The 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas is the largest in history with 10,112 runners. This year's massive field eclipsed last year's number by 69 entries. The total prize pool will be over $94 million with $10 million set aside for the champion. The money bubble will burst early on Day 4 and the top 1,517 runners will earn a cut of the prize pool. Spain's Francisco Perez Moreno is the chip leader with a stack of 2.18M with 1,524 players remaining.
For a second year in a row the WSOP broke the Main Event record at Paris/Horseshoe Casinos in Las Vegas. The 2023 installment surpassed the 9,000 and 10,000 mark for the first time when it eclipsed the 2006 record of 8,773 runners in the same year that Jamie Gold won during the apex of the online poker boom. The 2023 Main Event attracted 10,012 runners last summer and Americanpro Daniel Weinman banked the richest prize in history with $12.1 million.
The 2024 WSOP Main Event put up solid numbers in the first few days with 915 entrants in Day 1A and 831 runners in Day 1B, but the record seemed safe after the first two flights. On Day 1C, a total of 2,528 joined the mix before a record-setting Day 1 attracted 5,104 hopefuls. The four flights on Day 1 fielded 9,378 runners but there was late registration available for both Day 2ABC and Day 2D. For a second year in a row the field passed 10,000 runners and when the dust settled, 734 more players took advantage of the late reg. When the grace period finally ended, another new record was set with 10,112.
A total of 1,517 players will get a cut of the $94 million prize pool with a min-cash worth $15,000 this year. The 2024 champ only gets $10 million, but everyone at the final table will bank at least a cool million.
Only a handful of past champions won a score in the eight figures range including Gold ($12 million), Weinman ($12.1 million), Espen Jorstad ($10 million in 2022), Hossein Ensan ($10 million in 2019), and Martin Jacobson ($10 million in 2014). The 2024 winner will become only the sixth champion to win at least $10 million.
It's pretty wild that 1991 was the first year that the Main Event champion won $1 million when Brad Daugherty faded a field of 215 runners. The champion for the remainder of the 1990s was awarded $1 million. When Jesus Ferguson won the 2000 WSOP Main Event and Carlos Mortensen won the 2001 Main Event, the two won $1.5 million to kick off the new century.
Robert Varkonyi banked $2 million in 2002, which marked the first of five-straight years when the first-place prize made a jump at the start of the online poker boom. Chris Moneymaker won $2.5 million in 2003, Greg Raymer won twice as much with $5 million in 2004, Joe Hachem won $7.5 million in 2005, before the lion's share jumped to $12 million in 2006 with Gold's victory.
So let's get down to the nitty gritty of the 2024 WSOP Main Event. Heading into Day 4, the Top 10 chip leaders included Francisco Perez Moreno (2.18M), Justin Datloff(1.82M), Alex Livingston (1.8M), Marcelo Tadeu Aziz Junior (1.69M), Matt Stout (1.67M), Francis Anderson (1.65M), Diogo Coelho (1.63M), Nazar Buhaiov (1.63M) Ren Lin (1.57M), and Clement Van Driessche (1.55M).
The notable players with healthy stacks in the Top 200 include JC Alvarado, Alex Keating, Nacho Barbero, Naoya Kihara, Matt Affleck, Joe Tehan, Christopher Frank, Jesse Lonis,Todd Witteles, Jared Jaffee, Bart Lybaert, Noah Boeken, Natasha Mercier, and Brandon Adamas.
Among those still alive with a stack at least 500K or more: Phil Ivey, John Duthie, Brian Rast, Romain Lewis, Jason Somerville, Antoine Saout, Johny World Hennigan, Ayaz Mahmood, Max Pescatori, Ami Barer, Tony Dunst, and the POB legend himself... Capt. Tom Franklin.
2024 WSOP Main Event
Buy-in: $10,000
Entrants: 10,112
Prize Pool: $94,041,600
Payouts: 1,517
Final Table Payouts:
1. $10,000,000
2. $6,000,000
3. $4,000,000
4. $3,000,000
5. $2,500,000
6. $2,000,000
7. $1,500,000
8. $1,250,000
9. $1,000,000
