2025 WSOP!!
I know it’s early and normally I’m not excited about WSOP this soon after but dang it, I’m itching to go back already!
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I was looking at flights from Toronto to Vegas in the middle of June and I was shocked to see prices are at least 50% cheaper than anything I have seen in years. I canvased the group I have contact with. Last year 17 people went and this year there is only 3 saying their going, 2 maybes and 12 hell no! I am guessing the numbers will be down substantially this summer. I have a
You really think there’s that many politically minded poker players?
I’ll go Over 180,000 for the max please [emoji3]
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I will go over 180000 easily!!
I was looking at flights from Toronto to Vegas in the middle of June and I was shocked to see prices are at least 50% cheaper than anything I have seen in years. I canvased the group I have contact with. Last year 17 people went and this year there is only 3 saying their going, 2 maybes and 12 hell no! I am guessing the numbers will be down substantially this summer. I have a
If I were actually betting on it, I’d take the over. Sure, overall attendance might dip a bit—especially with fewer international players—but they’ve added more starting flights for the major events this year. Four instead of three for most weekend events, and five instead of four for Mystery Millions. That’ll go a long way toward closing the gap in total entries (which, let’s be real, is what actually matters—not raw headcount).
A 20% drop would be massive, and I just don’t see it. Personally, with all the chaos in the world right now, I’m more excited than ever for a WSOP escape. I’d bet a lot of other Americans feel the same.
I don't disagree with your conclusion as to attendance. I just think it is sad that poker players would allow politics or personalities to get in the way of something that only happens once a year, and in some cases, once in a lifetime. With the exception of that Bonomo douche-bag politics never shows up, and should never show up, at the tables.
I think it has more to do with risk aversion than politics. People from Europe are being detained, interrogated, and deported with little to no reason.
https://apnews.com/article/border-touris...
If I were a foreigner, I'd be very wary of wiring 5 or 6 figures to the United States. Especially if you've posted anti Trump or anti America sentiments on social media. How easy would it be for the government to deport you and keep your wire funds as "evidence". What are you going to tell them when they ask? "Oh I'm going to Vegas to gamble for 6 weeks". It's not going to happen to everyone, and overall it's not super likely, but all it takes is one, and even the small chance of it happening would deter me from coming.
That all being said, I think FOMO will kick in and a lot of people will end up fading the risk of being deported and make last minute plans. I still think numbers of unique entries in each tournament will be down 10%, but overall entries (with the added starting flights) will only be down 5%.
I am beginning to plan my trip now that a lot of the tournament schedules have been released. There are a only a few non-WSOP tournaments that are of interest at the moment to me around the time that I am planning to go. I was hoping for more PLO tournaments. Thinking I might play the $10K WSOP PLO this year.
If I were actually betting on it, I’d take the over. Sure, overall attendance might dip a bit—especially with fewer international players—but they’ve added more starting flights for the major events this year. Four instead of three for most weekend events, and five instead of four for Mystery Millions. That’ll go a long way toward closing the gap i
What actually happened last year in the Milly Maker and Monster Stack is that the move from 2 -> 3 flights did not result in a proportionate jump in entries, but a very small bump in entries spread thinner across the flights. If that pattern holds true this year then don't expect a massive boost with the jump from 3 -> 4 flights. Expect a modest bump (or even a drop) with smaller flights each day.
I surmised that since $1.5k is still a lot of money for most tourists and rec players, most entrants are effectively one-and-done regardless of how many flights are offered. It's really just the pros and richest whales who might be in there blasting every flight. They represent a small percentage of the player pool. So adding on more flights doesn't boost the field much in an expensive event. It just gives people more flexibility in choosing when they're going to use their one bullet.
Personally, I think foreign pro turnout will be robust. Poker players aren't known for being risk-averse and this is the peak season to make your bones for the year if you are either a tourney or cash grinder. Caution to the wind. Where I think you'll see a negative impact is in foreign and domestic rec players. Foreign players may be spooked by the oppressive government actions. Domestic and foreign players may both be suffering economically from the weak market.
I predict a modest decline in turnout for most events. A 10-15% drop sounds about right to me.
I'm anticipating a vibe like the COVID year in 2021, with a higher concentration of domestic players.
What actually happened last year in the Milly Maker and Monster Stack is that the move from 2 -> 3 flights did not result in a proportionate jump in entries, but a very small bump in entries spread thinner across the flights. If that pattern holds true this year then don't expect a massive boost with the jump from 3 -> 4 flights. Expect a modest bump (or even a drop) with small
I understand the markets are off their highs from a couple months ago. But the S&P is up almost 10% over the last year. Bitcoin is up more than 40% in the same timeframe. Both the Nasdaq and Dow are also up 5-10% over the year.
The future is uncertain so long term economic concerns could play a factor. But I get the feeling people who complain about the stock market treat it like chasing an inside straight on the turn.
Not gonna derail the threat with further political talk, but airlines and casino operator stocks are generally all down big from 1Y ago. If we're talking about potential turnout, those seem to be relevant indicators about broader trends in travel and hospitality. I'm receptive to the idea that poker players will find reasons to make summer Vegas trips regardless of context, but only to a point. COVID turnout was not on par with more normal times.
It's all guesswork, but I anticipate a reasonable drop in most events from a year ago.
These numbers came out a few days ago
"Passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport declined by 3.9 percent in March compared with a year ago when the airport had its third-highest count in history, the Clark County Department of Aviation reported Tuesday.
Domestic and international traffic was down for the month with flights on Canada-based airlines a large part of the decline.
Reid officials said there were 4.8 million passengers for the month with 4.5 million domestic arrivals and departures, down 4.3 percent, and 312,901 international, off 0.5 percent."
"For the first quarter of 2025, passenger numbers are down 3.7 percent to 13.2 million arrivals and departures with domestic travel most responsible for the decline. For the first three months of the year, domestic passenger traffic is down 4.3 percent to 12.1 million, while international is up 4.9 percent to 920,286, with Aeromexico, Vivaaerobus and Korean Airlines up by double-digit percentages."
These numbers came out a few days ago
"Passenger traffic at Harry Reid International Airport declined by 3.9 percent in March compared with a year ago when the airport had its third-highest count in history, the Clark County Department of Aviation reported Tuesday.DAll this being said, I doubt border officials turn back many entries of foreigners that will be coming for the series...
If I were actually betting on it, I’d take the over. Sure, overall attendance might dip a bit—especially with fewer international players—but they’ve added more starting flights for the major events this year. Four instead of three for most weekend events, and five instead of four for Mystery Millions. That’ll go a long way toward closing the gap in total entries (which, let’s
When I was taking about 180 K i would like to compare apples to apples as much as possible. If there are three or more tournaments than last year they would need to be factored out.
Im from Europe, I know a lot of people they are coming. Even some players they will come for the first time. So over 200k easy
Also do not forget the US Dollar is at a 3 year low - that makes travel to the US a lot cheaper.
When I was taking about 180 K i would like to compare apples to apples as much as possible. If there are three or more tournaments than last year they would need to be factored out.
Good luck on that. WSOP is always adding events or flights, just as they did last year. If you're gonna compare numbers you should strictly look at the series as a whole. Nobody is taking bets why you taking this so seriously 😂
Good luck on that. WSOP is always adding events or flights, just as they did last year. If you're gonna compare numbers you should strictly look at the series as a whole. Nobody is taking bets why you taking this so seriously 😂
If some adventurous 2+2er were to count up all of the entries x buy-ins for a given year, I think that would make for a reasonably useful metric to determine how one year compares to another. That’s close to what the WSOP does themselves, I’m sure, but of course they are only counting entries x rake.
Outside that, all you can do is compare the same events. But as has been mentioned, even that can be skewed by schedule/flight structure/etc.
I, for one, am personally ambivalent about the prospect of a ~10-20% drop in attendance. If it comes to pass, it will likely improve logistics and make cashing easier. Those things can often make up for smaller prizepools.
I, for one, am personally ambivalent about the prospect of a ~10-20% drop in attendance. If it comes to pass, it will likely improve logistics and make cashing easier. Those things can often make up for smaller prizepools.
I can't say I care too much one way or the other either. If they end up falling short enough of expectations that it means some events start 9-handed that would have otherwise been 10-handed, and the worst of the temporary dealers have a shorter leash before they're pulled out, that would be fantastic.
I don't think it will have any impact on cashing though, and prize amounts will only be impacted for those making a deep run into the top 1%. Figure that most events pay the same minimum amount for the top 15%, with very small pay jumps after that. Making it to the top 15% of a 10,000 person field is really no different than in a 5,000 person field, you're still playing with the same number of different players at only a handful of tables (even in the longer-format Monster Stack last year I was at just my third table when the money bubble burst on day 2).
In fact, if it turns out that most of the people who elect to skip this year are rec players, it could actually make the player mix in some events a bit tougher.
I'm not worried about it, but am certainly curious to see what the impact will be.
WSOP first timer this year. Getting into LV 6/7 at 9am and want to play the Colossus. If I head right over to the horseshoe how bad of lines should I expect to register/how many levels will I roughly miss? Trying to see if I should move my flight to the prior evening if possible
WSOP first timer this year. Getting into LV 6/7 at 9am and want to play the Colossus. If I head right over to the horseshoe how bad of lines should I expect to register/how many levels will I roughly miss Trying to see if I should move my flight to the prior evening if possible
I think it will be pretty ugly. Like 1-2 hour wait maybe.
I would recommend registering online and printing your ticket at the kiosks, but I'm not sure you can do that without first getting verified. My recollection is that you can't print tickets from the kiosks without being verified through the registration line once. After the initial verification, it's easy. Maybe I'm wrong. Hopefully someone else with more concrete knowledge can chime in.
WSOP first timer this year. Getting into LV 6/7 at 9am and want to play the Colossus. If I head right over to the horseshoe how bad of lines should I expect to register/how many levels will I roughly miss Trying to see if I should move my flight to the prior evening if possible
Do you have a Caesars Rewards card? Why wouldn't you use BravoPokerLive to register online ahead of time? You would still need to stop to a special place to show your rewards card and Identification to get the process going. After that you could use a kiosk to print out your seat ticket. If the Colossus starts at 10 am you will likely miss at least the first hour of action, more if you didn't online register and have to wait in a really long line to buy in. Good luck.
I think it will be pretty ugly. Like 1-2 hour wait maybe. I would recommend registering online and printing your ticket at the kiosks, but I'm not sure you can do that without first getting verified. My recollection is that you can't print tickets from the kiosks without being verified through the registration line once. After the initial verification, it's easy. Maybe I'm wron
Correct, but verification is a different line. Two ladies behind desks. I did it last year and didn’t have to wait.
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WSOP first timer this year. Getting into LV 6/7 at 9am and want to play the Colossus. If I head right over to the horseshoe how bad of lines should I expect to register/how many levels will I roughly miss Trying to see if I should move my flight to the prior evening if possible
Do you have a Caesars Rewards card? Why wouldn't you use BravoPokerLive to register online ahead of t
I was a little unsure how registering online worked but I will definitely look into that option if it will cut down on my wait time. Thanks!
