Welcome back to PokerNews, the official media partner of the 2025 World Series of Poker and home of live updates from all bracelet events.
Today sees the start of Event #2: $500 Industry Employees No-Limit Hold'em here at Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. Previously called the Casino Employees event, a name change for 2025 now means that poker bloggers, vloggers and streamers are all eligible to play.
This has caused some controversy in the months leading up to the 2025 WSOP, but that's all in the past now as the series has begun.
This two-day event gets underway at 2 p.m. local time, with late registration open for nine 40-minute levels, and one reentry is allowed. There will be 15-minute breaks every three levels, with a 60-minute dinner break at the end of Level 9 (~8:30 p.m.).
The starting stack is 25,000 chips with the plan for Day 1 to play 15 40-minute levels or down to 15% of the field, whichever is later. For the surviving players, Day 2 resumes Wednesday, May 28, at 1 p.m. and plays down to a winner.
Last year’s event was the one of the largest Casino Employees Events in history, with a field of 1,189 entries generating a prize pool of $499,380. The winner was Jose Garcia, who defeated Richard Rothmeier heads-up to win $79,134 and his first WSOP bracelet.
| Year | Entries | Winner | Country | Payout |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 1,189 | Jose Garcia | United States | $79,134 |
| 2023 | 1,015 | Peter Thai | United States | $75,535 |
| 2022 | 832 | Katie Kopp | United States | $65,168 |
| 2021 | 419 | James Barnett | United States | $39,013 |
| 2020 | - | Not held | - | - |
| 2019 | 686 | Nicholas Haynes | United States | $62,345 |
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Stay tuned to PokerNews for live updates from the tournament floor throughout the day and to find out who advances to Day 2!
