World Series Of Poker Main Event Coverage

• Blowing A Once In A Lifetime Chance (2018 Main Event World Series of Poker). You can watch more 2018 WSOP Main Event coverage there: https://www.pokergo.
• Full World Series of Poker history plus complete schedule and results for WSOP 2020, including all event winners and final WSOP Main Event champ.
• Watch the best players in the world battle it out during the World Series of Poker in July 2019. If you're in Australia, tune in via ESPN live.

It sounds insane for Russia, but in America sports events organizers share profits with the players and spend 40 to 60 percent of total income to this matter. There is another system in poker, which came out of date and needs to be changed, as many think.

There is an interesting announcement on popular petition site change.org with the proposition to share wsop earnings: 'Increase the prize pools at the World Series of Poker;eliminate rake on the Main Event'.

'Please eliminate the rake on player buy-ins into the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event poker tournament; and start a revenue-sharing program to supplement the prize pools for the top WSOP poker tournaments.'

WSOP earns big money on TV contracts, sponsorships, licensing and so on. They are called major source of financing. World Series of Poker profit is immense.

The 50th edition of the WSOP Main Event gets underway on Wednesday in Las Vegas and will run until July 16. The biggest poker tournaments attract the biggest players from all over the world. Top tournaments are world-renowned events complete with TV coverage.

Players paid $200 million in buy-ins during the latest series and each buy-in had sufficient percent of rake:

• 'WSOP Main Event buy-in is $10,000. Organizers take 4.2% + 1.8% in personnel fee. The rest – 94% come to the general prize pool.
• Lesser tournaments, such as $1,000 on NL Hold'em have 7% + 3% to personnel fee.
• WSOP Circuit stages have cheaper tournaments with $365 buy-in with $65 (!) in rake, this is 18.3%'.

So Main Event alone had $3,852,000 ($600 * 6420) in rake. $2,696,400 of it going straight to Rio's profit.

Income distribution in pro sport

Income distribution in pro sport

There is a system in the USA where profits of sporting events are shared between the participants. Players in regular team sports (basketball, football, jockey, baseball and so on) get 40 to 50 % of total income – huge money.

Daily sporting events, such as Dota 2 Championships (cyber-sports) are partially financed by the organizers who pay for a huge part of prize fund. 25% in this example – from $18 million dollars.

Poker is the only global sports or competition where players themselves form the prize fund and pay for the organization. More to that, players, including all the pros have to pay for the flight, living and other expenses.'

Worlds Series organizers get huge profits and have it to themselves with zero help to poker ecology. Is it possible to fix this financial model? And is it NEEDED?

Utopia?

Discussion of this petition of sharing wsop earnings has lead to publishing controversial opinions some of which were very critical:

'WSOP loves money. 6-7k people pay rake to participate in Main Event and get nothing for being shown at TV. It is pretty obvious that World Series doesn't need free main and all this share revenue'

World Series Of Poker Main Event Coverage

Other opinion:

'Millionaire Maker also has huge field but there is rake of 7% + 3%. This is $105+$45. So is Main Event that more expensive? Yes, the structure is slower but profits are bigger.

World Series Of Poker Main Event Coverage

…WSOP earns at least$8-12 million per year from ESPN for TV coverage. They can afford free main and lower the rake significantly'

$8-12 million per year is not the exact amount but the numbers should be close to real: ESPN pays $12 million per year to WNBA for 30 games'.

One more position:

'WSOP gets 600 bucks per person in Main Event. How much more people could they attract making the tournament free? Will there be many people who would say: 'I would have played it for $10,000 but $10,600 is too much'? Organizers do love their millions of rake and they have NO reasons to change anything here.'

Poker is a very special sport. It is not right to apply traditional sports rules to it'

The main goal of the petition is to make bigger prize funds paid by the organizers, not players. WSOP earnings are big so World Series of poker profit must be shared. That is the point. The bigger prize fund – the more participants there are. People always care of big round sums of money. So this announcement deserves poker society attention to say the least.

World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament officials have decided to stoke interest in the upcoming 2019 series. They have released a limited schedule of events so that players can begin making their plans early.

The 2019 WSOP will mark the 50th anniversary of poker's most prestigious tournament series. The collection of tournaments, which began humbly as a gathering of a few dozens, will likely award more than $200 million in prizes this year.

As has been the case since 2005, the WSOP will run in the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino‘s convention area. There have been rumors for months that a move to the Las Vegas Strip might be in the offing.

There have also been whispers that a sale of the Rio is imminent. However, WSOP personnel and Caesars have repeatedly denied the veracity of those rumors.

Irrespective of any plans, this year's series will be back home in the Amazon Room.

The Big 50 is the WSOP's new baby

The past few years of the WSOP have seen the development of numerous new tournament formats. This year's edition will be no different, as tournament officials will kick off the series with the Big 50.

The Big 50 will be a $500 buy-in, no-limit hold'em tournament. There will be four flights to begin the tournament, starting May 30. WSOP officials have given the event a $5 million guarantee for its prize pool.

The hook for this tournament is that WSOP is pledging to make everyone's initial entry rake-free. In other words, all $500 of the first entry will go into the prize pool.

The net effect will be a natural enriching of the available pot of money. Of course, subsequent entries will be raked at the usual rate. In a press release, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said,

'We're excited to commence our golden event. We expect our opening weekend Big 50 event to be one of the largest in our history, and certainly one of the best value tournaments ever offered. This is part of our concerted plans to make the 2019 WSOP a better value all-around.'

The Big 50 does, indeed, appear set to become one of the best values at the WSOP. Players begin with 50,000 in tournament chips, and blind levels are 50 minutes long.

Along with the guarantee of $5 million comes a promise for first prize. The winner of the Big 50 will get at least $1 million. That kind of value (along with a WSOP bracelet) for just $500 is hard to find.

Events for everyone at the WSOP

The $1 million first prize in the Big 50 is hardly the only chance at a seven-digit payout during this year's series. In fact, the Millionaire Maker (MM) is designed to provide exactly that.

The MM will also offer no-limit hold'em and a chance at a million-dollar payday. The tournament, which will commence June 7, is a $1,500 event with a $1 million guarantee for the winner.

Espn World Series Of Poker Main Event Coverage

Poker is a very special sport. It is not right to apply traditional sports rules to it'

The main goal of the petition is to make bigger prize funds paid by the organizers, not players. WSOP earnings are big so World Series of poker profit must be shared. That is the point. The bigger prize fund – the more participants there are. People always care of big round sums of money. So this announcement deserves poker society attention to say the least.

World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament officials have decided to stoke interest in the upcoming 2019 series. They have released a limited schedule of events so that players can begin making their plans early.

The 2019 WSOP will mark the 50th anniversary of poker's most prestigious tournament series. The collection of tournaments, which began humbly as a gathering of a few dozens, will likely award more than $200 million in prizes this year.

As has been the case since 2005, the WSOP will run in the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino‘s convention area. There have been rumors for months that a move to the Las Vegas Strip might be in the offing.

There have also been whispers that a sale of the Rio is imminent. However, WSOP personnel and Caesars have repeatedly denied the veracity of those rumors.

Irrespective of any plans, this year's series will be back home in the Amazon Room.

The Big 50 is the WSOP's new baby

The past few years of the WSOP have seen the development of numerous new tournament formats. This year's edition will be no different, as tournament officials will kick off the series with the Big 50.

The Big 50 will be a $500 buy-in, no-limit hold'em tournament. There will be four flights to begin the tournament, starting May 30. WSOP officials have given the event a $5 million guarantee for its prize pool.

The hook for this tournament is that WSOP is pledging to make everyone's initial entry rake-free. In other words, all $500 of the first entry will go into the prize pool.

The net effect will be a natural enriching of the available pot of money. Of course, subsequent entries will be raked at the usual rate. In a press release, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said,

'We're excited to commence our golden event. We expect our opening weekend Big 50 event to be one of the largest in our history, and certainly one of the best value tournaments ever offered. This is part of our concerted plans to make the 2019 WSOP a better value all-around.'

The Big 50 does, indeed, appear set to become one of the best values at the WSOP. Players begin with 50,000 in tournament chips, and blind levels are 50 minutes long.

Along with the guarantee of $5 million comes a promise for first prize. The winner of the Big 50 will get at least $1 million. That kind of value (along with a WSOP bracelet) for just $500 is hard to find.

Events for everyone at the WSOP

The $1 million first prize in the Big 50 is hardly the only chance at a seven-digit payout during this year's series. In fact, the Millionaire Maker (MM) is designed to provide exactly that.

The MM will also offer no-limit hold'em and a chance at a million-dollar payday. The tournament, which will commence June 7, is a $1,500 event with a $1 million guarantee for the winner.

Espn World Series Of Poker Main Event Coverage

Players will begin with 25,000 in chips and have 60 minutes per blind level. There are only two opening flights for the MM, which means that the tournament size will be limited. In other words, entrants will not have to fade as many competitors in their quest for a million dollars.

Other notable events will include:

• Seniors (50+) No-limit hold'em (NLHE): $1,000 buy-in
• Double Stack NLHE: $1,000 buy-in with 40,000 in starting chips
• Monster Stack NLHE: $1,500 buy-in with 50,000 in starting chips
• Crazy Eights NLHE: $888 buy-in with $888,888 guaranteed to the winner

The Main Event is still the main event of poker

Of course, the highlight for most players is the marquee Main Event. The $10,000 buy-in tournament remains the gold standard for poker tournaments, and its winners are still dubbed 'world champions' and are destined for poker immortality.

Last year's Main Event featured a significant turnout. Nearly 8,000 players competed for more than a week, which led to the crowning of John Cynn as the 2018 World Champion.

No champion has repeated as the winner since the poker boom. However, former champion Joe Cada placed sixth in last year's event, and poker great Dan Harrington has hit the final table twice since.

Could this be the year that a player returns to the top of the mountain? Unlikely, but the great thing about poker is that it's impossible to know what will happen.

2019 World Series of Poker schedule

*Please note: the online events will run on WSOP.com.