Posted on

WSOP Attendance By State: New England Poker Players Were Over-Represented

The World Series of Poker is often used as a barometer for the overall health of the poker economy. Based on this year’s attendance numbers, the poker economy appears to be firing on all cylinders.

The 2018 WSOP produced a record 123,865 entries across 78 events. And for the first time in its history, the WSOP handed out over a quarter-billion-dollars in prize-money: $266,889,193 to put an exact number on it.

The Main Event wasn’t a record-setter, but it was close.

A total of 7,874 players entered the $10,000 buy-in tournament, the second highest total in the tournament’s 49 year history.

The United States accounted for 73 percent (5,758) of the 7,874 participants in the 2018 World Series of Poker Main Event, and thanks to data from the WSOP, we can see where these players are coming from.

No surprises at the top

The five states that sent the most players to the 2018 WSOP Main Event were:

  1. California: 1,009
  2. Nevada: 626
  3. Florida: 519
  4. New York: 456
  5. Texas: 390

1,635 of the 5,758 participants (more than 28 percent of the US field) hail from just two states, California and Nevada.

California is the most populous state in the country, so it’s not surprising that that over 1,000 WSOP Main Event participants reside in the Golden State. In the same vein, Florida, New York, and Texas rank third, fourth, and second in population respectively.

The outlier in the group (but not really) is Nevada. The state ranks just 33rd in population.

Of course, Nevada is the gambling capital of the world and the home of the WSOP, so even though it’s punching way above its population weight class with 626 entries, the Silver State’s #2 ranking isn’t a surprise.

But Nevada wasn’t the only state that overperformed its population.

The states that overperformed

In addition to Nevada, 22 states had more participants in the WSOP Main Event than their population dictated.

Some of the states that overperformed their populations are unsurprising.

A poker hotspot, New Jersey is also one of only three states with legal online poker, and WSOP.com ran multiple satellites to the WSOP in the Garden State.

What’s in the water in New England?

The strong showings by other states are harder to quantify.

That’s particularly true for several New England states: Maine (+9), Connecticut (+9), Massachusetts (+7), Vermont (+4), and New Hampshire (+2). The only New England state that didn’t exceed expectations was Rhode Island.

There are several legal poker rooms in New England, but the region isn’t exactly known as a hotbed of poker activity.

Connecticut boasts two legal poker rooms, one at Mohegan Sun and the other at Foxwoods. The latter is one of the biggest poker rooms in the country.

Twin River in Rhode Island is the only other full-scale poker room in the region (MGM Springfield will boast a poker room when it opens in August, as will Encore Boston Harbor when it opens next year).

Beyond that it’s slim pickings. Hollywood Casino in Bangor, Maine has a small poker room, and charity rooms are available in New Hampshire.

What the region does possess poker-wise is a thriving underground and home game scene, as well as one of the most popular bar poker leagues in the country, The Eastern Poker Tour.

New England also has a lot of disposable income.

According to the Tax Foundation, when it comes to “real” disposable income, Connecticut ranks 4th, Massachusetts ranks 6th, New Hampshire ranks 13th, and Rhode Island ranks 14th. Rounding out New England, Vermont is 25th and Maine is 35th.

The states that underperformed

Things are even more convoluted when it comes to the states that underperformed.

Several of the states with deficits of five or more have strong poker economies: Pennsylvania, Delaware, and West Virginia.

What you don’t find is a lot of disposable income in these states. Virginia tops the list at 15th, with almost every underperforming state falling in the bottom half of the Tax Foundation’s disposable income rankings.

Upshot

More than access to poker, the economic climate in a state will give you a good idea of what states will be overrepresented and underrepresented in the WSOP Main Event.

New Players Get A Free Bonus At WSOP.com NJ

The post WSOP Attendance By State: New England Poker Players Were Over-Represented appeared first on .

Posted on

The 2018 WSOP Ended With A Record-Breaking Number Of Millionaires

The 2018 World Series of Poker awarded cash prizes of $1 million or more to 28 different players. That figure is the highest number of players ever to win seven digits at the annual series.

Several million-dollar winners made their biggest scores ever

Eleven of the 28 WSOP winners are new poker millionaires. Seven of those players made their big cash at the final table of the Main Event, including champion John Cynn.

In fact, the following final tablists moved into seven figures all-time by virtue of their finish:

  • John Cynn
  • Tony Miles
  • Michael Dyer
  • Nicolas Manion
  • Aram Zobian
  • Artem Metalidi
  • Antoine Labat

The other four new millionaires deserve their own recognition. They are:

Aymon Hata

Aymon Hata is a German player who lives in London. His $1,297,221 in cashes at this year’s series pushed his lifetime earnings to over $1.6 million.

He earned the lion’s share of his winnings by placing third in the $100,000 High Roller event. The finish was good for $1,247,230 at the pay window.

Hata also cashed in three other WSOP events this year, including a 236th finish in the Main Event.

Arne Kern

Arne Kern hails from Klivery, Germany. He has lifetime winnings in excess of $1.2 million.

The vast portion of those earnings is from Kern’s triumphant victory in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event. He cashed for $1,173,223 in that event.

He also scored a modest cash in the PLO version of The Giant. Kern is an example of a player who finally broke through, and who gives hope to all who come to the WSOP.

Tommy Nguyen

Canadian Tommy Nguyen probably had no idea where his WSOP road would lead him. The Mississauga, Ontario native had already cashed in the WSOP twice already when he entered the $1,500 Monster Stack event.

His past two cashes had netted him just over $7,000, which was a decent profit for $4,120 in buyins. However, his third cash was a whopper – a first-place finish for a bracelet and $1,037,451 in winnings.

Not too bad for a $1,500 investment.

Roberly Felicio

Roberly Felicio seems like the kind of player who just wants to have a good time. Prior to his major score, the Brazilian player had less than $100,000 in WSOP cashes to his name.

A smart $565 buy-in to the Colossus resulted in a $1,000,000 payday and a WSOP bracelet.

It was his only cash of the series.

WSOP NJ – Get $10 No Deposit

The WSOP had a superlative year overall

The million-dollar wins by a whopping 28 players epitomize the kind of jaw-dropping series seen this year. The total prize pool for the entire series totaled $266,889,193.

That figure represents a 15.1 percent increase from 2017’s series. It was also the first time the total awarded exceeded $250 million.

18,105 players from 104 different nations shared in the record-breaking prize pot. The WSOP has awarded nearly $3 billion to players in its 49-year history.

This year’s Main Event was also the second-largest in history. Only the 2006 event’s 8,773 entries can top this year’s 7,874.

Nevertheless, the size of this year’s event is a good omen for the overall health of poker. Despite rumors to the contrary, poker is very much alive in America.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The post The 2018 WSOP Ended With A Record-Breaking Number Of Millionaires appeared first on Play USA.

Posted on

Doug Polk And ‘JNandez’ Feud Reveals An Ugly Truth About Poker Training

There will be no real winner coming out of the Doug Polk and Fernando ‘JNandez87’ Habegger feud on YouTube this week.

The reputations of both Polk and Habegger will undoubtedly be tarnished by the various allegations.

Publicly airing his dirty laundry regarding one of poker’s most popular content creators could serve to raise Habegger’s significantly smaller social media profile. His motivation may even be just that. He could very well be leveraging Polk’s immense following to sell a few more subscriptions for his JNandez Poker PLO Mastermind course.

But ultimately, going public with allegations that Polk’s Upswing Poker fudged revenue numbers to keep from paying him his fair share won’t do it. Instead, it will damage the image of poker coaching and the poker training business in general — something that is much more likely to hurt sales over the long haul.

A truth about the business of poker training

The truth is, Habegger’s allegations, and Polk’s defense against them, unveil a truth about the business of poker training neither side really wants the public to know. Which is that poker training is a business, first and foremost.

Those in the business of teaching others poker strategy want it to look like their sole motivation is helping people get better at playing the game. When in fact, what’s really driving them is the almighty buck.

Habegger claims Upswing owes him close to $100,000 for the course he ultimately quit on. Polk revealed financials showing the short-lived course did close to $1 million in sales. Plus, that Habegger has already been paid out over $200,000 in accordance with the revenue share agreement between the two.

Unfortunately, both only serve to show just how big of a business poker training has become. Plus, they completely dispel the myth either side are in it for anything more than money.

New Players Get A Free Bonus At WSOP.com NJ

Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach

The old idiom those who can, do; those who can’t, teach, doesn’t really apply here. In poker, it’s those who have done can now trade in on their hard-earned success for the kind of stable income a skill game with a significant element of luck can never provide.

People might think these poker players turned coaches were born to teach. That they want to share what they’ve learned playing the game out of the goodness of their hearts. Think again.

This description might fit the average high school English teacher making $58,000 a year. But it doesn’t match gamblers who exploit edges for a living. Nor those who leverage the success they’ve had into a seven-figure revenue stream teaching.

The knock on coaches and training sites inside pro poker circles has always been that making people better at poker is tantamount to killing the long term viability of poker as a profession. Or at least its profitability. Of course, poker pros who say this publicly are criticized for being selfish.

The pot calling the kettle black

This Polk-Habegger feud makes that criticism seem a little like the pot calling the kettle black.

The content on Upswing Poker, Habegger’s PLO Mastermind course, and many other training sites will likely help you improve your game. It might even be worth the hundreds or thousands of dollars you’ll ultimately pay for it.

Just don’t be fooled into thinking the people behind it are in it for anything more than that. Instead, allow this very public feud over money to serve as an indication of what most coaches and training sites are really about.

The post Doug Polk And ‘JNandez’ Feud Reveals An Ugly Truth About Poker Training appeared first on .