Things kicks off in earnest on May 28th with a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event, that’s one day after the series officially starts with a non-bracelet $500 Casino Employees event.

The first bracelet event is one of 21 tournaments available to players at the $1,500 buy-in level.

New Bracelet Events for 2012

New events for 2012 include the aforementioned $1 million Big One, a $3,000 Mixed NLHE/PLO Heads-Up event, a $5,000 event following the same “Mix-Max” format we saw at the WSOP Europe in Cannes, a $2,500 four-handed No-Limit Hold’em event and a $1,500 Ante Only tournament.

The $50k Players Championship will play out over five days beginning on June 24th and will use the same eight-game mix from last year. The Big One, the only event that outdoes the Players Championship in terms of buy-in, will begin on July 1.

There will be a total of five open $1,000 tournaments, plus the $1,000 Seniors and Ladies events, comprising the summer's lowest buy-in bracelet events.

There will be seven $10k Championship events, including the Main Event.

New October Nine Delayed Final Table for Main Event

The WSOP has also announced expanded playing space in the Rio Hotel Convention Center. 470 poker tables are expected to be in use throughout the series. That’s 92 more than 2011, an increase of almost 25%.

The Main Event has undergone the most visible changes. The traditional four Day 1 heats have been cut to three, but a third Day 2 flight has been added. There will be no day off before the Day 2 flights as we saw in 2011.

The November Nine delayed final table has been moved up roughly a week to the end of October, but with the exception of now being an October Nine, it looks much the same as last year.

Click through to WSOP.com for the full 2012 WSOP schedule.

PokerListings.com will be in Las Vegas for the entire 2012 World Series of Poker so follow along with us right here, or on Twitter and Facebook for an up-close look at all the action.

The WSOP released some hints at the schedule and format through a series of tweets a short while ago:

What's tomorrow? Besides February 1st! It will be the unveiling of the 2012 World Series of Poker schedule! Stay tuned.

The 43rd Annual WSOP will take place from May 27 to July 16, 2012 at @RioVegas. Full schedule comes at 1 PM ET Wednesday.

A few hints on WSOP schedule coming tomorrow...you won't find the November Nine returning.

For the 2012 WSOP, an expected 470 poker tables will be utilized...nearly 100 more than last year!

Another good change coming to WSOP in 2012...no off day during Main Event

Despite speculation over the last few years the venue would be changed, the Rio in Las Vegas will again play host.

Stay tuned for more tweets from the WSOP here and check our poker news section tomorrow for the full schedule.

The November Nine debuted at the World Series of Poker in 2008 and included Dennis Phillips, Ivan Demidov and champ Peter Eastgate.

WSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky alluded to the changes in an interview with PokerListings last November when discussing the success of the live streaming coverage in 2011:

“If you’re doing something live do you really need to delay it four months and try to build this anticipation to get people to watch?” he said. “It doesn’t quite work.”

Turbo and Hyper Turbo tournaments will both be on the schedule as will a $1,500,000 guaranteed Main Event to wrap the series up.

For anyone unfamiliar with a Turbo format, it’s basically just a faster version of the standard multi-table tournament with blind levels increasing faster to force the action.

For players with busy schedules, like PokerStars pro David Williams, it’s the perfect solution.

“Actually turbo tournaments fit my style much better,” Williams told the PokerStars blog, “because you're forced to be more active.

“Turbo tournaments will be some of the most exciting tournaments out there, and to have a series comprised of solely turbo tournaments is a player's dream.

“Basically, you don't have to spend a full day for a big score.”

Williams’ strategy advice for Turbo tournaments?

“You have to go out there and go get those pots. It's important to not be too patient early and get grinded down.

“You can put yourself in a position where you simply can't win."

The first event in the 2012 TCOOP kicks off tomorrow (Thursday, January 19) at noon with a $22 buy-in, $200k guaranteed six-max no-limit holdem event.

Satellites for TCOOP events start as low as $1 or 50 FPPs.

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