Caesars Entertainment has been the sponsor of the series of poker tournaments known as WSOP, hosted yearly in Paradise, Nevada. Its roots can be traced back to 1970 when 7 of the most famous poker players were invited by Benny Binion for a single tournament at the Horseshoe Casino. The winner was chosen by a secret vote among the 7 competitors, with a defined start and end time.
The WSOP now has 101 events, with most of the popular poker variations included. However, more than 50% of the events in the past few years have been Texas hold ’em variations. While the series’ tournaments take place in June and July, events typically occur on a single day or over a few consecutive days.
The WSOP is now widely considered the most prestigious poker tournament in the world. It attracts the best poker players from all over the globe and offers life-changing sums of money to its winners. In September 2021, the WSOP resumed live play after switching to a hybrid online model in 2020 due to the COVID-19 epidemic.
Tournament Structure
The WSOP main event is a No Limit Texas Hold’em tournament. It is played over a period of seven days, with each day consisting of nine levels of play.
Players start the tournament with 30,000 in chips. The blinds start at 50/100 and increase every 60 minutes. The final table is played on ESPN’s television studio.
The side events have various structures, depending on the format. Most side events are single-table tournaments or “Sit & Gos.” These tournaments have a set number of players; a winner is determined when one player has all the chips.
The WSOP also offers “multi-table tournaments” or “MTTs.” These tournaments have a large number of players, and the field is gradually whittled down until only one player remains.
The WSOP offers a wide variety of different buy-ins, from $1,500 to $50,000. The main event has a buy-in of $10,000.
Players can buy in directly to the main event or win their seats through one of the numerous satellites offered by the WSOP. Satellites are smaller tournaments with a lower buy-in. The winner of a satellite tournament wins a seat in a larger tournament.
The WSOP also offers “freerolls”, where players can earn WSOP codes. These tournaments are free to enter and have a real money prize pool. Players can win their way into the main event through these freerolls.
Prizes
The WSOP main event has a massive prize pool of over $8 million. The winner takes home over $5 million, making it the richest poker tournament in history.
The side events have smaller prize pools, but they still offer life-changing sums of money to the winners. In 2015, the winner of the $50,000 buy-in High Roller tournament took home $1.8 million.
Players can also win prizes in the form of “bracelets.” The WSOP awards a gold bracelet to the winner of each tournament. These bracelets have become highly coveted prizes and symbolize prestige in the poker world.
Notable Winners
The WSOP has been won by some of the biggest names in poker. In recent years, players such as Jamie Gold, Joe Hachem, Peter Eastgate, and Martin Jacobson have won the main event.
Gold is the only player to win over $10 million in a single WSOP main event. He took home an incredible $12 million in 2006.
Hachem is an Australian professional poker player who won the 2005 WSOP main event for $7.5 million. He is one of the most successful WSOP players in history, with five bracelets and over $11 million in lifetime earnings.
Eastgate is a Danish professional poker player who won the 2008 WSOP main event for $9.1 million. He was the youngest player to win the main event, at 22 years old.
Jacobson is a Swedish professional poker player who won the 2014 WSOP main event for $10 million. He is one of the most successful European poker players in history, with over $15 million in lifetime earnings.
The WSOP is the biggest and most prestigious poker tournament in the world. It attracts the best players from all over the globe and offers life-changing sums of money to the winners. If you’re a poker fan, the WSOP is definitely an event you don’t want to miss.
