A few weeks before the WSOP began, the community was pretty worried that attendance would plummet as an effect of the Black Friday Incident. Producers were hopeful that this would not be the case, though they also had their concerns. However, now that the WSOP is halfway through, 28 of the 58 events finally played, the numbers have shown that the WSOP has not been negatively affected by the online poker shutdown. On the contrary, attendance at the WSOP has vastly improved, increasing by a sizeable 9.2 percent from last year. Of course, along with the bigger attendance is a bigger prize pool. Since last year, the WSOP’s accumulated prize pool for the first 28 events has increased by 6%.

Breaking Records

It’s funny to think that just last month, people were speculating that a lot of people would not attend the WSOP due to the Black Friday Incident. Now, it looks like WSOP 2011 will be breaking world records. WSOP executive director, Ty Stewart said, “Honestly, from talking with the players, it’s more about a feeling that this is where you need to be. This truly is the center of the poker universe.” Indeed, he’s right about that. The WSOP is the biggest and most exciting event in the poker industry, and it’s the entire year’s focal point for avid players. At one point, all the tables at the Rio were full of poker players, which just goes to show how great the attendance is this year. 2011 is turning out to be a great and eventful year at the WSOP, with a lot of the bracelets going to first-time winners. The crowd’s also pretty multi-national, and there have been winners from all over the world. Also, all versions of the game are doing well, and not just hold’em. All the events seem to be breaking records this year, which is a really good sign for the industry because it looks like people are already starting to branch out.
Also, because of the Black Friday incident, the WSOP’s usual sponsors were unavailable and the tournament had to branch out and look for other sponsors. Among the new ones they found are Go Daddy.com, Red Bull, Miller Lite beer, and more.

The Main Event

Of course, the real measure of this year’s World Series of Poker is going to be the Main Event. Last year, the event drew 7,319, making it the second largest Main event in the history of the game. The year that holds the honor of being first is 2006, where there were 8,773 players. Now, the only question is, can 2011 surpass that? Hopefully, it will.

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