World Series of Poker - WSOP

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What is the World Series of Poker (WSOP)?

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a live poker festival held every year in Las Vegas. The first WSOP took place in 1970, and it continues to attract some of the best poker players in the world.

It remains one of the largest and most popular poker events in the world, attracting recreational players and poker pros alike.

When is the World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2024?

The 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) runs from Tuesday, May 28 through Wednesday, July 17, 2024

PokerNews and the World Series of Poker

PokerNews has attended every World Series of Poker since 2007, and is proud to serve as the official live coverage partner of the WSOP, including Main Event coverage.

Each year, a dedicated team of live reporters, editors, presenters, videographers and photographers help make PokerNews the place to be when it comes to staying up-to-date on the World Series.

History of the World Series of Poker Main Event

The first World Series took place in 1970 and featured no tournaments at all. A group of players gathered to play a selection of cash games including draw and seven card stud at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino, and after a week-and-a-half they voted Johnny Moss the “Best All Around Player” and awarded him a silver cup.

Doyle Brunson at the 1976 WSOP
Doyle Brunson at the 1976 WSOP

The following year, the tournament saw its first buy-in of $5,000 and this was increased to $10,000 in 1972. The 70s featured some of the most iconic names in World Series of Poker history, with Moss and Doyle Brunson winning five Main Events between them.

The start of the 1980s was heralded by back-to-back wins for Stu Ungar and the following year, the field surpassed 100 for the first time. The end of the decade saw another back-to-back winner, with Johnny Chan winning in both 1987 and 1988.

Outside of the Main Event, the WSOP schedule would also continue to grow, with 15 events scheduled in 1990. That year saw the first non-American win the Main Event as Mansour Matloubi triumphed, and 1991 saw the first prize reach $1,000,000 for the first time.

More famous players added their names to WSOP history, as Dan Harrington, Huck Seed and Scotty Nguyen all won Main Events. Barbara Enright became the only woman to make the Main Event final table with her fifth-place finish in 1995.

There was also still time for another legend to write himself into the record books. Stu Ungar was 44 in 1997, but won a record-equalling World Series Main Event only one year before his death.

Chris Moneymaker 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion
Chris Moneymaker 2003 WSOP Main Event Champion

No decade shook up the WSOP like the 2000s. Chris Moneymaker’s fairytale triumph in 2003 over a field of 839 was the catalyst that saw the field balloon to 8,773 just three years later as Jamie Gold won the biggest first prize in WSOP Main Event history of $12,000,000.

In fact, 2006 was the first time that the top nine players received a one-million-dollar payout.

In 2008, the WSOP introduced the November Nine where the Main Event plays down to a final table of nine in July, before resuming in November.

In 2015, the WSOP awarded their first online poker gold bracelet, with Anthony ‘casedismised’ Spinella winning the inaugural event. This was the first time poker players were able to win a WSOP bracelet online, with the final six playing down at the Rio to crown the winner.

The November Nine concept continued until 2016, by which point the Main Event was continuing to attract over 6,000 entries. However, from 2017 entries in the Main Event increased year-on-year, with the 8,569 players in the 2019 WSOP Main Event the second-highest ever, just short of the record of 8,773 set in 2006.

Following the cancellation of the 2020 WSOP in Las Vegas, the WSOP Main Event went online for the first time, crowning Damian Salas the winner of a hybrid online-live 2020 WSOP Main Event, with the heads-up taking place in Las Vegas.

When the World Series of Poker returned in 2021, it was Germany's Koray Aldemir who won the 2021 World Series of Poker Main Event taking home $8,000,000. He topped a field of 6,550 players to win after battling it out at the final table at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino.

The 2022 WSOP was the first to be held on the Las Vegas Strip at Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. The Main Event was the second-largest in history, won by Norway's Espen Jorstad.

The record was eventually broken the following year as Daniel Weinman topped a field of 10,043 players to win the 2023 WSOP Main Event $12,100,000

FAQs

Where is the WSOP held?

The 2023 World Series will be held at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. From 2004-2021, the WSOP was held at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Before that, from 1970-2004, the WSOP took place at Binion’s Horseshoe.

Where is the WSOP Schedule 2024?

The schedule for the https://www.pokernews.com/tours/wsop/2023-wsop/"]2023 World Series of Poker[/URL] is expected to be released in early 2024.

How much does it cost to enter the World Series of Poker?

Buy-ins at the World Series of Poker range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. In 2023, the lowest buy-in event was $300 (The Gladiators of Poker) and the biggest buy-in event was $250,000 (Super High Roller).

The biggest buy-in event in WSOP history is the $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop, held in 2012, 2014 and 2018.

How many players are there at the WSOP?

In 2022, the WSOP saw 197,626 entrants from more than 100 countries with a record-breaking $347.9 million total prize pool. In 2023, the WSOP Main Event saw a record 10,043 players.

What is a WSOP bracelet?

Each winner of a WSOP event is awarded a gold bracelet, considered the highest achievement any poker player can achieve. A WSOP bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every Main Event champion since 1976.

Phil Hellmuth has the most bracelets of all-time, having won 17 between 1989 and 2023. Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Ivey and Erik Seidel (10) are the only players with double digit WSOP bracelet wins.

WSOP Main Event Champions 1970-2023

Here is a list of the past WSOP Main Event champions:

YEARENTRIESCHAMPIONCOUNTRYPRIZE
202310,043Daniel WeinmanUnited States$12,100,000
20228,663Espen JorstadNorway$10,000,000
20216,550Koray AldemirGermany$8,000,000
20201,379Damian SalasArgentina$2,550,969
20198,569Hossein EnsanGermany$10,000,000
20187,874John CynnUnited States$8,800,000
20177,221Scott BlumsteinUnited States$8,150,000
20166,737Qui NguyenUnited States$8,005,310
20156,420Joe McKeehenUnited States$7,683,346
20146,683Martin JacobsonSweden$10,000,000
20136,352Ryan RiessUnited States$8,361,570
20126,598Greg MersonUnited States$8,531,853
20116,865Pius HeinzGermany$8,715,638
20107,319Jonathan DuhamelCanada$8,944,310
20096,494Joe CadaUnited States$8,547,042
20086,844Peter EastgateDenmark$9,119,517
20076,358Jerry YangUnited States$8,250,000
20068,773Jamie GoldUnited States$12,000,000
20055,619Joe HachemAustralia$7,500,000
20042,576Greg RaymerUnited States$5,000,000
2003839Chris MoneymakerUnited States$2,500,000
2002631Robert VarkonyiUnited States$2,000,000
2001613Carlos MortensenSpain$1,500,000
2000512Chris FergusonUnited States$1,500,000
1999393Noel FurlongIreland$1,000,000
1998350Scotty NguyenVietnam$1,000,000
1997312Stu UngarUnited States$1,000,000
1996295Huck SeedUnited States$1,000,000
1995273Dan HarringtonUnited States$1,000,000
1994268Russ HamiltonUnited States$1,000,000
1993220Jim BechtelUnited States$1,000,000
1992201Hamid DastmalchiIran$1,000,000
1991215Brad DaughertyUnited States$1,000,000
1990194Mansour MatloubiIran$895,000
1989178Phil HellmuthUnited States$755,000
1988167Johnny ChanUnited States$700,000
1987152Johnny ChanUnited States$625,000
1986141Berry JohnstonUnited States$570,000
1985140Bill SmithUnited States$700,000
1984132Jack KellerUnited States$660,000
1983108Tom McEvoyUnited States$540,000
1982104Jack StrausUnited States$520,000
198175Stu UngarUnited States$375,000
198073Stu UngarUnited States$385,000
197954Hal FowlerUnited States$270,000
197842Bobby BaldwinUnited States$210,000
197734Doyle BrunsonUnited States$340,000
197622Doyle BrunsonUnited States$220,000
197521Brian RobertsUnited States$210,000
197416Johnny MossUnited States$160,000
197313Walter PearsonUnited States$130,000
19728Thomas PrestonUnited States$80,000
19716Johnny MossUnited States$30,000
19707Johnny MossUnited StatesN/A

WSOP Asia-Pacific

In 2012, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) announced a second expansion effort with the creation of the World Series of Poker Asia-Pacific (APAC).

To date, there have only ever been two WSOP APAC festivals, in 2013 and 2014, both taking place at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.

YearLocationEntriesChampionCountryPrize
2013Melbourne, Australia405Daniel NegreanuCanadaA$1,038,825
2014Melbourne, Australia329Scott DaviesUnited StatesA$850,136

WSOP Circuit

The World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) debuted in 2005. Instead of bracelets, the WSOP Circuit awards rings. Maurice Hawkins holds the record for most circuit rings with 14.

In 2015, the WSOP International Circuit was launched.

The WSOP Circuit began its 17th season in 2022 with stops in North Carolina, Los Angeles, Florida, Louisiana and Canada, culminating in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. This replaced the Global Casino Championship and will be held during the 2022 World Series of Poker.

WSOP Europe

The WSOP Europe was the first expansion of the World Series of Poker, making its debut in 2007. The WSOP Europe is currently held every year at King's Resort in Rozvadov, Czech Republic.

WSOP Online

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the World Series of Poker for the first time in its history. In its place, a summer schedule of online bracelet events were establish, with separate schedules for WSOP.com and GGPoker bracelets.

YearEntriesChampionCountryPrize
20205,802Stoyan MadanzhievBulgaria$3,904,686

WSOP Player of the Year 2004-2023

YearNameBraceletFinal TablesCashesTournament Earnings
2023Ian Matakis1322$869,791
2022Dan Zack2418$1,461,625
2021Josh Arieh2411$802,377
2019Robert Campbell2613$750,843
2018Shaun Deeb2520$2,534,511
2017Chris Ferguson1423$428,423
2016Jason Mercier2411$960,424
2015Mike Gorodinsky138$1,766,796
2014George Danzer3510$878,993
2013Daniel Negreanu2410$2,214,304
2012Greg Merson224$9,755,180
2011Ben Lamb145$5,352,970
2010Frank Kassela236$1,255,314
2009Jeff Lisandro346$807,521
2008Erick Lindgren135$1,348,528
2007Tom Schneider233$416,829
2006Jeff Madsen244$1,467,852
2005Allen Cunningham145$1,006,935
2004Daniel Negreanu156$346,280

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