2019 World Series of Poker: Demographic Breakdown of the Second Largest Field in Main Event History

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The 2019 WSOP Main Event is the second largest in history.

The 2019 World Series of Poker $10,000 Main Event is the second-biggest field of all time with 8,569 entries, eclipsed only by what most call the "height of the poker boom" when 8,773 entered the 2006 edition which Jamie Gold won for $12 million.

The $80,548,600 prize pool generated this year is also the second biggest in WSOP history and this year's $10 million top prize ranks second, tied with the winning prize amount collected by Swedish poker pro Martin Jacobson in 2014. The Day 1C field this year was the largest starting flight in WSOP Main Event history with 4,877 players taking part.

Here, we take a look at the numbers of the 2019 WSOP Main Event, provided by WSOP.

Biggest Fields, Year-over-Year Growth

To put the Main Event growth in perspective, back when Chris Moneymaker helped spark the poker boom with his televised win in 2003 for $2.5 million, the field of 839 was the most the event had ever drawn. What followed, no one could have predicted. The Main Event shot up in attendance over the following three years to 2,576 in 2004, 5,619 in 2005 and then to its height in 2006. The 2010s have seen another uptick, providing some hope of return to poker boom numbers.

The last four years in particular have shown promise, with year-over-year growth each year and a 33% overall field increase since Joe McKeehen won the big one in 2015.

There has been a nine percent year-over-year increase over both of the last two years, going from 7,221 to 7,878 entries from 2017 to 2018, and bumping up to 8,569 in 2019. For a bit more perspective, this year's entries are more than the 2004 and 2005 fields combined. Following is a look at the biggest five Main Event fields in history.

The Amazon room has been packed with Main Event players.
The Amazon room has been packed with Main Event players.

Top Five Main Events of All Time by Attendance

YearEntrantsWinnerFirst Place
20068,773Jamie Gold$12,000,000
20198,569TBD$10,000,000
20187,874John Cynn$8,800,000
20107,319Jonathan Duhamel$8,944,310
20177,221Scott Blumstein$8,150,000

All final tablists will be guaranteed seven-figures with seven-figure pay jumps starting with four players remaining. Last year's payouts saw a $3.8 million jump from second to first and a historically long heads-up battle between champion John Cynn and second-place finisher Tony Miles. This year will be even more dramatic in terms of the final payout bump with the winner taking home $4 million more than the runner-up.

Final Table Payouts

PlacePayouts
1$10,000,000
2$6,000,000
3$4,000,000
4$3,000,000
5$2,200,000
6$1,850,000
7$1,525,000
8$1,250,000
9$1,000,000

Player Demographics

In 50 editions of Main Events, the Word Series of Poker has really grown into a global event, with players coming from 87 different countries to make up this year’s field. That is four more countries than the 83 represented in the 2018 Main Event. Here's a look at the ten countries with the most representatives in the event.

Top Ten Countries Represented in 2019 WSOP Main Event

RankCountryPlayers
1United States6,110
2Canada420
3United Kingdom414
4France151
5China117
6Germany105
7Brazil104
8Australia91
9Russia79
10Austria73

The 2019 WSOP Main Event drew 8,569 entries, of which all 50 states, plus D.C. were represented in the 6,110 players that came from the United States. California drew the highest number with 1,057 with Nevada residents coming in second and Florida, New York and Texas rounding out the top five. Here is a breakdown of the ten states with the most entries.

Top Ten States Represented in 2019 WSOP Main Event

RankStateEntries
1California1,057
2Nevada698
3Florida540
4New York478
5Texas442
6New Jersey240
7Illinois236
8Massachusetts194
9Ohio169
10Pennsylvania157

Age Breakdown of 2019 WSOP Main Event Participants

The average age of 2019 WSOP Main Event participants is 41.46. For males, the average is 41.34 and for females, 44.30. Here is a more detailed look at the age ranges of this year’s participants.

Total Field Demographics

Age RangeTotalMaleFemale
21-253323275
26-301,3511,31239
31-351,8941,82866
36-401,3051,24560
41-4589186130
46-5090085644
51-5570366637
>561,1931,12469
Total8,5698,219350

United States Demographics

Age RangeTotalMaleFemale
21-251771743
26-3068566619
31-351,2721,22745
36-4094890444
41-4567065020
46-5072969237
51-5558255230
>561,04798562
Total6,1105,850260

International Demographics

Age RangeTotalMaleFemale
21-251551532
26-3066664620
31-3562260121
36-4035734116
41-4522121110
46-501711647
51-551211147
>561461397
Total2,4592,36990

The percent of women in the Main Event field has remained seen a small year-over-year increase. The 350 ladies participating in 2019 make up nearly 4.1 percent of the total entries, while last year's 300 females represented 3.8% of the field of 7,874.

Main Event Update, Payouts

Of the whopping 8,569 runners, a total of 2,880 made it through the two different Day 2 fields to join together at the Rio to play out Day 3 on Monday. The money bubble is expected to burst in the early hours of Day 4, the top 1,286 players all guaranteed at least a minimum payout of $15,000. Here's a look at the full payout schedule for those lucky players who will receive a cashout in the Main.

2019 WSOP Main Event Payouts

PlacePayout PlacePayout PlacePayout PlacePayout
1$10,000,000 10-11$800,000 64-72$117,710 415-477$30,780
2$6,000,000 12-13$600,000 73-81$98,120 478-540$27,390
3$4,000,000 14-15$500,000 82-90$82,365 541-603$24,560
4$3,000,000 16-18$400,000 91-99$69,636 604-666$22,190
5$2,200,000 19-27$324,650 100-162$59,295 667-765$20,200
6$1,850,000 28-36$261,430 163-225$50,855 766-864$18,535
7$1,525,000 37-45$211,945 226-288$43,935 865-963$17,135
8$1,250,000 46-54$173,015 289-351$38,240 964-1062$15,970
9$1,000,000 55-63$142,215 352-414$34,845 1063-1286$15,000

You can watch the PokerNews video update from July 8 at the WSOP here:

Photos courtesy of WSOP.

Keep following all the action in the World Series of Poker Main Event right here at PokerNews to find out who will claim the $10 million top prize on July 16!

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PR & Media Manager for PokerNews, Podcast host & 2013 WSOP Bracelet Winner.

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