When Benny Binion held the very first World Series of Poker in Las Vegas way back in 1970 – at the time a single event boasting just seven players – he could never have imagined it would evolve into the global monster it is today.
The WSOP this week released their full schedule for 2014 with the 45th running of the annual tournament series to offer a record 65 gold bracelet events. Of more significance to most players however will be the guaranteed US$10 million first prize for whoever is crowned 2014 Main Event champion. The guarantee has been put in place to celebrate the 10th running of the WSOP since it moved to the Rio in 2005 and means it will at least be the second biggest Main Event prize ever won after Jamie Gold took home US$12 million for winning the 2006 Main Event at the height of the global poker boom. Last year’s champion, Ryan Riess, collected US$8,361,570 for his efforts.
Jamie Gold still holds the record for the biggest WSOP Main Event first prize, taking home US$12 million for his victory in 2006
The other notable change to this year’s schedule is the return of the Big One for ONE DROP, which has been held only once before, in 2012, and is the world’s biggest buy-in tournament at US$1 million. The 2012 version saw 48 players dig deep into their pockets with Antonio Esfandiari claiming the record first prize of US$18,346,673. This year will see the player cap raised to a maximum 56 entries which if filled would ensure a first prize of US$20 million!
The 2014 WSOP gets underway on Tuesday 27 May and runs for 49 consecutive days, with the Main Event running from Saturday 5 July through to Monday 14 July before the final nine players return in November to play down to a winner.
