With the 2011 WSOP Main Event just hours away, the question on many of players minds is how many players will there be. The number (so the smart guys say) is going to be lower than last years attendance of 7319. This is mainly due to the decrease of the online poker rooms running almost non-stop satellites for the WSOP in years past.  Some are speculating that the figure will come in around 5500 and others are saying the figure will not decrease significantly and will come in around 6500. The one thing that all will be shocked by is if the figure remains the same or grows. That will be a testament to the popularity of poker in America.

 

There is no doubt that four major poker rooms servicing the US have put US players in a spin since Black Friday,  but the brick and mortar rooms across the county are loving the increase in revenue especially at the this years WSOP. The first 55 of 57 total events finished as of today's start of the 2011 WSOP Main Event Championship have been awarded a whopping $19,880,918 in first prize bracelet monies to US players.

 

 

The WSOP Championship event will be the litmus test to see how much the online rooms have had an effect on the $10K Buy-in. The $10K Buy-in for the Championship Event is beyond most young players bankroll and we will see over the next few days how the outcome has panned out for the so many who have been left. The Main Event is a 13-day event with 4 starting days. We will keep you updated on the Main Event action from start to finish!

 

We have complete coverage of all the prior events including monies, bracelets by country and more in our WSOP Event Coverage. Be sure to check out all the great WSOP Merchandise we have for sale.