The WSOP took place at the Rio in Las Vegas for 17 years in a row. But this year, the 53rd edition of the prestigious tournament started on May 31 at a new location, Bally’s and Paris Las Vegas. The tournament is planned to run through July 19, 2022. Judging by details released by the WSOP, the poker tournament this year is in for a rebound, after surpassing the pre-COVID number of entries for its Main Event.

WSOP’s Main Event Attracts 8,663 Players

Back in pre-pandemic 2019, the WSOP Main Event attracted 8,569 visitors. Now, the $10,000 Main Event attracted 8,663 entries, solidifying its place as the second-most popular Main Event in WSOP’s history. With that in mind, the record for most entries remains the one set back in 2006. Back then, 8,773 players decided to enter the Main Event.

Considering the number of entries and the $10,000 buy-in, a prize pool of more than $80.7 million is up for grabs. Poker players that take 10th and 11th place will go home with a $675,000 prize, while the player that takes 9th place will go home with a prize just shy of a million, $850,675. On the other hand, players that rank 6th to 8th place will go home with a prize of more than $1 million.

A $2,250,000 prize awaits the 5th player, while the player that takes 4th place will go home with $3 million. The player that takes 3rd place in WSOP’s Main Event will go home with $4 million, while $6 million await the player that ranks second. Not unexpectedly, the player that takes first place in the tournament will go home with the grand prize of $10 million.

There will be plenty of prizes that will benefit not only the top players. In fact, participants that rank 12th through 80th place will all go home with a six-digit prize. On the other hand, entrants that rank 81st through 1300th place will go home with a five-figure prize.

Getting a Second Chance

Luke Vrabel is a professional poker player from West Hartford, Connecticut. He has been playing poker for more than a decade but back in 2017, he was banned from the WSOP. The ban was the result of an incident during the “Colossus” event at the Rio Convention Center.

Now, according to a recent report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Vrabel’s ban was lifted and the poker pro was allowed to enter this year’s Main Event. The WSOP vice president, Jack Effel, contacted Vrabel and notified him that his ban was lifted. Consequently, the poker player entered the $10,000 buy-in Main Event.