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HEADLINE: 2009 WSOPE and WSOP Break Records for Poker

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In just its third season, the World Series of Poker Europe is already breaking records. The first tournament event for the 2009 WSOPE has set an attendance record as the largest poker tournament to ever take place in London, England. With 608 registered players paying the £1,000 buy-in, the no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em event broke the record that was previously set in last year’s European Poker Tour with 596 players registering at a London poker event.

The 2008 WSOPE opening event saw only 410 players participating, so it is safe to say that the WSOPE is showing steady growth and rising popularity, perhaps surpassing the hype that surrounds the EPT. What’s amazing is that the 608 players who played in this historical tournament almost equals the 623 total players that attended all three of season one’s events. The WSOPE is presented by Betfair, a company that will likely benefit a great deal from the tournament’s success for years to come.

The attendance record at the WSOPE wasn’t the only record set this year, though. This past summer, in Las Vegas, many WSOP tournaments attracted the largest playing field for their event, as well as generated some of the largest prize pools ever in the history of poker, despite the so-called economic hardships. The total prize pool for the entire series, since its inaugural event in 1970, surpassed the $1 billion mark this year with 2009’s prize pool alone soaring over $174 million. The total number of registered players was 60,875, beating 2008’s 58,720 entrants. We even had the oldest player to play in the WSOP record set this year at 96-years-old by Jack Ury.

Year after year, poker grows as a sport and attracts more and more players from all over the world. With the emergence of poker in Europe over the past few years, especially after the UIGEA forced poker rooms to promote outside of the US, poker has become a worldwide phenomenon and will continue to be for decades to come—the seed has been planted.

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