Record breaking attendance at the 2006 World Series of Poker
There have been a huge number of players participating in the 2006 World Series of Poker. Right from the start, the very first tournament, the Casino Employee Championship event drew a record number of entrants.
A total of 1,232 participants competed for a prize pool of $554,850. The Casino Employee Championship is a $500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament.
This tournament is the traditional starting point for the six week long World Series of Poker being held at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Chris Gros, of St. Louis, Missouri won Event #1 of the 2006 World Series of Poker. When asked how it felt to be a WSOP bracelet winner Gros replied, "I don't know what's more exciting, not having to make another mortgage payment or winning the bracelet. It is something that I will always have."
The second event of the 2006 WSOP turned out to be the second biggest poker tournament ever in history. Event #1, a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em tournament, was a complete sellout. The total number of participants was 2,776 players. Only the 2005 WSOP Main Event drew more players with a total of 5,619. Brandon Cantu, a 25 year old semi-professional poker player from Las Vegas, won the second event and took home his first WSOP bracelet and a total of $757,839.
This year's Senior's No Limit Hold'em Championship also drew a record number of poker players. The Senior's World Championship drew a record 1,184 players and featured a prize pool of more than one million Euros. The Senior's Event is open to poker players who are aged 50 years or older. The winner, Clare Miller, won her first WSOP gold bracelet as well as $247,814 in cash. Miller was celebrating her 41 st wedding anniversary this week.
With more than 20 events left to play, this year's World Series of Poker looks to break even more records. The $10,000 buy-in Main Event should attract a record number of players and will feature a massive prize pool which will award the winner with approximately 10 million Euros.
Overall Tournament Statistics (through the end of Event #18):
Total Entries to Date: 18,686
Total Prize Money Distributed: $32,960,132
Provided by UltimatePokerForum.com
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