Come one, come all – literally. The 2015 World Series of Poker is right around the corner. If you thought it couldn’t get bigger than the 82,000 entrants and $227 million in prize money that was doled out last year, think again. This year promises to be the biggest year of them all as organizers have announced that a new event will be added to the lineup with a miniscule buy-in of $565. That makes it far more accessible to the average player and will make turn it into a mega event.
So many times in previous years, it felt like the tournament was unreachable for the regular guys. They’d need to win satellite seats and jump through hoops to make it in. Now anyone can play. This actually is the lowest buy-in for an open WSOP event in 35 years, and it will feature a guaranteed prize pool of $5 million. Two daily flights with a re-entry format are available as well. Needless to say, the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino is expecting a crowd for this super-sized tournament with estimates ranging in the 13,000 range.
It’s amazing to see how far this tournament has come in less than 50 years. It all started with a small table at Benny Binion’s Horseshoe Casino back in 1970. Back then, the players voted on who the winner was at the end. Nowadays, winners take home life-altering pots.
Main Event
The world’s longest running poker tournament continues with the popular No-Limit Hold’em Main Event Championship on July 5. Buy-in is a bit steeper than the Colossus; you’re looking at $10,000 to join. Last year, 27-year-old Martin Jacobson, from Sweden, outlasted a field of 6,683 players to collect the $10 million prize. A similar sized prize is expected for the 2015 main event, although that’s still to be determined.
Other Tournament Additions
There will be some other changes to the 2015 schedule that should deliver even more excitement to the table. Although poker has become a younger player’s game, a new Super Seniors tournament has been added to the mix. Bring your ID because only players aged 65 or older can get in. That should make Doyle Brunson’s job much easier.
Also, the organizers decided to bring back the High Roller for One Drop tournament, which has returned after a one-year hiatus. If the Colossus can be described as affordable, you’re at the other side of the spectrum if you join the One Drop. The buy-in is this year’s largest at $111,111. Although it might seem exclusive, 166 players took part in 2013 and this year is expected to be the largest field for a six-figure buy-in of any tournament in the world.