The field is still divided, but the preliminary festivities of the 2015 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event are complete, as the three starting flights are now in the books. The chip leader coming out of Day 1C, John Gorsuch, now also has the distinction of being the overall chip leader going into Day 2. First day chip leaders don’t typically go on to have a ton of success in the rest of the tournament, but it is better to have 198,100 chips right now than none at all, that’s for sure.
Yesterday we discussed how the first two starting flights had lagged behind the first two from last year. Day 1A had 741 players compared to last year’s 771 and Day 1B had just 1,716 compared to last year’s 2,144. We knew Day 1C was going to dwarf the initial two flights, as it always does, so that wasn’t a concern, but it was going to take a record-setting Day 1C for the 2015 WSOP Main Event field to eclipse the 6,683 entrants that paid $10,000 to play in 2014. Though we felt it was unlikely, it was entirely possible; Day 1C in 2014 set a record for the largest starting field in WSOP history with 3,768 runners. Why not beat that this year?
Well, we have good news and bad news (or, really, indifferent news depending on your point of view). The good news is that Day 1C did set a new starting field record as nearly 4,000 people – 3,963, to be exact – showed up to play yesterday. On the down side, though, thanks largely in part to the slow Day 1B, that still only boosted total attendance to 6,420, a drop of more than 200 from last year.
That makes the 2015 WSOP Main Event the eighth largest Main Event of all time, just ahead of 2007 (the first after the UIGEA was passed in 2006) and 2013 and just behind 2009. The largest, by far, was 2006, when 8,773 crowded the Rio. That was at the peak of the poker boom, only months before the UIGEA mangled the internet poker industry. The next largest WSOP Main Event was in 2011 with a field of 7,319; as you can see, 2006 destroys all.
As we have previously reported, a major change was made to the payout structure before the 2015 WSOP, as tournament officials decided to flatten the structure in order to pay to more places. In celebration of the WSOP’s tenth anniversary at the Rio last year, first place paid out $10 million, which was significantly more than it would have under as standard prize structure. As a result, money was taken away from the rest of the in-the-money field. Players expressed their concerns about this as well as how disheartening it can be to play for multiple days only to come up short of the money – it not only takes a physical and mental toll, but the long tournament also means amateur players spend more time away from work and most people have to shell out more money for extended hotel stays and dining out.
Thus, it was decided that this year, the tournament would pay to exactly 1,000 places with a minimum payout of $15,000. Those who only min-cash will have not played day after day in vain – they will profit $5,000, which should be more than enough to cover added expenses with some walking around money to boot. First place will pay $7,680,021, the smallest first prize since Joe Hachem won $7,500,000 in 2005. And that field had 800 fewer players.
The 2015 WSOP Main Event continues today with Day 2, which is split into three flights. The survivors from Days 1A and 1B will compete in separate Days 2A and 2B today, while those who made it out of Day 1C will come back for Day 2C tomorrow. A total of 4,389 players advanced to Day 2.
2015 World Series of Poker Main Event – Day 1C Chip Leaders
1. John Gorsuch – 198,100
2. Zarik Megerdichian – 180,400
3. David Peyser – 177,325
4. James Juvancic – 166,350
5. Michael Shanahan – 159,350
6. Salvatore Dicarlo – 155,300
7. Phong Than Nguyen – 153,650
8. Timo Pfutzenreuter – 150,075
9. Norbert Szecsi – 149,150
10. Wade Townsend – 146,000
2015 World Series of Poker Main Event – Combined Day 1 Chip Leaders
1. John Gorsuch – 198,100
2. Hamid Feiz – 182,675
3. Zarik Megerdichian – 180,400
4. David Peyser – 177,325
5. James Juvancic – 166,350
6. Michael Shanahan – 159,350
7. Adil Khan – 156,800
8. Salvatore Dicarlo – 155,300
9. Srikanth Koneru – 154,725
10. Phong Than Nguyen – 153,650
