Fifth Largest WSOP Main Event Field Set

The largest poker tournament in the world is underway in Las Vegas. And the first prize is life-changing money for any player who might win.

While the World Series of Poker is a series of 65 tournaments, there is only one that is referred to as the Main Event. The $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em World Championship is the biggest tournament of the year, and players come from many all over the globe to play.

The 2014 WSOP Main Event drew a big crowd and became the fifth largest Main Event in the tournament’s 45-year history. There were three days for players to get in on the action, and when all of the numbers were counted, there were 6,683 players in all. That created a massive $62,820,200 prize pool, out of which the last 693 players standing will get paid. And the final nine players will receive these payouts:

1^st place: $10 million

2^nd place: $5,145,968

3^rd place: $3,806,402

4^th place: $2,848,833

5^th place: $2,143,174

6^th place: $1,622,080

7^th place: $1,235,862

8^th place: $947,077

9^th place: $730,725

Play will continue through July 14. Each day, players will exit, thinning the field until the final day on July 14, at which point, the final table of nine will be set.

Those nine players will walk away with $730,725 each, as they are all guaranteed ninth place money. But they will then return in November for what has been dubbed the November Nine, the final table of the Main Event. It will play out amidst the lights, cameras, and excitement of the ESPN cameras and a live audience, while the action will be broadcast semi-live on television.

Every poker player wants to reach the November Nine, but even more, they want the title, the championship gold bracelet, and $10 million.