World Series Of Poker Main Event Ready to Start in Las Vegas

The 55th Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) has been ongoing for five weeks and today is the start of the most anticipated tournament on the 99-bracelet schedule: The $10,000 Championship Main Event.

PokerWired will publish a brief daily report after each day of play in the WSOP, including player numbers, chip counts, stories from the floor and the fortunes of notable players in the field.

Its one of the few pure tournaments left in the world, continuing to be run as a freezeout and with no guarantee, in a poker world that is otherwise obsessed with re-entries and over the top prize pool assurances. 

And despite the lack of what are deemed by most poker event organisers to be essential marketing techniques, the WSOP Main Event continues to be the biggest $10,000 event in the world, by some distance. Last year was a record breaking year for the WSOP Main Event, with 10,043 entries and the biggest ever first prize of $12.1m, won by Daniel Weinman.

Will 2024 be another record breaker for the WSOP Main Event, or was the ceiling hit in 2023? To assess the chances of this year’s Main Event being the biggest ever, let’s take a look at the evidence and see what looks to be on the cards?