2024 WSOP Main Event Tops Last Year with New Record Field

Written by Jennifer Newell

Last updated on July 9th, 2024

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The World Series of Poker did it again.

In 2023, the WSOP made a concerted effort to promote its Main Event – its $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em World Championship – with the clear goal of setting a new attendance record. There were more live satellites in the months leading up to the Main Event, more online poker satellites on the WSOP’s signature poker site, and hundreds upon hundreds of qualifiers with international online partner GGPoker. They expanded late registration to include Day 2. The WSOP was determined to set a new player record, and they did it with 10,043 players. That set the prize pool at an astounding $93,999,900.

This year, there was less fanfare about the Main Event, albeit the WSOP requires little fanfare to promote the Main Event as the largest tournament with the most coveted title in the world.

Of course, there were many satellites, both live and online, through which players could qualify for less than the $10K buy-in. The WSOP’s online site sent hundreds of players, and GGPoker set a new record number of qualifiers – 732 from its Road to Vegas promotion internationally, 59 from its Canadian site, and 100 from ClubGG. In addition, there were 233 players who directly bought in through GGPoker. While WSOP.com didn’t release any numbers, GGPoker claimed 1,124 players won their way in through its sites.

And late into the night of July 8, 2024, after the last Day 2 registration period closed, the WSOP announced the numbers.

• Number of players:  10,112
• Prize pool:  $94,041,600

The WSOP Main Event made history…again.

Into the Main Event Numbers

The World Series of Poker has the details on daily entries to the 2024 Main Event. We know that 915 players entered on Day 1A, with an additional 5,014 on Day 1D, 206 on Day 2ABC, and 562 on Day 2D. We do not know the exact number of entries on Day 1B or Day 1C; we only have estimates from PokerNews that there were approximately 830 on Day 1B and more than 2,500 on Day 1C.

While those are details, the main focus is the bigger picture.

• Number of players in 2024:  10,112 (up from 10,043 in 2023 and 8,663 in 2022)
• Prize pool:  $94,041,600 (up from $93,339,900 in 2023 and $80,782,475 in 2022)
• Paid players:  1,517 (up from 1,507 in 2023 and 1,300 in 2022)

The winner in 2024 will take home $10M. That was the first-place prize in 2022, but last year, Dan Weinman won $12.1M. That large number in 2023 was an effort to eclipse the $12M number from the largest previous Main Event in 2006 when Jamie Gold won $12M. And though big amounts like that are eye-popping, the $10M is just as impressive to most players.

So, to even the payouts a bit more, the WSOP set this year’s top prize at $10M. Everyone at the final table will take home a minimum of $1M, with a new high of $800K for tenth place. The entire structure in 2024 reflects player feedback for a more even distribution of the wealth.

2024 WSOP Main Event Payouts

With all of that said, let’s look at the actual payout schedule for this year’s Main Event in full.

• 1^st place:  $10M
• 2^nd place:  $6M
• 3^rd place:  $4M
• 4^th place:  $3M
• 5^th place:  $2.5M
• 6^th place:  $2M
• 7^th place:  $1.5M
• 8^th place:  $1.25M
• 9^th place:  $1M
• 10^th-11^th places:  $800,000
• 12^th-13^th places:  $600,000
• 14^th-17^th places:  $450,400
• 18^th-26^th places:  $350,000
• 27^th-35^th places:  $300,000
• 36^th-44^th places:  $250,000
• 45^th-53^rd places:  $200,000
• 54^th-62^nd places:  $160,000
• 63^rd-71^st places:  $140,000
• 72^nd-80^th places:  $120,000
• 81^st-125^th places:  $100,000
• 126^th-134^th places:  $85,000
• 135^th-162^nd places:  $70,000
• 163^rd-224^th places:  $60,000
• 225^th-287^th places:  $50,000
• 288^th-311^th places:  $45,000
• 312^th-350^th places:  $40,000
• 414^th-476^th places:  $37,500
• 477^th-539^th places:  $35,000
• 540^th-602^nd places:  $32,500
• 603^rd-665^th places:  $30,000
• 666^th-764^th places:  $27,500
• 765^th-863^rd places:  $25,000
• 864^th-950^th places:  $22,500
• 951^st-1008^th places:  $20,000
• 1009^th-1250^th places:  $17,500
• 1251^st-1517^th places:  $15,000

The winner will also receive a lovely bracelet – the 2024 WSOP Main Event Championship bracelet:

Playdown Continues

The survivors of Day 2ABC and 2D action will combine on Day 3. It appears that 3,262 players will take their seats on July 9, unbag their chips, and play toward the money bubble. In past years, the bubble has burst late on Day 3, though there is a possibility that the night could end without getting into the money.

As it plays down, from there, every day will thin the field further, with the playdown to the final table happening on Sunday, July 14. That night will end with just nine players.

After a day off on Monday, the final table will play out on Tuesday and Wednesday (July 16-17) to wrap the entire 2024 World Series of Poker.

Jennifer Newell

Editor in Chief

View All Posts By Jennifer Newell

Jennifer Newell is a freelance writer at LegalUsPokerSites. She has two decades of experience in the iGaming industry. She is a respected poker media member, contributing to publications and websites like USA Today, PokerStars, and PokerScout. Her knowledge spans gambling legislation and the broader online gaming world. She has spent years advocating for diversity, most notably gender equity in the traditionally male-dominated poker sphere.