World Series of Poker Season

Once upon a time, the World Series of Poker was a single day event. Now, it’s a series of poker tournaments that draw enough poker players to Las Vegas to create a busy season for the entire town. From the last week in May to the middle of July, all the best poker rooms are filled to the brim most hours of the day… and dreams are made and broken with nearly every shuffle and deal. Although the WSOP was the thing that got me interested in poker, I didn’t realize the true impact it has on the town until I moved to Vegas and became part of the industry.

As I reviewed the annual statistics for the WSOP to create the video below, I was reminded that it took more than thirty years for the Main Event field to reach 500+ players. However, there were over 5k competitors less than five years later and, last year (less than twenty-five years since the 500-player milestone was reached), a new record was set: 10,043 competitors. The World Series of Poker is far different now than it was then, but it will always be a very important part of poker history. For 55 years, it has been the place that poker players go to prove their skills. Watch the video to learn more and check out the recommended reading below for even more fun facts.