WSOP Main Event field second largest ever

9 July 2007

By Ryan McLane

The second largest Main Event in World Series of Poker history will pay $8.25 million to the winner.

The total field of 6,358 players fell short of last year's record attendance of 8,773, but it's still easily the second largest WSOP tournament ever held. The nearly $60 million prize pool will pay 621 spots.

The unusually subdued Amazon Room suddenly started buzzing after WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel announced the figures.

"I knew that would fire them up," Effel told another Harrah's official.

Debate and concern over the size of this year's field began after the U.S. adopted the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), which made it illegal for American financial institutions to process transactions with online gambling firms.

WSOP officials changed third-party registration rules as a result.

In past years, online gambling companies like Party Poker and PokerStars could pre-register their player contingencies en masse. This year, players had to register in person to ensure the buy-in money didn't come directly from sites accepting illegal U.S. bets.

"If there's been an impact (from the UIGEA), it was in our business practices," WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said. "We tightened up third-party registrations and we tightened up our standards on who we do business with."

The end result was another massive prize pool - and all players can be happy about that.

Ryan McLane

Ryan McLane was a poker reporter for Casino City. Although he has a strong background in reporting, the same can't be said for his poker skills. He has never won a major tournament nor is he a professional player. He applied for this job thinking it was a joke, only to find it out that it's true, people will pay you to write about poker. His favorite word is ridiculous.

After receiving his BA in History from Stonehill College in Easton, MA, he somehow ended up freelance reporting for a couple years before being deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom III with the Massachusetts National Guard. He's back now and is a strong advocate of the phrase "God Bless America."

Currently, Ryan lives in Boston and occasionally makes international treks to cover tournament poker and news. Feature writing is his passion and there is no need to ask for his opinion, he'll probably offer it first - free of charge.