The 54th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is officially underway on the Las Vegas Strip inside Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas. Recognized as the gaming industry’s largest, richest, and most prestigious event in the world, the WSOP is once again raising the stakes. After falling just 110 entries short of “The Main Event” record in 2022, the WSOP is going all in to shatter the record field of 8,773 set in 2006 with a historic 115 bracelet events – 95 live and 20 online – from Tuesday, May 30 through Tuesday, July 18.
The excitement was palpable on opening day as World Series of Poker Vice President Jack Effel kickstarted the tournament with a ceremonial Shuffle Up and Deal for Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold’em. As part of opening day programming, the WSOP observed a moment of silence to honor Poker Hall of Fame inductee and two-time WSOP Main Event champion, Doyle Brunson, who passed away earlier this month at the age of 89.
“As we get another WSOP underway, we’re reminded how indebted we are to the colossal impact Doyle had on the WSOP and the game of poker itself,” said Effel. “Doyle was the sport’s biggest ambassador who helped bring poker to the mainstream. He is a legend that we had the honor to work alongside for more than 50 years. We owe so much to Doyle and look forward to setting records this summer as a special tribute to his legacy.”
In true WSOP fashion, this year is already shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before with new and noteworthy events including the debut of the $300 Gladiators of Poker event, the lowest buy-in live event in WSOP history promising a massive $3 million guarantee, and the return of the 2022 favorite $1,000 Buy-In Mystery Millions, guaranteeing a $1 million top bounty. The full 2023 WSOP schedule can be found on WSOP.com. Players should follow @WSOP on Twitter or IG or check WSOP.com for event news and updates.
