2024 WSOP Main Event Sets New Record Field of 10,112 Players
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Yet another record has been set in poker's biggest annual event, with attendance for the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event cracking last year's historic numbers.
Registration is yet to close on Monday afternoon, Day 2, and the official figure has yet to be announced. But the WSOP that the record has been broken, with 10,112 players entering the tournament
Breaking Records at the World Series of Poker
One year ago, Daniel Weinman received $12,100,000 for winning the largest Main Event ever — 10,043 players. Prior to last year, the biggest field in the prestigious tournament occurred in 2006 with 8,773 entries, an event won by Jamie Gold for exactly $12 million.
In 2022, there was some buzz about breaking the record, and it almost happened. At the end of registration, there were 8,663 players in the field, just 110 off the 2006 record. And then Poker Boom 2.0 happened last year, leading to a massive spike in attendance at the 2023 WSOP, with the Main Event reaching unthinkable heights.
Heading into the 2024 WSOP Main Event, there was some discussion about the possibility of this being another record-breaking year.
After a slow start, numbers started to creep up. And after Day 2abc on Sunday, June 7, it became obvious that it was going to come down to the wire on Monday. There were 9,494 players registered by the end of the day. That meant the WSOP needed at least 550 more players to register before the third blind level of Day 2d began.
At around 2:30 p.m., Kevin "Kevmath" Mathers tweeted that Main Event field had reached 10,000 entries in total, just 34 shy of tying the record.
By that stage, it felt like a case of when not if, and eventually news came through that the record had been broken. And now the official number been confirmed, it's another incredible moment in the history of the WSOP.
Follow Live Coverage of the 2024 WSOP Main Event at PokerNews
The World Series of Poker Main Event first took place in 1970 with just seven entrants. Fifty four years later and the field has surpassed 10,000 entrants in consecutive years. Fittingly, the series founding father Jack Binion revealed the Main Event bracelet and "shuffle up and deal" prior to the start of Day 2d.
This year's Main Event bracelet weighs 445 grams of 10-karat yellow gold. It contains 2,253 various precious gemstones, including 1,948 round genuine diamonds, 230 black onyx stones, and 75 genuine red rubies for each of the suits. This year it features a unique removable golden face plate that can also serve as a card protector.
"The WSOP Main Event Bracelet is known as the most expensive trophy in sports but the reason it’s priceless in the minds of players is because of Jack Binion," said Ty Stewart, Executive Director of the World Series of Poker.
"With another field around 10,000 in Las Vegas we’re proud to share with him just how far his vision has come."
Poker's booming, the WSOP is booming, and now the only question that remains is who will win the 2024 WSOP Main Event!
Top Ten Largest WSOP Main Event Fields in History
| Year | Entries | Champion | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10,112 | - | - | - |
| 2023 | 10,043 | Daniel Weinman | United States | $12,100,000 |
| 2006 | 8,773 | Jamie Gold | United States | $12,000,000 |
| 2022 | 8,663 | Espen Jorstad | Norway | $10,000,000 |
| 2019 | 8,569 | Hossein Ensan | Germany | $10,000,000 |
| 2018 | 7,874 | John Cynn | United States | $8,800,000 |
| 2010 | 7,319 | Jonathan Duhamel | Canada | $8,944,310 |
| 2017 | 7,221 | Scott Blumstein | United States | $8,150,000 |
| 2011 | 6,865 | Pius Heinz | Germany | $8,715,638 |
| 2008 | 6,844 | Peter Eastgate | Denmark | $9,119,517 |
