The Wynn in Las Vegas is playing host to one of the year’s premier poker festivals, as the World Poker Tour provides a raft of great tournaments alongside the headline-grabbing $5M Invitational freeroll and WPT World Championship.
While the freeroll is just hours away from getting started, and the $10K World Championship takes flight tomorrow, the $1,100 WPT Prime Championship has already burst its bubble. In the process it has carved out a piece of WPT history, setting a new record for the largest single-day field in the entire 22-year history of the tour.
3,866 entries in a single day
Wednesday was the last of four starting flights for the WPT Prime Championship, and saw the Wynn’s Encore Ballroom stuffed to the gills with keen poker players aiming to make history of their own.
By the end of registration there were a record-breaking 3,866 entries in the books - the most players ever for a single day’s play on the WPT. When added to the numbers from the previous three starting flights, the 2024 WPT Prime Championship has drawn a total of 9,670 players and built a prize pool of over $9.3 million.
Here’s how the entry numbers stack up, courtesy of the WPT:
- Day 1a: 1,264
- Day 1b: 1,739
- Day 1c: 2,802
- Day 1d: 3,866
Last year’s total of 10,512 still holds the record, then, but coming so close to that number - at a time when competition in live poker is particularly fierce - is an encouraging sign as the festival hits its stride.
99 survivors chasing $1M+ up top
The $1,162,350 first-place prize comes with a seat in the $10K WPT World Championship, and after yesterday’s Day 2 there are 99 players remaining. Each is guaranteed to bank at least $8,600.
Leading the way at the start of Day 3 is Diane Zimmerman with 10.8M chips, good for around 86 big blinds, while close behind is a name that may be familiar to those who watched the WSOP Main Event play out last summer.
Joe Serock made the final table back in July’s big dance, eventually walking away with $1.25M for his 8th place finish. He currently sits third in chips in the WPT Prime Championship, with a stack of 8.9M.
Day 3 is scheduled to begin at 11am local time, and play down to a final table of six.
Additional images courtesy of the WPT
