The 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw growing interest in the poker festival held from July 3-17, with the Main Event cracking the 10,000-entry list for the first time.
Registration for the tournament closed over the weekend, with 10,043 players set to play in the Main Event alone, which surpassed the previous record set 17 years ago in 2006, when the Main Event saw 8,773 players take the field.
The WSOP has been actively promoting its event over the years and trying to build a stronger personal presence, which finally resulted in a new high table record.
Entry to the Main Event doesn’t come cheap either, with each entrant having to spend around $10,000 for a seat and a chance to win the now massive $12.1 million guaranteed prize pool to top the table pecking order. Final. The prize pool is now much higher due to interest in the biggest table tournament poker has to offer.
Currently, the total paid by players to participate reaches US$ 100.4 million. The WSOP generated 4.9% fees and 2.1% for the tournament team from that amount, bringing the organization’s own bill to $7 million. Commenting on the record breaking, WSOP Senior Vice President and Executive Director Ty Stewart expressed his excitement:
“Week after week, we saw a lot of records, so it’s only fitting that we broke the biggest record ever. 10,000 players is historic for the industry and this year’s champion will be remembered as the man who won the richest event in poker history, at least until 2024.”
Prizes for more than 1,500 entrants at the WSOP 2023
The total prize pool reached US$93.4 million for the main event. The first player will win $12.1 million with all top nine players guaranteed at least $900,000 simply by placing at the final table.
Meanwhile, the WSOP expects to see at least 1,507 or 15% of all participating players win something, leaving the event with at least $15,000.
The WSOP has been rapidly building its reputation with the new location on the Las Vegas Strip proving to be a success. Horseshoe Las Vegas is hosting the iconic series for the second consecutive year and perhaps the site of the biggest poker tournament in the world for many years to come.
