Holland Casino 2027 Poker Calendar: WSOP Circuit Amsterdam and Venlo Dates Confirmed

Most poker operators announce next year’s schedule a few months ahead. Holland Casino has gone further this time and put its entire 2027 tournament calendar on the table while the 2026 season is still running.

There are twelve festivals in total. Once again, the headline attractions are the two WSOP Circuit stops in Amsterdam and Venlo, plus the country’s most historic series, the Master Classics of Poker (MCOP).

If you’re planning your 2027 live poker trips, especially from Germany, Belgium or the UK, this is the calendar to build around. Here’s what’s confirmed, how 2026 went, and what the dates mean for your planning.

The Key 2027 Dates at a Glance

Festival	Venue	2027 Dates	2026 Dates (for comparison)
WSOP Circuit Amsterdam	Holland Casino Amsterdam Centrum	March 5–13, 2027	March 13–21, 2026
WSOP Circuit Venlo	Holland Casino Venlo	April 30 – May 8, 2027	May 8–16, 2026
Master Classics of Poker	Holland Casino Amsterdam Centrum	November 12–20, 2027	November 13–21, 2026

All three festivals start on a Friday in 2027, which is good news if you need to fit a trip around work. Both WSOP stops are also scheduled about a week earlier than this year. For Venlo, that shift has a nice side effect, which we cover below.

The full list of all twelve 2027 festivals, including the smaller regional series, is available on Holland Casino’s official site, hc.nl.

Why Holland Casino’s Calendar Matters

To understand why Dutch poker players watch this schedule so closely, you need to know how live poker works in the Netherlands.

Under the Dutch Betting and Gaming Act, Holland Casino holds the exclusive right to run land-based casinos, and that includes live poker for real money. There’s no competing casino down the road and no independent card rooms. If you want to play a serious live tournament in the Netherlands, it happens at one of Holland Casino’s venues, such as Amsterdam, Venlo, Rotterdam or Utrecht.

That makes this calendar effectively the national live poker schedule. For Dutch players it’s the year planned out in one announcement, and for foreign players it shows exactly when the big fields will gather.

A Quick History: How the WSOP Came to the Netherlands

The WSOP relationship with Holland Casino isn’t new.

• 2017: The WSOP International Circuit arrived in the Netherlands, first at Holland Casino Rotterdam and later at Venlo.
• 2025: Amsterdam joined as a second WSOP Circuit stop. That ended Holland Casino’s partnership with the World Poker Tour, which had visited Amsterdam almost every year since 2015.
• 2026: Both Dutch stops raised their Main Event buy-in from €1,100 to €1,500, while keeping the €500,000 guarantee.
• 2027: Both stops return, giving Dutch players two shots at WSOP gold rings without leaving the country.

How the 2026 WSOP Stops Performed

The main reason both stops are back is simple: 2026 was a big year.

Both €1,500 Main Events carried a €500,000 guarantee, and both ended up with more than €1,100,000 in the prize pool, more than double the guarantee. Amsterdam in March drew packed tables and record numbers. Venlo in May was just as popular, helped by a strong turnout from German-speaking players.

Here’s a rough sense of the field size. The €1,500 buy-in splits into €1,350 for the prize pool and €150 in fees. A €1.1 million pool therefore points to something like 800+ entries per Main Event, re-entries included. That’s our estimate, not an official figure, but it puts the Dutch stops firmly among the stronger European Circuit events.

How the Dutch Stops Compare Across Europe

WSOP Circuit Main Event (2026)	Buy-in	Entries	Prize Pool
Amsterdam (Holland Casino)	€1,500	~800+ (estimated)	€1,100,000+
Venlo (Holland Casino)	€1,500	~800+ (estimated)	€1,100,000+
Tallinn (Olympic Park Casino)	€1,500	977	€1,253,002

The Dutch stops sit in the same tier as Tallinn, one of Europe’s busiest Circuit events. Two million-plus prize pools in one country in a single year is a strong result.

WSOP Circuit Venlo: Why the German Crowd Loves It

Venlo sits right on the German border. For players in Düsseldorf, Cologne or the wider Ruhr area, it’s often a shorter trip than going to a German casino with a decent tournament schedule. That’s why German-speaking players turn up in such numbers, and why many of them did well this year.

The 2027 Date Shift Is a Small Gift

The 2027 Venlo festival runs from April 30 to May 8. That window includes:

• May 1 (Saturday): Labour Day, a public holiday in Germany and Belgium.
• May 6 (Thursday): Ascension Day, a public holiday in both the Netherlands and Germany.

That Thursday holiday is useful. Many German and Dutch workers take the Friday off as a “bridge day,” which turns it into a four-day weekend. Expect the late-week Main Event flights to be busy. If you prefer a smaller starting flight, aim for the earlier days. If you want the biggest atmosphere, the holiday weekend is the place to be.

What Venlo Looked Like in 2026

The 2026 schedule gives a good idea of what to expect next year:

• 9 ring events across the festival
• Buy-ins from €220 to €2,750
• A €1,500 Main Event with a €500,000 guarantee, four starting flights including a turbo flight
• Main Event starting stack of 50,000 chips with 40-minute levels
• A €570 Mini Main Event to open the festival
• Pot-Limit Omaha, Mystery Bounty, Monsterstack and a Teams event for variety
• Ring winners also received a $5,000 WSOP Paradise package

The 2027 schedule may change, but the structure is likely to stay similar given how well it worked.

WSOP Circuit Amsterdam: Poker in the Heart of the City

Amsterdam’s festival takes place at Holland Casino Amsterdam Centrum on the Max Euweplein, right by the Leidseplein. It’s the spiritual home of Dutch poker; for years it was the only legal poker room in the country.

The 2027 Amsterdam stop runs March 5–13, a week earlier than 2026. Early March in Amsterdam is cold and grey, but it’s also low season, so hotel prices are usually far friendlier than in spring or summer. If you’re travelling from abroad, that’s a real saving.

Master Classics of Poker: Europe’s Oldest Festival

While the WSOP stops bring big fields, the Master Classics of Poker brings history. It has been held since 1992, which makes it one of the longest-running poker festivals in Europe.

The 2026 edition starts on November 13 and runs until November 21. It includes 22 tournaments and a €3,000 Main Event that starts on November 17. The 2027 edition follows almost the same pattern: November 12–20, 2027.

The MCOP typically attracts a tougher field than the WSOP stops thanks to its higher Main Event buy-in. If you’re a recreational player, the side events and turbos are often the better value. Holland Casino also plans online satellites into the Main Event through its online poker room, which runs on the iPoker network.

Practical Tips for Playing at Holland Casino

If you’ve never played a Holland Casino festival, here’s what’s worth knowing before you go:

1. Register online at hc.nl. You can sign up for tournaments in advance. For the WSOP stops, registration through the official WSOP app was required in 2026, so set it up early.
2. Bring valid photo ID. Entry is 18+, and every visitor is checked at the door. Dutch casinos also check IDs against the national self-exclusion register (Cruks), so expect a short check on arrival.
3. Satellite your way in. For a €1,500 Main Event, satellites are the smart route if the full buy-in is a big chunk of your bankroll.
4. Book accommodation early for Venlo. It’s a smaller city, and hotels fill up quickly during WSOP week, especially with the 2027 holiday weekend.
5. Check tax rules for your country. Within the EU, casino winnings are generally treated favourably, but rules vary by country. Check with a tax adviser if you go on a big run.

Our Take

Announcing a full year’s calendar this early is a smart move by Holland Casino, and it shows confidence after a strong 2026. Two WSOP Main Events, each with prize pools well beyond €1 million, make a strong case for returning, and the slightly earlier 2027 dates should work well for travelling players.

If you only pick one Dutch festival next year, Venlo is probably the best value. It has big fields, a friendly crowd, and a 2027 date that lines up with a holiday weekend. If you want the classic Amsterdam experience, March is your window, and the MCOP in November remains a bucket-list event for any serious European player.

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