Daniel Negreanu has confirmed he supports reducing the number of WSOP bracelets awarded each year – but has pushed back on the more radical part of Phil Hellmuth’s proposal, warning that cutting the summer schedule would eliminate many of the mixed games Hellmuth loves to play.
Hellmuth recently hinted that the WSOP was considering capping the total at 100 bracelets per year, including slashing the flagship Las Vegas series in half.
Speaking to PokerOrg following Hellmuth’s statement on the No Gamble, No Future stream, Negreanu claimed that 150 bracelets a year, rather than the 100 that Hellmuth floated, would be the sweet spot – and that would see the summer festival left untouched.
“You can quote me,” Negreanu said. “Phil says a lot of things he’s not supposed to say. If you want to leak a secret, tell Phil. He can’t help himself.
“But yes, I would like to see the number cut back to 150 a year, mostly leaving the summer as is. The WSOP.com (online) events specifically I find embarrassing, and I didn’t personally play them."
Negreanu added that the more controversial part of Hellmuth’s plan – to reduce the summer series to just 50 bracelet events – would backfire on the Poker Brat.
“If you cut the summer to 50, Phil (Hellmuth) doesn’t realize the cuts would be to all the mixed games he loves, including Razz, etc. So yes, I want to see cutbacks, but 150 is a more reasonable number that is achievable without too much disruption.”
Hellmuth doubles down
Hellmuth, who holds a record 17 bracelets, believes that the WSOP is cheapening the brand (and his legacy) by increasing the number awarded each year.
A total of 245 bracelets were handed out in 2024, up from 234 in 2023 and just 89 in 2018.
Hellmuth used his appearance on the No Gamble, No Future livestream to state that both Michael Kim (CEO of NSUS, the parent company of GGPoker, which acquired the WSOP brand in 2024) and Daniel Negreanu agreed with him in wanting to cap the number of bracelets awarded each year.
Hellmuth said that number was 100, which would involve cutting the flagship summer series in half.
He doubled down on this with a follow-up statement to PokerOrg on Friday evening.
“The WSOP’s new owners and I want this,” Hellmuth said.
“It would be 50 in Vegas, 10 at Paradise, 10 in Europe, 10 in Asia, and 20 online — for a total of 100, where Vegas represents 50% (the series does happen for 50 days… this way we can stream every single final table).
“Reducing Vegas to 50 is the challenge. I believe Caesars wants to make money, and it is in their best interest, money-wise, to have 90 in the summer… But you could have a bunch of ‘ring tourneys’ and still make nearly the same revenue. We don’t want WSOP bracelets to become cheap!”
A debate that’s far from over
As a GGPoker ambassador and a player who held influence within the WSOP even before the GGPoker acquisition, Negreanu is likely nearer the money on this.
Cutting the summer series in half always seemed like a step too far for the WSOP, and Negreanu’s suggestion of 150 bracelets would leave this intact while freezing future growth.
The WSOP was scheduled to award 100 bracelets in the summer series in Vegas alone in 2025.
However, there are other business interests at play. Caesars, which retained the rights to host the WSOP in Las Vegas for the next 20 years under the terms of the deal, also continues to operate WSOP Online in Nevada, New Jersey, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.
And it’s online where bracelet growth has exploded — from just nine awarded in 2019 to 115 in 2024. Of those, 74 were on WSOP.com, with the remaining 41 on GGPoker: 33 on the international site and eight in Ontario.
Is there a solution that leaves everyone happy?
