{"id":27472,"date":"2019-07-18T20:20:16","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T20:20:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/?p=27472"},"modified":"2019-07-23T13:52:45","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T13:52:45","slug":"why-the-2019-wsop-main-event-is-proof-that-poker-is-alive-and-kicking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pokerscout.com\/why-the-2019-wsop-main-event-is-proof-that-poker-is-alive-and-kicking\/","title":{"rendered":"Why The 2019 WSOP Main Event Is Proof That Poker Is Alive And Kicking"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Main Event of the World Series of Poker<\/strong> (WSOP) is the gold standard for poker. This year Hossein Ensan<\/strong>, a 55-year-old born in Iran<\/strong>, won the $10 million<\/strong> first prize.<\/p>\n

\n

Hossein Ensan is officially the 2019 WSOP Main Event champion! Ensan earns $10 million for his victory.https:\/\/t.co\/TDeXea8dw3<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/qOb1ZjN8cr<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 WSOP (@WSOP) July 17, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The event also stands as a measure of poker\u2019s popularity globally<\/strong>. It may be held in the US, but it attracts players from all over the globe.<\/p>\n

This year, four of the nine at the final table were US citizens, the other five hailed from across the world.<\/p>\n

Entry to the event costs $10,000<\/strong>, but there are a myriad of ways to get a seat for less money. Online operators on every continent offer satellite events where for a few dollars players get the chance of a seat.<\/p>\n

Therefore, the total number of players at the event provides a neat statistic that indicates the health of poker globally. This year, the field was 8,569<\/strong>, creating a prize pool of $80,548,600<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the second-largest number of players ever, and close to the all-time high of 8,773<\/strong> recorded in 2006. The previous number two was the 2018 Main Event which pulled in a prize pool of $74 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The year 2006 was key because it was the last WSOP before the US passed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act<\/strong><\/a>. This killed the internet poker boom.<\/p>\n

Online poker<\/strong> has not returned en masse to the US. Only Nevada<\/strong>, Delaware<\/strong>, and New Jersey<\/strong><\/a> currently offer online poker, but soon Pennsylvania<\/strong> sites will have poker options and other states will follow.<\/p>\n

So even in the absence of a mass-market of US players able to play regularly on their computers, the WSOP has managed to achieve not just growth, but record player numbers.<\/p>\n

US online poker numbers look gloomy but\u2026.<\/h2>\n

The New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement<\/strong> (DGE) produces monthly reports setting out the revenues generated by legal online gambling in the state.<\/p>\n

When the state first legalized online poker, analysts estimated that online poker revenues might make up 50 percent<\/strong> of total revenues.<\/p>\n

Even ignoring the new sports betting, this has not been the case. If we go back five years to look at the online figures for June 2014, six months after launch:<\/p>\n