Evolution of WSOP

From 1971 on, all WSOP events have been tournaments with cash prizes. In 1973 a new event, Five-card stud, was added to the main event of no limit Texas Hold em. Since then new events have been added and removed. In 2006 there will be 42 events at the WSOP, covering the majority of poker variants. Currently, Texas Hold Em, Omaha hold em and Seven-card stud and their lowball variants (if any) are played. H.O.R.S.E has been played in the past and is returning in 2006. Also, S.H.O.E (Stud, Holdem, Omaha and Eight or Better) has been played in the past along with Chinese poker, Five card stud and many others. Event winners get, in addition to their prize money, a coveted gold bracelet.

Doyle Texas Dolly Brunson and Johnny Oriental Express Chan have each won ten bracelets, while Phil Hellmuth has nine. Doyles son, Todd Brunson, won a bracelet in a pot limit Omaha event in 2005, making them the first father/son combo to win at least one event at the WSOP. (See also World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners.) Also, celebrities Patrick Bruel, Jan Sørensen and Jennifer Tilly have won WSOP bracelets in 1998, 2002 and 2005 respectively.

 
The 2002 World Series of Poker in progressThe number of participants in the WSOP has grown every year, and in recent years the growth has exploded. In 2000 there were 4,780 entrants in the various events, but in 2005, the number rose to over 23,000 players. In the main event alone, participants grew from 839 in 2003, to 2,576 in 2004, to 5,619 in 2005. For the 2006 main event, a cap of 8,000 players has been established. Much of this growth can be attributed to the WSOP airing on ESPN and the World Poker Tour being shown on the Travel Channel, along with other televised series, as well as the boom of online poker.

Like most tournaments, the sponsoring casino takes a ake (a percentage between 6%-10%, depending on the buy-in) and distributes the rest, hence the prize money increases with more players. In the 2005 main event $52,818,610 (US) in prize money was distributed, including a $7.5 million first prize. Subtracting the $10,000 buy-ins, over $47 million was won by 560 players in the event.