The 49th World Series of Poker has concluded and the impressive figures are out. The WSOP has set a record by awarding the highest amount of money ever in a single poker series: $266,889,193.
The WSOP reported that this number marks an increase of 15.1 percent from the previous year. It is also the first time that the WSOP prize money in a single event has surpassed the quarter billion dollar threshold.
This is what Ty Stewart, Executive Director of World Series of Poker, had to say about the numbers:
The 2018 World Series of Poker was once again a significant triumph, largely due to the dedicated players who journey to Las Vegas each summer. We are thrilled to witness the Main Event expand to unforeseen numbers in 2018, and the positive responses to our new events. Our team will continue to work diligently to ensure that this remains the world’s foremost poker festival.
Numerous records, including this one, were broken at this year’s event:
- Attendance peaked at 123,865, an increase of 2.4 percent.
- 18,105 players are mostly in the money.
- Record number of payouts for Main Event: 1,182
- The maximum number of players who earned $1M was 28.
- The largest prize pool for the 2018 WSOP Main Event was $74,015,600.
- The highest grand prize for the “$1 Million Big One for One Drop” is $10,000,000.
- The top follow-up prize for the 2018 Main Event is $8,800,000.
The tournament series of the WSOP, in its 48-year history, has now awarded $2,999,643,394 in prize money.
WSOP players
This poker series, spanning 50 days and featuring 78 events, attracted players from 104 countries to Las Vegas. It had 7,874 entries, marking a nine percent increase from the previous year. Additionally, this is the sixth instance in WSOP history where the total prize pool exceeded $200M.
Notable non-poker elite:
- Michael Phelps (Olympian swimmer)
- Brad Garrett (actor)
- Ray Romano (actor)
- Patrick Bruel (singer)
- Hoodie Allen (rapper)
- Steve Albini (music producer)
- Nick Cassavetes (movie director)
- Jennifer Tilly (actor)
- Super Bowl Champion and former NFL defensive end, Richard Seymour
- Stanley Cup Champion Phil Kessel
- Max Kruse (soccer player from Germany)
- James Woods (actor)
Nicholas Dashineau, who became 21 just a few days before Day 1C, was the youngest player, while the oldest was John Olsen, aged 88. The average age for the male participants of WSOP was 42.1, compared to 45.64 for the females. The overall average age was 42.27.
Just over 95 percent of the field, or 111,837 entries, were represented by men. In comparison, females accounted for 4.86 percent, which is equivalent to 5,717 entries.
The tournament’s averages and big wins
The average first-place prize was $655,337, with an average of 1,588 entries per field.
The U.S. boasted the highest number of entrants, tallying up to 89,533. Following the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Brazil recorded the next highest numbers of entrants, with 5,128, 4,534, 1,671, and 1,267 respectively. The winner’s circle represented eighteen different countries, the highest number in a single series. Colombia and the Philippines secured their first-ever bracelets, credited to Daniel Ospina and Mike Takayama respectively. Additionally, Diogo Veiga clinched Portugal’s first gold bracelet in an event held outside Europe.
The largest field sizes and payouts stood in contrast to the average turnouts.
- The Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller event, #42, with a buy-in of $25,000, had 230 entries, which is the highest for this buy-in.
- 9 events with a capacity of 4,000 or more.
- 10 events offering $1 million payouts for first place, just like the previous year.
Tony Cousineau, upon returning to the players, maintained his dominance as the player with the most cashes (84) without a win, securing six cashes this year.
Chris Ferguson emerged victorious in a single WSOP, setting a new record by cashing 18 times in the series. He made it to two final tables and earned over $250,000 in tournament winnings, a significant increase from his performance the previous year. In the 2017 WSOP, he had six cashes in Europe and 17 in the WSOP, bringing his total cashes over two years to 41.
During this series, Ferguson and Barry Greenstein achieved career WSOP cashes of 115 and 101 respectively, bringing their total to 100. Greenstein cashed 12 times in this series.
This year, Phil Hellmuth, who has now won the WSOP bracelet 15 times, extended his record as the all-time individual leader with 138 cashes. He had eight cashes in 2018 and achieved his 13th career bracelet victory in hold’em.
In total, the charity tournaments have raised $2,790,008, contributing to the overall sum of $23,166,974 raised since its inception in 2012.
Related Articles
Nevada Gambling, Tourism Numbers Grow Again In February
