WSOP 2010 Shatters Records with Over 63,706 Participants

The 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) has set new records with over 63,706 participants, surpassing the previous record of 60,875 participants set in 2009. The total prize pool for the sixth year in a row exceeded $100 million. The number of WSOP participants has been growing for the seventh year in a row since Harrah's acquired the series in 2004.

Three of the top-10 largest live poker tournaments in history took place at WSOP 2010. The largest tournament of the series (#3 No-Limit Hold'em with $1,000 buy-in) attracted 4,345 participants. The smallest number of players registered for tournament #19, No-Limit 2-7 Lowball with a $10,000 buy-in, with 101 participants. The largest prize pool was collected in tournament #2 – Poker Championship with a $50,000 buy-in – $5,568,000. The largest first prize went to the winner of the same tournament – $1,559,046.

The average number of participants per tournament was 1,128. The total prize pool (excluding the remaining two tournaments) was $113,948,265 ($107,260,976 in 2009). The youngest winner was Stephen Kelly, 21 years old, who won tournament #39 – No-Limit Hold'em Shootout with a $1,500 buy-in. The oldest winner was Harold Engel, 78 years old, who won the largest veteran tournament in history, with 3,142 players. According to Jason Mercier, the new records are due to the increase in the number of participants from other countries.