and Border Protection have orders to be more aggressive, do additional searches, questioning etc., too many reported cases of this to not see it as a fact.
I made a small poll among friends/people i know (all European based) and there's roughly 1/3 i'd say that are either cancelling their travel plans or about to/unsure

5. i still plan on going myself, of course i have my basics covered
- esta in place
- enough cash to finance my trip
- flight return ticket and all hotel/airbnb accommodations booked

a little unsure as to what's the best thing to say about the purpose for my trip? Usually i just say that i'm a poker player, which is the truth and has always been fine, now with those reports about people getting detained bc they "allegedly" plan to illegally work in the US, i'm not sure anymore. What's the consensus about this, any ideas/suggestions?

1) Absolutely not, the only reason this might be in the news more than before is because of the change in leadership and a bias to highlight bad experiences.

2) Say you are there for the WSOP (which is my plan as a 1st time WSOP-visitor), they will likely wish you good luck and you will be let in. Why on earth would this year would be different than others?

well, as i said, i don't want to go in any form of political discussion, and since you clearly deny point 1 (which is a fact, undeniable), i suggest we better not discuss this any further.

If it's a fact I am sure you can provide statistics or an official statement, instead of just hearsay.

There is just no way the US is actively trying to scare away foreign tourists, whether they are going to Las Vegas or someone else. And people like you are fearmongering and deterring others from travelling by spreading such unfounded claims and treating them as 'facts'.

Edit: I am well aware that travel numbers are down, but that is on the individuals making a choice, and not some kind of tougher border policy that is actively turning vacationers away.

I'm curious how you can make these assertions. Have you ignored literally everything that's changed in 2025?

Practically all economic analysists indicate recession by summer which will crush US based tourism.

International travel is crushed because of... the fear mongering? Why are have our allies issued travel advisories for the US? It's because their citizens have been abused. Off the top of my head, there was the Canadian woman detained for a couple weeks, the Australian MMA coach put in a federal prison, the German girls who were strip searched and incarcerated. These tourists should have at worst been denied entry. They were all detained. This is new policy.

waste of time and breath buddy ... you can't convince these people.
I could take the time, make a list of 20 cases or whatever, and he would call it fake news (bc it doesn't fit his narrative)

... like there is also no way that a tariff has to be paid by the guy who is buying the goods, right? ;-)))))))

Definitely agree on #2.

Say you're there to play some wsop events. Don't say you're a poker pro ( no idea of you are or not.)

Ultimately it sounds like you are just creating problems in your own head. Just answer why you are there, keep it very brief, and don't go into any kind of word salad. I think the good old adage of KISS (Keep it simple, stupid) is a good strategy when it comes to dealing with immigration agents.

Fwiw, I am travelling on a Visa (due to being young and stupid back in the 1500 century or whenever it was), so I am at much higher risk of being detained than those travelling with ESTA. But I have been to Vegas close to 15 times or something the last 7 years, and have never had any issues. Usually it's just a 2 minute talk (if that) and you are let through.

Just pointing out that it has always been at the mercy of the immigration agent whether you are let in or not, regardless of whether you have an ESTA or a Visa. Nothing has changed in that regard, and countries that have updated their travel advisory are likely just doing it to be politically correct (God knows why).

Even Germany, since you mentioned the case with the young girls who thought they could walz in without any hotel booking or anything, admitted that they didn't know if this was part of a new policy or just isolated cases.

https://youtu.be/yF7ka8PzYfg?si=2fwo9MYd...

This is going to be a interesting series this summer. I believe the entrance number to tournaments will be significantly lower due to the many changing circumstances.

12:20 mark.

I said as much, what's different for tourists is: WE'RE LOCKING THEM UP INSTEAD OF DENYING ENTRY. That's why there are travel advisories.

Domestic tourism will decrease because the economy is trashed.

That is easy…any city or town in south TX, LA, MS, AL at least 15 miles from coast surrounded by marsh and or swamps.

Difference is SWEAT WORKS in Vegas. No your clothes won’t be sweaty because the sweat will evaporate. Yes a dry heat is very different. Here walking from parking lot into office at 7:30, noon, 4pm, 8pm, it don’t matter you will be sweaty and clothes moist at least.

Many years ago, played golf in mid June in desert outside Phoenix (Troon North) on a Thursday. when it was literally 115F. Flew home next morning and played a round here in mid 90’s but very humid. Guess where I was hotter.

Any shade, plenty of water, and hopefully a breeze, and I will take LV in June any day. Was there last summer in June and they were having record highs. Wife, son and I literally went on couple of easy hikes at Red Rock one day. Only one of us, son active military were are in shape.

It happened previously. Might be happening marginally more. Definitely being reported much more so you hear about it much more. (Consider, which Pres is king of deportations? Hint, he is not in office currently).

And in the case of the German girls, they asked for a different destination, Japan vs NZ. That flight wa# not until next day. So CBP intended to deny entry and send back. They asked for a flight the next day so in effect they asked for overnight det3nsion, even if they did not know it.

Because of politics, the whole illegal immigration actions ar3 being highly covered to the point of fear mongering by some. If you come to US with visa, valid passport, defined plans including lodging and return ticket, no prior or current red flags, iow vast majority of tourists, CPB will waive you thru. The fewer of those boxes you check, the more you will be scrutinized. But nothing about this is different from last year or 10 yrs ago. Just more publicized.

Just say you are visiting Vegas. When asked business or pleasure…pleasure.

If you wish to answer business, then get and have proper visa and other docs.

Been to Arizona before once and it was about 115. No thanks never again.

Vegas feels like you're being sprayed with hot air when it's super hot. Granted 95 in Vegas isn't bad and 95 can be terrible elsewhere. People also stink in the summer at the poker table a lot more than when it's cooler l.

some people like the heat a lot more than me and that's fine. Oh the other extreme I laugh when I'm walking around Vegas in a hoody in the winter and people are bundled up in coats gloves and scarves.

a ton of poker players are also lazy slobs who barely walk and have no trouble staying indoors for days or even weeks on end so the temperature doesn't matter to them.

Most people I talked to after that fall wsop were hoping it would stay there.

As for the visa stuff- you hear the horror stories. And yes some are horrific. If it scares people that much then they should stay home. But you're probably more likely to get hit by a car than have an issue. Just don't say anything stupid or get caught in any lies ,realize a lot of customs agents are pricks on a power trip and deal with them for a few minutes.