It’s hard to believe that the WSOP 2023 has come to an end. After almost eight weeks of top-level tournament poker, Paris Las Vegas and Horseshoe Las Vegas have taken down the tables and torn down the banners. Here at APT, we thought we would take a few minutes to remember the highlights of the 54th outing of the venerable World Series of Poker.
95 Live Bracelet Events
The WSOP 2023 offered 95 live bracelet events along with another 20 online bracelets. There was a wide variety of event types and buy-in levels. From stud to short-deck, mystery bounties to the insanity of the Flip n’ Go, the WSOP offered options galore. There were also daily, non-bracelet events offered for those looking for a buy-in under $600.
Phil Helmuth won his 17th WSOP bracelet, making him the indisputable WSOP GOAT. Brian Rast remarkably won the $50k Players Championship for the THIRD time. Rast’s entry into the Poker Hall of Fame soon after was recognizably well-deserved. With his daily Vlog, Daniel Negreanu let us follow him on his 50+ day odyssey for a bracelet. Unfortunately, this was not his year. Finally, Daniel Weinman, a 35-year-old grinder from Georgia, took home $12.1 Million and the coveted WSOP Main event bracelet.
Doyle Brunson Celebration of Life
Of course, the world of poker lost its godfather last spring when Doyle Brunson passed away. Fittingly, during the WSOP a Celebration of Life was held for Brunson featuring an all-star cast of speakers. These included Phil Hellmuth, Gabe Kaplan, Mori Eskandini, Brunson’s son Todd and others. Clips from an upcoming documentary of Doyle’s life were screened, leaving not a dry eye in the house. Gabe Kaplan brought some levity to the event, noting that when he and Doyle first met, Brunson gave him an inscribed copy of his strategy book, Super/System, as a token of friendship. Kaplan said, “So thank you very much, it was a great gesture. That $100 book in the last 40 years has cost me $35 million.”
WSOP 2023 Attracted the Largest Ever Main Event Field
Those who continue to say “poker is dead” got a wake-up call this summer. Even without the ubiquitous online satellites of the early 2000s, interest in tournament poker continues to grow. This summer’s Main Event field grew to a staggering 10,043 players, making it the largest ever held. The total prize pool was an amazing $93,399,900. And if that’s not enough for you, there were 250,000 entries across all the WSOP events in 2023. Poker, my friends, is most definitely alive.
WSOP 2023 Paradise
If you are sad that it is all over, never fear. There is, of course, the annual WSOP Europe, which will hand out another 15 bracelets from October 25th to November 15th. And, in the last week of the Las Vegas WSOP, the organization announced the additional WSOP Paradise. The event runs from December 6th to the 13th at Paradise Island in the Bahamas. GG Poker will partner with the WSOP to field the WSOP Paradise. There will be 15 bracelet events and guaranteed $50 Million in prize pools. Events will include a $5,000 Main Event with a $15 million total prize pool guarantee and a $1,500 Mystery Bounty with a $5 million guarantee. The WSOP will announce the full schedule of events later this year.
