Can you believe the World Series of Poker is coming up on its 39th year? It’s true. The 39th Annual World Series of Poker World Championship No-Limit Texas Hold’em (Event 54) is scheduled to take place at the Rio Hotel & Casino on Thursday, July 03, 2008 to Tuesday, July 15, 2008. It’s a 13-day event that’s guaranteed to provide plenty of nail-biting action for spectators of the game, as well as lots of nerve-wracking moments for both pro and amateur poker players alike.

Last year’s winner, Jerry Yang, walked away with $8.25 million; the year before that Jamie Gold took home a sweet $12 million. What’s particularly intriguing about the WSOP Main Event is that history has proven that you don’t have to be a professional poker player to become the next World Champion. Over the last few years online poker players have made great strides in taking their game from online to offline, and in the process winning some seriously real cash.

Whether you’ve played in land-based tournaments before or not, the WSOP is a must-attend event for anyone who considers him or herself to be competitive poker player.

Get the complete schedule to the 2008 WSOP here.