Live Poker Worldwide: Whats On In May 2024

April was a bustling month for live poker, with numerous high-profile events across various circuits like WPT, WSOPC, and others. High roller players had numerous opportunities with events from PokerGoTour and Triton. As we transition into May, the poker action doesn't slow down, with another stellar line-up of events scheduled across the globe. From grassroots to high-stakes, live poker in May offers something for every fan of the live game. Here's our regional breakdown and guide to the major live poker events this month.

May is the last busy month in Europe before the summer slow down, when the poker world turns its attention to the WSOP in Las Vegas. While there are no WPT or WPT Prime events in Europe during May, there are plenty of other events taking place, including two WSOP International Circuit festivals. The EPT in Monte Carlo is still ongoing as the month begins, but perhaps the key live poker highlight of May is the Mediterranean Poker Party in Cyprus. 

The UK’s live poker action in May is once again dominated by Grosvenor Casinos, who have two GUKPT festivals running, plus four other 25/50 Championships. The team that run Dusk Till Dawn will be in Cyprus for the first half of the month running the Mediterranean Poker Party, but then they return to Nottingham to host an EAPT event. The Amateur Poker Association & Tour also holds the Scottish Amateur Championship in Glasgow.

The Irish Open was a huge success with a massive field of 3,233 players entering the €1,150 Championship event, sponsored by Paddy Power Poker and PokerStars. Now that the biggest event of the year has concluded, the Irish poker community returns to more affordable low-roller action with no less than four Irish Poker Tour festivals taking place in May. The highlight of the month is the Irish Poker Tour Monster, which takles place at the beginning of May, with a €150 buy-in and a truly monsterous €200,000 guarantee.

The Casinos Austria Poker Tour visits Linz for a festival with a very affordable €550 main event.

Circus Casino in Namur is the busiest poker venue in Belgium and in May they hold the PokerStars Belgian Classic from 8-20 May, with a €1,100 main event.

As already mentioned, the Mediterranean Poker Party takes place at Merit Hotel and Casino resort in Kyrenia, Northern Cyprus. Its a fantastic venue and once again Rob Yong’s team from Dusk Till Dawn have put on a great schedule of events, which includes the EAPT Grand Final and the festival’s own €5,300 buy-in main event, with a $5m guarantee. They sure know how to throw a party!

The WSOPC festival in Paris is the live poker highlight of the month in France. It runs from 22-28  May with a €1,200 main event and a festival schedule that includes 10 ring events.

The Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Budva from May 12-26 is one of the month's most glamorous events, with a staggering buy-in of €132,500 for the main event from May 20-22. The super high roller tour held a record breaking festival in Jeju South Korea earlier in the year and another bumper series of high stakes tournaments is hotly anticipated.

The WSOP International Circuit is close to concluding its current season, which will resume after the summer, but there are still a few WSOPC events taking place in May. Venlo hosts the tour this time, with the festival taking place near the start of the month, with a €1,100 main event.

888 Poker Live visits Barcelona this month, in what is otherwise a relatively quiet month for poker in Spain. It hots up in summer though!

Nova Gorica close to the Italian border is the setting for the latest Italian Series of Poker events, with a €990 main event.

While live poker is a little slow in Europe in May, the same cannot be said of live poker in north America, in particular the USA, where there is lots going on around the country, while Las Vegas kicks its summer into action at the end of the month. There is also some poker going on in Brazil with the BSOP event in Natal.

Outside Las Vegas, May is a particularly busy month for poker events in the rest of the country. There are so many events going on that every corner of the USA is covered in some way with a live poker event taking place nearby. There are three WSOPC festivals , each with a $1,700 main event, the RUNGOOD Poker Series and Mid-States Poker Tour both have two events in May. Just before the WSOP starts in Las Vegas, the Commerce Card Casino in Los Angeles will host the WSOP Tournament of Champions, an invitational event exclusively for bracelet and ring winners (live and online) from the 2023-2024 season.

Following last month’s record breaking WSOPC event in Toronto, the WSOPC has another event in Canada in May, this time in Calgary, a city famous for hosting the Winter Olympics. The WPT also has big plans for Canada in May with its festival at the Playground in Montreal featuring a WPT Prime Championship as well as WPT Main Tour Championship.

The BSOP (Brazilian Series of Poker) visits Natal in May for the only notable live poker event in South America during the month.

This is a flag that not many will have on their HendonMob profiles, but is one that the die hard poker tourists must be drooling over visiting. Warm sunny climes in the Indian Ocean and a poker festival with a cheeky little €500 buy-in main event. The African Series of Poker takes place at Grand Bay in early May.

French online poker site hosts the 7th edition of the Winamax SISMIX Marrakech at the end of the month, featuring a DH 5,500 Main Event, which is equivalent to just over €500.

The Sunbet Poker Tour by MJPT continues in May, this time at Sun City, with the main event already underway as the month begins.

Vietnam is the place to be in May for the two biggest live poker events of the month in the region. The first of these is Poker Dream 10, which started on April 29th in Hoi An, with a 36m DONG buy-in Main Event. Later in the month WPT Prime visits Hanoi with a similarly priced main event.

Jeju is a popular poker destination in Asia, having hosted the Triton Series earlier this year. Running from April 26 - May 4, APT Jeju has a KWR 800,000 main event and a very busy schedule of side events.