The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has set another all-time record, with a final Main Event starting field of 10,112 entries comfortably beating the then-record 10,043 who took part last year. The previous high of 8,773 players was set in 2006.
While pre-event predictions had largely been for a slight decline in numbers given that the 2023 event had included substantial promotion of the WSOP’s 50th anniversary, such concerns were soon washed away with the four Day 1 starting flights seeing a single-day entrants record on Saturday 6 July, when 5,014 entrants joined the field as part of flight 1D to help generate the largest prize pool in live tournament poker history.
“10,000 entrants has become the new magic number for the WSOP Main Event,” said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of World Series of Poker. “The response has been overwhelming since our move to the Las Vegas Strip. Thank you to our partners, team members, and most of all, the players for another unforgettable summer.”
With yet another all-time high set, it has also been confirmed that the winner of this year’s Main Event will take home US$10 million while the final nine will all be guaranteed a minimum US$1 million payday.
The top 80 players will each receive at least US$120,000, while the money bubble sits at 1,517th with a min-cash of US$15,000 for those who make it that far.
The total prize pool for this year’s Main Event is US$94,041,600.
First run in 1970 when Benny Binion invited seven of the world’s best poker players to compete in a winner takes all competition at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, the 2024 WSOP comprises a massive 99 individual events running from 28 May to 21 July.
The US$10,000 buy-in Main Event began last Wednesday 3 July with the winner to be crowned on Tuesday 16 July.
