Now that eleven events have come and gone in the World Series of Poker 2011, people can make an initial judgment on how the attendance rate is going post-Black Friday. There have been a lot of worries that people might decide to remain as spectators now that their income source has been severely compromised through the poker indictments. However, if the numbers are to be relied upon, then people should put the fear of the WSOP being unsuccessful to rest. Attendance is already up by 2.5% since last year – and though that’s not very impressive, it’s still pretty great in light of the recent crisis.

The Numbers never Lie

If there is one thing in this world that you can rely on, it’s numbers. The answer to one plus one will always be two, after all, and nothing will be able to change that, not even the apocalypse. As such, it’s only apt that we turn to numbers in order to evaluate the turnout for WSOP 2011, which many have feared to be on the decline now that players are having trouble getting hold of their money due to the Black Friday Incident. But now the numbers show that there’s really nothing to be feared. Player participation was up by 2.5%. It’s not very impressive, but then again it’s much better than the decrease that some people predicted. Also, another factor in the whole issue would be the changes the tournament officials made. Some $10,000 buy-in tournaments from last year were changed into $25,000 ones, but then there were still a lot of people who were willing to join. The field was halved in those events where the buy-in was increased, but elsewhere, player participation is without a doubt increasing.

More Players, More Money

Of course, more players in the WSOP means only one thing: bigger prizes. If you compare the prize pools generated this year in the first eleven events, then you’ll surely be impressed. Last year, the total prize pool by the time 11 events were reached was $19.9 million. Now, it’s up to $21.1 million – that’s a 5.7 percent increase; quite impressive, all things considered. Hopefully this trend will continue well into the remaining events. There are still 47 events to go, and it’s unknown if 2011 can keep up the player participation. But hopefully, things will look up. The poker industry certainly needs a boost, and this could just be it.