International poker enthusiasts get ready: The World Series of Poker is going global. Jeff Pollack, the WSOP’s commissioner, has announced that the World Series of Poker Europe is scheduled to be held on September 6-16 in London. The event includes a three-day H.O.R.S.E. tournament, a two-day Pot-Limit Omaha tournament and a six-day No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament.

"It's our first step forward to meaningful international expansion," said Pollack. "I think long-term — long-term being the next 12 to 36 months — we are looking to launch other events around the world."

It’s likely that Harrah's casinos in Egypt and South Africa will get in on the action.

WSOP veteran Doyle Brunson expresses his enthusiasm about taking the WSOP to overseas, saying "I'm definitely going," he said. "I was at the first one here and I want to be at the first one there."

The three WSOP bracelet events in London will be the first held outside Las Vegas, where the series started in 1970. Since then, the WSOP has grown monumentally, going from 42 players in 1978’s main event to 8,773 last year.

This year there have been a record number of participants in five events, including the largest number of players outside of the main event (2,998 in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em) and the largest women's event (1,286 players in the Ladies World Poker Championship No-Limit Hold'em). The WSOP also saw the largest number of players in a single day (3,010 on June 9).

The most coveted title remains the main event — the Texas Hold'em world championship — which starts July 6. Last year, Jamie Gold defeated a record-high field for a record top prize of $12 million.

All this goes to show that the poker craze is in no danger of dying down – a fact made even more impressive considering the recent legislation which prohibits banks and credit card companies from making U.S. customer payments to online sites for any type of gambling illegal under U.S. law. This year the WSOP did not accept registrations via online tournaments, which launched Chris Moneymaker to a breakthrough win in the 2003 main event.

Recent regulations aside, the WSOP is still going strong. Millions of poker enthusiasts worldwide are looking forward to the overseas expansion of what Pollack aptly identifies as "the most prodigious, richest and biggest poker tournament in the world."