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 has announced that the record has been broken, with at least 10,044 players entering the tournament
Late registration remains open until the end of Level 7 (5:10 pm ET). We will update you accordingly when the final figure is announced and payouts have been confirmed.
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 although the official number has not been confirmed, it’s still 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.
Poker’s booming, the WSOP is booming, and now the only questions that remain are, who will win the 2024 WSOP Main Event, and will next year’s world championship event be even bigger? Stay tuned to find out.
Top Ten Largest WSOP Main Event Fields in History
| Year | Entries | Champion | Country | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 10,044* | – | – | – |
| 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 |
*registration still open
