By Staff
Multiple records were broken at the 54th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.
Held at the Paris and Horseshoe, this year’s series ended July 18 after 8 weeks of action. The highlight of the WSOP – the Main Event – established a new mark for attendance for that particular tournament. There were 10,043 entrants. The previous record for entries was 8,773.
With the attendance record eclipsed, the prize pool for the Main Event, $93,339,900, was the largest in the history of the game. The top 1,507 players cashed in the tournament.
Daniel Weinman became the first American to win the Main Event since 2018. He banked $12.1 million for taking first. An Atlanta native, Weinman, 35, has made 9 final tables at the WSOP. The bracelet was his second.
Not surprisingly, WSOP officials were thrilled over what took place. “Poker is back, and it never went anywhere,” WSOP Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Ty Stewart, said. “Establishing records all summer long and crossing the unthinkable 10,000 entry mark is huge not just for the WSOP but for the game itself.”
Overall, the 2023 WSOP saw 12 records, including the one for participation in the Main Event, surpassed. Attendance marks were also set for 9 other events, among them the PLO Championship, the Seniors Event and the Ladies Championship.
There’s a new high in terms of entrants for live bracelet events as 214,641 players from more than 114 nations competed. The old record for the total prize pool, set in 2022, was broken as well. This year, the prize pool jumped to more than $402 million. Finally, 36 players earned more than $1 million in individual events, the most ever.
Before the 2023 WSOP, expectations were it would be the greatest yet. Looking at the numbers, it didn’t disappoint.
“When you see a really big World Series of Poker, it’s a good sign that poker’s going to continue to grow and grow,” Jack Effel, Vice President of the WSOP, said in an interview with PokerNews.
