After being on hiatus for three years, Harrah’s Entertainment announced the Tournament of Champions will be returning to the World Series of Poker. The Tournament will be changed into an ‘All-Star’ format and will have a $1 million prize pool up for grabs. ESPN will be filming the event and then air it on August 3rd as a two hour event.

The first place prize is worth $500,000 and just twenty seven players will be competing to win the prize. Twenty of the twenty seven seats at the event will be decided by public vote. The polls are now open at the WSOP website and fans can vote as to who they want to see compete. The voting will close on June 15th at midnight. Those eligible to compete are the living World Series of Poker bracelet winners.

Of the seven remaining seats, five will be awarded to three previous winners of the Tournament of Champions. That includes Annie Duke, Mike Matusow, Mike Sexton, Joe Cada and Barry Shulman. The tournament will begin on June 27th and the final table will resume on July 4th to compete for a winner.

The WSOP will also be awarding two sponsor exemptions for the tournament and details about how the seats can be won will be released at a further date. “Tournaments like the Tournament of Champions help elevate poker to the level it deserves and I am honored to participate,” said inaugural winner Annie Duke. “Winning the Tournament of Champions marks one of the most memorable events in my poker career and I’m ecstatic that the WSOP is hosting this prestigious event.”

From 4flush.com

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