2005 is set to be a record year for the World Series of Poker tournament,
owned by Harrahs Entertainment. This week organizers said the event
was the richest sporting event on the planet, and predicted that the
total prize pool at this year will reach a staggering $100 million,
more than doubling the record the event set just a year ago.
With a total of 45 events, the 36th
annual World Series of Poker is the longest, largest and most
prestigious event of its kind. Its unprecedented growth necessitated
its move this year from its longtime home in downtown Las Vegas to
the Rio All-Suite
Hotel and Casino just off the Strip, where the tournament is hosted
in a 60,000-square-foot gaming area equipped with 200 poker tables.
"With each new event we host, we're breaking another record,"
said Gary Thompson, director of operations and communications for
the World Series of Poker.
"We have brought in 450 of the world's best poker dealers
to accommodate the enormous crowds flooding in from around the globe
looking for both tournament and live-game action. Those players are
contributing to a prize pool that will dwarf such events as the Indy
500, the Kentucky Derby and the Masters."
The record prize pool is being driven by the unprecedented number
of players paying entry fees to World Series of Poker events.
In 2003, the World Series of Poker generated a total of 7,572 player
registrations and a total prize pool of nearly $22 million. In 2004,
the total number of player registrations nearly doubled, reaching
14,054 -- and the total prize pool soared to nearly $45 million.
Through only the first 19 events, total registrations at the 36th
annual World Series of Poker have exceeded 13,500 and the total prize
money has risen beyond the $23.5 million mark. With many of the most
popular events still to come, organizers believe total prize money
will reach $100 million by the time the tournament's main event begins
July 7.
"I've been playing tournament poker for a long time, but
I've never seen anything like this," said Robert Williamson
III, who has made multiple World Series of Poker final tables in the
last five years and has won a gold bracelet in Pot-Limit Omaha.
"I've always been bullish on poker -- it's the greatest
game I've ever played -- but there's no way I would have guessed we'd
hit $100 million this year. No way."
The World Series of Poker is owned and operated by Harrah's Entertainment,
Inc., which purchased the tournament early last year. All but the
final two days of the 36th annual World Series of Poker will be played
at Harrah's Rio casino. The tournament's final days will be played
at Binion's
in downtown Las Vegas, which hosted the World Series of Poker for
its first 35 years.