After slow start, entries for WSOP Main Event take off

There was concern in some segments of the poker community that the size of the field for the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ’em World Championship would fall short of expectations following a slow first day.

Those fears proved to be unfounded.

The World Series of Poker Main Event drew 3,768 players, including several notable pros and celebrities, to the Rio Convention Center on Monday for Day 1C and set a record for the largest starting flight in the tournament’s history.

“Poker players are the ultimate procrastinators,” WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said. “Their job is to hold onto their money for as long as humanly possible.”

The final day to register for the Main Event is traditionally the largest, but Stewart heard from plenty of doomsayers late Saturday after a subdued Day 1A when 771 players entered, nearly 200 less than in 2013. The World Poker Tour’s WPT500 event is going on simultaneously at Aria, but registration numbers for the Main Event rebounded for Day 1B and spiked again Monday.

The 3,768 entrants easily surpassed last year’s Day 1C total of 3,467 players, which was the previous high for a Main Event starting flight.

“I had stuff going on A and B, so that’s why I played C,” said 2009 Main Event champion Joe Cada, who was at the main featured table. “You’re playing against one table, so it doesn’t really matter much how the field size is.”

After seeing registration numbers decline for the Main Event each of the past three years — the field of 6,352 last year was the smallest since 2005 — this year’s tournament featuring a $10 million guaranteed first prize drew 6,683 players, making it the fifth-largest Main Event ever.

That continued the WSOP’s successful run over the past six weeks when several events drew record fields. The $1,500 buy-in “Millionaire Maker” tournament was the second-largest event in WSOP history behind only the 2006 Main Event, and the $1,500 Monster Stack tournament was the third largest of all time.

This year’s 65-event series attracted a record 82,360 entries, and the total prize pool of $225,584,873 is the largest in its history.

“Money talks,” Stewart said. “With all-time records for both entrants and prize pool and the first Main Event increase in years, it’s got to be the best summer in the 45-year history of the WSOP.”

The Main Event continues at noon today with Day 2A/2B as the players from the first two starting flights return to the Rio. The 1C survivors resume play Wednesday, and all the remaining players are brought together Thursday for Day 3. The tournament runs through Monday, and the nine remaining players return Nov. 10 at the Rio’s Penn &Teller Theater for the final table.

The final starting flight featured numerous pros who attracted plenty of attention from spectators. Six-time bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu was seated at one of the secondary featured tables and was slightly above his 30,000-chip starting stack at the 7 p.m. dinner break.

Phil Ivey, who won his 10th WSOP bracelet last month and was seated in one of the outer rooms, bounced back after taking an early hit and had a healthy chip stack at the break. Phil Hellmuth made a quiet entrance after the dinner break, shooting a few baskets on a basketball hoop outside of the Rio before taking his seat.

There were also several celebrities in the field, including UFC announcer Bruce Buffer, Academy Award-nominated actor Justin Henry, soccer star Gerard Pique, cricket player Shane Warne and actor James Woods.

One of the most prominent athletes at the tables was NBA free agent Paul Pierce, who had several fans crowded to watch him play. Pierce won a pot shortly after the dinner break and had more than 40,000 chips.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.