World Series of Poker Seeks Record Main Event Entry in 2023
The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced its full schedule of events for the 2023 tournament series. Staged on the Las Vegas Strip for a second year, proceedings will take place at the new Horseshoe Las Vegas – formerly Bally’s – and Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino.
Set to run for seven weeks between May 30 and July 18, 2023, Caesars Entertainment, WSOP owners and organizers have stated the event “is shaping up to be the biggest and best WSOP of all time with a tournament schedule poised to shatter previous records,” and have promised “more tables, more variety and the largest slate of bracelet events ever scheduled in its rich history.”
Even without players, the 2022 WSOP feature table was impressive. ©GettyImages
In 2022 the WSOP attracted 197,626 tournament entrants from more than 100 countries. This figure generated a record-breaking $347.9 million in prize pools. To improve on those impressive figures, WSOP bosses have upped the capacity to 608 tables – the biggest in series history – they will be spread across more than 200,000 square feet of convention space.
All Out and All in on WSOP Main Event
The centerpiece of the summer festival will be the No-Limit Hold’em World Championship Main Event. In 2022, 8,663 entrants played the $10,000 entry tournament. The all-time record is 2006s field of 8,773 players.
“With the momentum generated from the WSOP’s debut on the Las Vegas Strip last year, we expect a record-breaking WSOP and World Championship at Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas in 2023,” said Ty Stewart, SVP & Executive Director of the WSOP when announcing this year’s details. “If the Main Event is on your bucket list, this is the year to get to Vegas,” he added.
To help reach its objectives, the WSOP has declared its online satellite partner site will guarantee 600 Main Event seats. Online satellites will begin in March. Additionally, on May 20-21, live poker rooms on four continents will host qualifiers as part of the WSOP’s first-ever Global Qualification Weekend.
European resorts and casinos already committed to hosting satellites include the King’s Resort in the Czech Republic and the Club Pierre Charron in Paris, France. Only a short ferry trip away from Spain, Casino Es Saadi Marrakech in Morocco will be another potential destination for WSOP ticket chasers to consider.
Thirty Years of WSOP Fame
If the organizer’s endeavors succeed in creating a record Main Event entry, all entrants in the 2023 field will be placed into a draw that will award one winner a non-transferrable Main Event buy-in for the next 30 years.
The Horseshoe Las Vegas recently opened a first-of-its-kind WSOP Hall of Fame Poker Room. In the summer, it will host select WSOP tournaments and feature a WSOP Hall of Fame exhibit to pay homage to the legendary players and the iconic trophies of the sport.
CBS Sports returns for a third season as the broadcast partner of the WSOP. Daily online streaming will also be available. Eighteen individual bracelet events will enjoy television coverage. A minimum of 15 hours of TV coverage will be dedicated to the 2023 Main Event.
Big O and Badugi Are New Entries
The dates for the 2023 WSOP were made available in December, but the latest announcements from Caesars Entertainment show the 2023 festival will feature 95 bracelet events. There have never been more tournaments offering sought-after wristwear.
Notable new WSOP competitions include a $1,500 entry Big O (five-card Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better) and a $1,500 entry Badugi (a Lowball Draw variant, where players make the best four-card poker hand with no duplicates in rank or suit). The full 2023 WSOP schedule can be viewed on this PDF document.
