The World Series of Poker has been hosted by the Rio since what was then Harrah's, now Caesars Entertainment, purchased the franchise back in 2005. That first year, the final two days of the Main Event relocated back downtown to the WSOP's original location at Binion's, in large part thanks to then Mayor Oscar Goodman, who argued persuasively to keep the event downtown in its traditional home through Las Vegas' centennial year. Each year since, however, the whole tournament has been hosted at the Rio, including the Main Event final table.
2006 was also the first year in which ESPN aired the entire final table of the Main Event, via pay-per-view, then in 2008 the channel experimented with the idea of a "delayed" final table, on the grounds that it might lead to greater "hype" and sponsorship/advertising opportunities. Evidently the plan worked, since from then on the final table has taken place four months after the players vying for the grand prize have been determined, leading to these finalists being dubbed the "November Nine" (aside from an awkward blip in 2012, when the final table took place in October to avoid a clash with the presidential election).
While the rest of the tournament takes place in the Rio's convention center, a space big enough to accommodate the thousands of players and multiple events the WSOP has come to comprise, the final table takes place in the more intimate setting of the Penn & Teller Theater, which seats 1,100. The event is open to the general public and, since it's a live gambling event, it's against gaming regulations for tickets to be sold -- they're distributed free of charge on a first come, first served basis on the day.
However, be aware that some of those spots are reserved for the media, while a good chunk of the seats are dispersed among friends and families of the finalists: When we first wrote about this back in 2009, one player had requested just four seats, but another took 250! Some possible good news with regard to this year's "November Nine" is that three of the players currently live in London, while another is from Brazil, which may well limit how many of their nearest and dearest will be there to support them. The remaining five all reside in the U.S., however, including two Las Vegas residents, so they could have large followings. Play this year kicks off on November 10, which is a Monday, so work schedules may limit who's able to attend.
We're not sure about this year, but historically play has kicked off at noon and if you want to bag one of those free seats you'd be well advised to get there very early to avoid disappointment. If you don't get in on the first day, however, the the good news is that each time a player gets knocked out, their supporters also most likely will vacate the theater, freeing up more seats for the general public over the scheduled three-day event that will determine this year's champion and who gets to walk away with the $10 million top prize.
