WSOP 2011 Entry Figures Defy Odds to Show Slight Increase

That’s the first seven days of play completed at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas – and it looks like the entry figures are holding up well, despite the predictions of a massive drop following the events of April’s ‘Black Friday’.

Many commentators expected the prestigious Las Vegas gathering to suffer badly after the closure of numerous [geolink href=”https://www.pokernewsreport.com/online-poker-rooms”]poker websites[/geolink] by the US Department of Justice (DoJ) as countless American players still cannot access their accounts.

However, it appears that these predictions have been way off target, if the first week of the 2011 event is anything to go by.

With nine events started or completed by Sunday night, only three have witnessed a drop in numbers – the $1,500 Seven Card Stud falling from last year’s 408 to 357 entrants, the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament witnessing 167 fewer competitors at 4,168, and the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em Championship dropping 19 players from last year’s 268 to 249 starters.

It should be noted that that’s just 12.5% down for the first event, a miserly 3.85% less on the second, and only a 7% reduction on the third.

Overall, though, the opening events have produced a 1.8% increase in numbers on 2010 – from 8227 to 8374. That’s a rather healthy figure, I’m sure you’ll agree.

That also means five events – as the $25,000 Heads Up No-Limit Hold’em Championship is a new tournament, although it fell 50% short of the 256 maximum – have shown an improvement in field sizes, with some registering impressive mark-ups.

First up was the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em event, which leapt up by 129 – or almost 18% – on last year’s 721 competitors, while event No.3, the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better, attracted 13% more entrants than 2010’s 818 at 925 to break the record for the largest live Omaha High-Low event in history. The previous high was recorded two years back when 918 players took part in the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino tournament.

The fourth tournament at the Rio was the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, which brought in 865 entries for an increase of 73 – or 9.2% – on last summer’s total of 792.

Event No.6, the $1,500 Limit Hold’em tournament jumped a hearty 8% from 625 to 675 competitors, while the $1,500 No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball saw a 10% increase on 2010’s 250 to hit 275 entrants.

Well, so much for the negative predictions of many experts. Then again, that’s just the first week over and there are six more to go. We’ll keep you updated on all the latest figures, never fear.