2024 WSOP Main Event
When most people think of the World Series of Poker, they think of the Main Event. Some poker fans may not know the full schedule featuring nearly 100 tournaments during the summer months in Las Vegas. They only know that poker refers to the WSOP No Limit Hold’em World Championship Main Event, the tournament that was on ESPN for decades.
The Main Event is now on CBS Sports or online via a PokerGO subscription. Players named Moneymaker and Gold may not be at the final table, but the range of players comprising the final nine are always always makes for exciting poker. The classic commentating duo of Lon McEachern and Norman Chad remain in the booth to narrate the action, and Kara Scott is the anchor who conducts player interviews and hosts extra segments.
Since the very first World Series of Poker, the Main Event has remained the same at its core – a $10,000 buy-in single-entry tournament that produces one world champion each year.
2024 Main Event Schedule
The 2023 WSOP NLHE World Championship Main Event schedule is important for fans as much as players. Most poker fans watch the Las Vegas action from home as players in Las Vegas invest their $10,000 buy-in for the opportunity of a lifetime.
Here’s how it played out this year:
| Date | Day | Day | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3 (12pm) | Monday | 1A | First of 4 starting days, will play 5 levels |
| Jul 4 (12pm) | Tuesday | 1B | Second of 4 starting days, will play 5 levels |
| Jul 5 (12pm) | Wednesday | 1C | Third of 4 starting days, will play 5 levels |
| Jul 6 (12pm) | Thursday | 1D | Final starting day, will play 5 levels |
| Jul 7 (12pm) | Friday | 2ABC | Survivors of 1A, 1B, and 1C combine to play 5 levels |
| Jul 8 (12pm) | Saturday | 2D | Survivors of 1D return to play 5 levels |
| Jul 9 (12pm) | Sunday | 3 | Survivors of 2ABC and 2D return to play 5 levels |
| Jul 10 (12pm) | Monday | 4 | Returning competitors play 5 levels |
| Jul 11 (12pm) | Tuesday | 5 | Returning competitors play 5 levels |
| Jul 12 (12pm) | Wednesday | 6 | Returning competitors play 5 levels |
| Jul 13 (12pm) | Thursday | 7 | Returning competitors play 5 levels |
| Jul 14 (12pm) | Friday | 8 | Play continues until only 9 players remain |
| Jul 15 | Saturday | 9 | (day off) |
| Jul 16 (1:30pm) | Sunday | 10 | Final 9 play to 4 survivors |
| Jul 17 (1:30pm) | Monday | 11 | Final play to a winner |
All players began with 60,000 chips. Levels are 120 minutes in length. Level 1 starts at 100/200 blinds with a 200-BB ante.
New players picked a starting flight (any Day 1) or register during the first two levels of either of Day 2 option.
WSOP officials expected the money bubble to burst early on Day 4 (around Level 17), and that is just what happened.
Daily coverage of the tournament was available on PokerGO (subscription required) and CBS Sports for a later television broadcast.
2024 Main Event Results
The World Series of Poker broke its own record again this year. They eclipsed the 2023 high mark for WSOP Main Event attendance and set a new bar with 10,112 players in action.
This is the chart showing how players entered this year versus 2023. though the exact entries on two of the starting days could not be verified:
| Event 76 | $10K buy-in | 2023 NLHE World Championship MAIN EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Total entries: | 10,112 | (10,043 in 2023, 8,663 in 2022, 8,569 in 2019, 8,773 in 2006) |
| Day 1A entries: | 915 | (1,037 in 2023) |
| Day 1B entries: | ~830 | (1,115 in 2023) |
| Day 1C entries | ~2,518 | (3,075 in 2023) |
| Day 1D entries | 5,014 | (4,113 in 2023) |
| Day 2ABC: | 206 | (196 new in 2023) |
| Day 2D: | 562 | (507 new in 2023) |
| Total prize pool: | $94,041,600 |
This year’s Main Event provided some interesting storylines on the way to declaring a winner. In the end, it was Jonathan Tamayo who emerged as the latest champion. After two weeks of play, a single player emerged as the victor, holding chips, winning cards, a massive cash pile, and a stunning gold bracelet. We wrote a detailed story of how the Main Event played and how Tamayo won his $10M first-place prize in our news section.
The final table results were as follows:
| EVENT 76 | $10K buy-in | 2023 NLHE World Championship MAIN EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Total entries: | 10,112 | |
| Total prize pool: | $94,041,600 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Jonathan Tamayo (US) $10,000,000 |
| 2nd place: | Jordan Griff (US) $6,000,000 | |
| 3rd place: | Niklas Astedt (Sweden) $4,000,000 | |
| 4th place: | Jason Sagle (Canada) $3,000,000 | |
| 5th place: | Boris Angelov (Bulgaria) $2,500,000 | |
| 6th place: | Andres Gonzalez (Spain) $2,000,000 | |
| 7th place: | Brian Kim (US) $1,500,000 | |
| 8th place: | Joe Serock (US) $1,250,000 | |
| 9th place: | Malo Latinois (France) $1,00,000 |
2023 Main Event Results
The team at the World Series of Poker set a record last year. They achieved the goal of setting the largest field ever for the WSOP Main Event. Not only did the final number surpass the record of 8,773 from 2006, this year’s field eclipsed the ten-thousand-player mark.
This is the chart showing how players entered in 2023 versus 2022:
| Event 76 | $10K buy-in | 2023 NLHE World Championship MAIN EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Total entries: | 10,043 | (8663 in 2022, 8569 in 2019, 6650 in 2021, 8773 in 2006) |
| Day 1A entries: | 1,037 | (896 in 2022) |
| Day 1B entries: | 1,115 | (879 in 2022) |
| Day 1C entries | 3,075 | (1860 in 2022) |
| Day 1D entries | 4,113 | (4370 in 2022) |
| Day 2ABC: | 196 | (204 new in 2022) |
| Day 2D: | 507 | (454 new in 2022) |
| Total prize pool: | $93,999,900 |
After two weeks of play, a single player emerged as the victor, holding chips, winning cards, a massive cash pile, and a stunning gold bracelet. A detailed story of how the Main Event played and how Daniel Weinman won his historic $12.1M first-place prize, check out the full recap in our news section.
The final table results were as follows:
| EVENT 76 | $10K buy-in | 2023 NLHE World Championship MAIN EVENT |
|---|---|---|
| Total entries: | 10,043 | |
| Total prize pool: | $93,999,900 | |
| Final table results: | 1st place: | Daniel Weinman (USA) $12,100,000 |
| 2nd place: | Steven Jones (USA) $6,500,000 | |
| 3rd place: | Adam Walton (USA) $4,000,000 | |
| 4th place: | Jan-Peter Jachtmann (Germany) $3,000,000 | |
| 5th place: | Ruslan Prydryk (Ukraine) $2,400,000 | |
| 6th place: | Dean Hutchison (Scotland) $1,850,000 | |
| 7th place: | Toby Lewis (England) $1,425,000 | |
| 8th place: | Juan Maceiras (Spain) $1,125,000 | |
| 9th place: | Daniel Holzner (Italy) $900,000 |
Complete List of WSOP Main Event Winners Before 2023
Things have come a long way since Johnny Moss won the first World Series of Poker Main Event back in 1970. At that time, only nine US players participated, voting on a champion without any cash prize involved.
Now, more than 50 years later, there are tens of thousands of players from every corner of the planet who have played the Main Event. Thousands each year pay $10,000 to battle for a multimillion-dollar payday and the title of World Champion. Here’s the full list of all the World Series of Poker Main Event winners from 1970 to 2022.
| Year | Champion | Entries | Grand Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Espen Jorstad | 8,663 | $10,000,000 |
| 2021 | Koray Aldemir | 6,650 | $8,000,000 |
| 2020 | Damian Salas | 1,379 | $1,550,969 |
| 2019 | Hossein Ensan | 8,569 | $10,000,000 |
| 2018 | John Cynn | 7,874 | $8,800,000 |
| 2017 | Scott Blumstein | 7,221 | $8,150,000 |
| 2016 | Qui Nguyen | 6,737 | $8,005,310 |
| 2015 | Joe McKeehen | 6,420 | $7,683,346 |
| 2014 | Martin Jacobson | 6,683 | $10,000,000 |
| 2013 | Ryan Riess | 6,352 | $8,359,531 |
| 2012 | Greg Merson | 6,598 | $8,531,853 |
| 2011 | Pius Heinz | 6,865 | $8,715,638 |
| 2010 | Jonathan Duhamel | 7,319 | $8,944,138 |
| 2009 | Joe Cada | 6,494 | $8,574,649 |
| 2008 | Peter Eastgate | 6,844 | $9,152,416 |
| 2007 | Jerry Yang | 6,358 | $8,250,000 |
| 2006 | Jamie Gold | 8,773 | $12,000,000 |
| 2005 | Joe Hachem | 5,619 | $7,500,000 |
| 2004 | Greg Raymer | 2,576 | $5,000,000 |
| 2003 | Chris Moneymaker | 839 | $2,500,000 |
| 2002 | Robert Varkonyi | 631 | $2,000,000 |
| 2001 | Carlos Mortensen | 613 | $1,500,000 |
| 2000 | Chris Ferguson | 512 | $1,500,000 |
| 1999 | Noel Furlong | 393 | $1,000,000 |
| 1998 | Scotty Nguyen | 350 | $1,000,000 |
| 1997 | Stu Ungar | 312 | $1,000,000 |
| 1996 | Huck Seed | 295 | $1,000,000 |
| 1995 | Dan Harrington | 273 | $1,000,000 |
| 1994 | Russ Hamilton | 268 | $1,000,000 |
| 1993 | Jim Bechtel | 220 | $1,000,000 |
| 1992 | Hamid Dastmalchi | 201 | $1,000,000 |
| 1991 | Brad Daugherty | 215 | $1,000,000 |
| 1990 | Mansour Matloubi | 194 | $895,000 |
| 1989 | Phil Hellmuth | 178 | $755,000 |
| 1988 | Johnny Chan | 167 | $700,000 |
| 1987 | Johnny Chan | 152 | $625,000 |
| 1986 | Berry Johnston | 141 | $570,000 |
| 1985 | Bill Smith | 140 | $700,000 |
| 1984 | Jack Keller | 132 | $660,000 |
| 1983 | Tom McEvoy | 108 | $540,000 |
| 1982 | Jack Straus | 104 | $520,000 |
| 1981 | Stu Ungar | 75 | $375,000 |
| 1980 | Stu Ungar | 73 | $385,000 |
| 1979 | Hal Fowler | 54 | $270,000 |
| 1978 | Bobby Baldwin | 42 | $210,000 |
| 1977 | Doyle Brunson | 34 | $340,000 |
| 1976 | Doyle Brunson | 22 | $220,000 |
| 1975 | Brian Roberts | 21 | $210,000 |
| 1974 | Johnny Moss | 16 | $160,000 |
| 1973 | Walter Pearson | 13 | $130,000 |
| 1972 | Thomas Preston | 8 | $80,000 |
| 1971 | Johnny Moss | 6 | $30,000 |
| 1970 | Johnny Moss | 7 | $0 |
History of the WSOP
The idea of the World Series of Poker first came to life by a group of Texans in Reno, Nevada. In 1969, a Texas magnate by the name of Tom Moore invited a group of poker-loving friends, including Benny Binion, to the Texas Gambling Reunion. Texas entrepreneur and poker player Crandell Addington took down that inaugural event. Then Benny Binion started the first World Series of Poker at the Binion’s Horseshoe in Downtown Las Vegas in 1970.
The inaugural World Series of Poker lacked the large tournaments that now define it; there wasn’t even a single event. The 1970 World Series of Poker showcased cash games like 2-7, Razz, 5 and 7-Card Stud, and Texas Hold’em.
Players then voted on the champion. They chose Johnny Moss as the first year’s overall winner, and he won a silver cup. There were no bracelets back then.
The following year was the first official World Series of Poker Main Event featuring a Texas Hold’em tournament. There was one player fewer that year, but Johnny Moss took it down again and became the first official Main Event champion.
The World Series of Poker Main Event then had steady growth at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino. As decades passed, the tournament grew from just a handful of players to hundreds by the end of the century.
Las Vegas was also going through some pretty explosive growth during that time. Binion’s Horseshoe was located in downtown Las Vegas, while the new Strip was much more central. Then in 1990, just west of that new Strip, the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino was built and inaugurated.
From the Horseshoe, to Rio, to Paris, and Back to Horseshoe
In 2005, the World Series of Poker made its first venue change. Harrah’s (now Caesar’s Entertainment) purchased the Binion’s Horseshoe the year before and kept the rights to the WSOP. They decided to change venues, but during that first year in 2005, they held the final days of the Main Event at the old Horseshoe. It was the last time a WSOP Main Event would be played in Downtown LV.
The move to the Rio was a practical one, too. After Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 WSOP Main Event, the Main Event exploded in popularity. There were 839 players that year and 2,576 the next. Two years later, that number peaked at 8,773.
There was literally no room at the Horseshoe to fit that many players. But, on the other hand, the Rio has a massive convention center with multiple large ballrooms that turned into mega poker rooms during the WSOP.
The World Series of Poker stayed at the Rio for 17 years. Caesars Entertainment (WSOP parent company) sold the Rio, though, and had to find a new home for the World Series. In 2022, they decided on Paris Las Vegas and Bally’s Las Vegas, two casinos connected by an indoor pathway. The new location on the Las Vegas Strip offered more dining venues and accommodations nearby. The use of two properties also presented two sets of casino ballrooms for WSOP action.
The 2022 WSOP in the new location was such a success that it stayed at this location in 2023. The team added more tables in those two sets of ballrooms to add up to 608 that year. In 2024, another 100 tables will create even more poker space.
In the meantime, Caesars also rebranded Bally’s Las Vegas to the Horseshoe Las Vegas. The outdoor sign and indoor branding were completed just in time to kick off the 2023 WSOP. The name and theme harken back to the original WSOP years at the Horseshoe. There was also a new year-round poker room in the Horseshoe, one that includes the Poker Hall of Fame.
Expansion into Europe
In 2007, the WSOP held its first ever bracelet events outside of the United States. The WSOP teamed up with Betfair to have the first World Series of Poker Europe Main Event at the Sportsman Casino in London, UK. The £10,000 buy-in event drew 362 entrants and had a first prize of a smooth £1,000,000.
Anette Obrestad took down the title and became the youngest person to win a WSOP Main Event at just 18 years old. It’s a record that was unbeatable in the US, and one that still stands today.
From there, the WSOPE has moved to several different locations within Europe. It had a stint in France, one in Germany, and a few others in the UK. Since 2017, however, the WSOPE has taken place at King’s Casino in Rozvadov, Czech Republic, a small town near the German border.
An Australian Adventure
Motivated by the success of the WSOPE, the World Series of Poker took its name to another continent for the World Series of Poker Asia Pacific. This event didn’t quite take off though as it only lasted two years.
The first one in 2013 drew fair numbers with more than 400 players in the WSOP APAC Main Event, and hundreds of others in the 5 bracelet events. It even had a star win the event since PokerStars Pro Daniel Negreanu took down the Main Event for more than AU$1 million.
Despite the great publicity that brought the event, there was a steep drop in players the following year with just 329 players registering for the WSOP APAC Main Event. That was a single bracelet event, and there wasn’t been a WSOP APAC since.
WSOP Paradise
In 2023, the World Series of Poker chose to expand again. The executives saw an opportunity to use a Caesars-affiliated casino in the Bahamas as a winter getaway and compete with the World Poker Tour, which had recently established a large presence in Las Vegas each December. WSOP Paradise was born and set for the first two weeks of December.
The Atlantis Resort on Paradise Island hosted 15 bracelet events December 3-15, 2023. (Two events played entirely online during this time period, and another started online but finished live.) In coordination with sponsor GGPoker, players qualified from around the world to play in the events, while pro players received incentives to win cash packages for WSOP Paradise results.
The very first WSOPP event was a $1,650 buy-in NLHE Mystery Millions tournament, which delivered 3,446 entries and a prize pool of $5,169,000, surpassing the $5M guarantee. Jin Hoon Lee of South Korea won the bracelet and $420K. Later in the series, Erik Seidel won the $50K buy-in Super High Roller, and Masashi Oya won the $100K buy-in Ultra High Roller.
The WSOPP Main Event was a $5K buy-in with a $15M guarantee on the prize pool. The 3,008 entries created an actual prize pool of $15.05M, just squeaking past an overlay. Stanislav Zegal of Germany won it for $2M.
In all, the WSOP reported that its inaugural Bahamas series awarded more than $70M in prize money across its 15 bracelet tournaments.
WSOP Online and Circuit
In 2015, the WSOP opted to start an mid-stakes tournament circuit. It was a series of events at locations around the United States (domestic series) and world (international circuit). Instead of bracelets, players had the opportunity to win gold WSOPC rings and a chance to compete in a season-ending tournament for a WSOP bracelet. That tournament is now a $1M freeroll called the WSOP Tournament of Champions.
Around this time the WSOP had also expanded into the online universe. This infrastructure became handy in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic shutdown casinos across the globe. Players initially competed in WSOP Online events from Nevada and New Jersey, but options since expanded to include Michigan and Pennsylvania in the US and Ontario in Canada. Each market offers a slate of bracelet events during the summer months to coincide with the Las Vegas WSOP. And since the WSOP partnered with GGPoker, WSOP Online grew to include bracelet events on that network for players in many other parts of the world.
So, 2020 saw the first exclusive WSOP Online events. There had been parallel WSOP online events in previous years, but this was the first one held exclusively online. Despite that, they did manage to have an in-person WSOP Main Event final table at the Rio. Argentinian player Damian Salas ended up taking down that event for $1.5 million.
World Series of Pandemic Poker
The WSOP Main Event, not to mention the entire summer series, grew consistently through the years, and it looked as if 2020 would be the largest ever…until a pandemic forced the cancellation of the WSOP for the first time in its history.
Instead, they held an online series with a number of bracelet events and then had a hybrid WSOP Main Event where it played online until the final table. Then the final nine isolated in Las Vegas in December 2020 and then met to play the final table. Argentinian pro Damian Salas ended up taking that down for $1.5 million.
As vaccinations picked up and the pandemic started to recede in the United States the WSOP announced that it was coming back to the Rio in 2021. The series was later in the year (October and November) with a reduced schedule and vaccine and protective gear requirements as dictated by health officials and Nevada regulators. Overall, WSOP numbers were down considerably in 2021 due to vaccine controversies and border restrictions for international players.
The move to the Las Vegas Strip and the end of pandemic requirements saw the 2022 WSOP rise to its former glory. The series at Paris and Bally’s in Las Vegas offered more tournaments than ever in a brand new setting and with no health mandates. And the numbers only grew in 2023.
Barring another pandemic, the WSOP is poised to continue its growth.
Check out our schedule page for more information on the 2024 WSOP schedule. To find out how players qualify for tournaments at discounted prices, check out our satellites page.
