In poker, it’s all about the numbers. What percentage of the time do my opponents raise? How often will I flop a set with pocket sixes? What are the odds that the big blind will call if I put him all in? What are the odds that my opponent makes her flush on the turn? How often will the board pair on the river? Questions like these go through a poker player’s head constantly. It’s the key to winning and the key to losing. The 2008 World Series of Poker has been a winning endeavor for Harrah’s and for the players involved. Let’s take a look at some of the key stats from one of the most successful tournament series in history.
First and foremost, the 2008 WSOP boasted a total prize pool of $180,676,248. That’s bigger than the Gross Domestic Product of several countries. To put it in perspective, the 55 tournaments conducted so far generated $20,880,030 more than the tournament series in 2007, an increase of 13%. That’s phenomenal. Despite legislation in the United States which makes it difficult for players to deposit online (and therefore play in WSOP satellites), each tournament generated an average of over $3.25 million in prize money. Though a considerable portion of that was the Main Event (which had a first place prize of over $9 million), the $180 million represents the largest total prize pool ever for the World Series of Poker.
There were a total of 58,720 player entries this year, an increase of 8% over last year and the largest number to date for the WSOP. If you punch the numbers on your graphing calculator (I did), you’ll notice that each event had just over 1,000 players on average, including the 6,800 player Main Event, which is currently entering the third day of play. Several tournaments have attracted over 3,000 players.
The 58,270 players in the 2008 World Series of Poker hailed from 118 different countries or territories, up dramatically from years past. According to USA Today, that’s more than the number of countries that competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics (85). Taking advantage of a prime exchange rate, foreign players have made waves during the 2008 WSOP. In fact, the nation of Belgium scored its first ever WSOP bracelet this year. Last year, there were 87 countries represented, a 35% increase year to year. 54 countries were represented in 2006, 41 in 2005, and just 24 in 2004. Poker truly has become an international sport, with foreigners succeeding on a high level. If you’re from North America, you’ll be pleased to know that players from all 50 United States and every province in Canada have cashed so far.
Event #2 of the 2008 WSOP, a $1,500 buy-in no limit tournament, attracted the largest field for a non-Main Event tournament in WSOP history (at 3,929). The 6,358 player Main Event field is the second largest turnout ever for a WSOP event. The Main Event plays down to the final nine on July 14th. They’re dubbed the “November Nine” by WSOP officials because the final table won’t be held until November in order to coincide with ESPN’s television airing.
Stay tuned for all of the details from one of the largest live poker tournaments ever held.
