The first tournament on the 2009 World Series of Poker Europe schedule has set a new attendance record. With 608 entrants, the £1,000 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament is the largest poker competition ever held in London. The previous high mark for a WSOPE event had been 410 players, set during the 2008 opening event. The previous attendance record for a London-based poker tournament had been 596 players, set at last year’s European Poker Tour (EPT) final.
The record figure is startling, considering the WSOPE is only in its third season. In fact, 608 entrants for the opening event of 2009 nearly equals the 623 total players who participated in all three events held during the first season. Indeed, WSOP Europe presented by Betfair has come a very long way in just two years.
The impressive London attendance figure is but one of several records which were broken during the 2009 WSOP. Three months ago, several tournaments in Las Vegas attracted the largest fields in their history. Many events also generated the largest prize pools ever. The bottom line is – World Series of Poker tournaments continue to be the premier destination for poker players all around the world.