2014 World Series of Poker Main Event Kicks Off
The 2014 World Series of Poker Main Event was set to begin on Saturday. Over the next three days, we will grasp the number of entries and, as such, the ultimate prize money to be handed out.
Last year’s WSOP had Ryan Reiss (remember him?) walk away with the top prize of $8,361,570. We won’t know the winner until November when the final table takes place.
The biggest payout for a 1st place winner was handed out at the peak of poker’s popularity in 2006 when Jamie Gold officially walked off with a cool $12 million. Ultimately, Gold had to provide a cut of that money to an investor. The settlement amount was never disclosed, however, a court had froze half the winnings after Gold completed the Main Event.
As noted by the WSOP, the tournament will be filmed by ESPN, and will air on Sunday evenings beginning on September 28. After 14 episodes over 7 weeks, the final table will air live on ESPN on Monday, November 10th and Tuesday, November 11th. The tradition of playing the final table a few months after the rest of the tournament started in 2008, and has since become a mainstay of the event.
This year, the Main Event will feature three starting days. Day 1A begins at noon on Saturday, July 5th. Days 1B and 1C will begin on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Each flight will play 5 two-hour levels, with a 20-minute break after each level and a 90-minute dinner break after level 3. On Tuesday, July 8th, players who bagged chips on Days 1A and 1B will return to the felt to play Day 2, and remaining players from Day 1C will resume play on Wednesday. On Thursday, July 10th, all remaining players will combine into a single field for the first time, and they will continue until reaching the official final table of nine players on Monday, July 14th.
- Ace King, Gambling911.com
