44th WSOP Just Three Weeks Away
The 44th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is less than three weeks away now and here at PokerNet.com we thought we would take a look at some stats from the previous 43 runnings of this prestigious event.
This years event gets under way on Wednesday 29th May and runs through until Monday 15th July, with the main event starting on Saturday 6th July, and this year there will be a total of 62 bracelets handed out to the winners, one more than last year.
At last years event records were broken all across the board with 230,000 entrants partaking in bracelet events, satellites and daily deep stacks. Also record amounts of prize money were awarded last year with a little over $222million being awarded in total, and on top of that 74,766 entrants took part in the 61 bracelet events.
This year the enigmatic Phil Hellmuth will be looking to extend his lead at the top of the bracelet winners list with his current total standing at 13, three ahead of the legendary duo Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson. Hellmuth also holds the record for most cashes and most final tables too with 96 cashes and 49 final tables to his name so far. Not content with those records Hellmuth also holds the record for most bracelets in one year with three, a record he achieved in 1993. He holds the record jointly with Puggy Pearson (1973), Ted Forrest (1993), Phil Ivey (2002) and Jeff Lisandro (2009).
Last years Main Event Champion Greg Merson will be looking to defend his title and if he does he will become only the fifth player to do so, but that feat has not been repeated since Johnny Chan in 1987 and 1988 so the odds, and the cards, are most definitely stacked against him.
Event 47 at this years WSOP will be The $111,111 One Drop High Rollers No Limit Hold’em event, the first time this event has been staged, and it gets under way on Wednesday 26th June and it is sure to attract some of the worlds biggest names.
Jack Effel is the WSOP Tournament Director and he had this to say about this years event. He said, “Bring your bankroll, whatever it is, and come have the time of your life. We think this is the most diverse schedule we’ve ever had and we’ll be ready for an all-time turn-out at the 44th annual WSOP.”
If you are lucky enough to be going to Vegas this coming May, June and July we wish you well, and who knows you could be the next name on the roll of honour at the prestigious WSOP.
