Bodog Beat

The 2009 WSOP has not turned out to be the big downswing most experts predicted. The economic climate was supposed to weaken attendance this year, but after a big Day 1-d the numbers were almost as big as last year. In total 6,494 players paid the $10K buy-in for a chance at poker immortality, compared to 6,884 in ’08. Last year the prize pool for the Main Event was $64,333,600, and this year it was slightly smaller at $61,043,600.

But a funny thing happened on Day 1-d. Over 800 entrants were turned away after the Rio reached capacity and had to close registration. I guess these 800 players needed more than the six months they were given to register, and the WSOP missed out on beating the numbers from last year. Overall winnings for the preliminary events totaled $173,335,842, making this year the biggest turnout in WSOP history.

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