Las Vegas Weekly

July 11, 2008 · 2 PM

WSOP the biggest in 39-year history

By Robin Leach

With a record 58,720 players from 118 different countries around the world the World Series of Poker at the Rio has officially gone into the record books. After 39 years it’s the richest and largest, according to WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. He’s also betting that next year it will even be bigger! He believes the 8-percent “ buy-ins’ increase over last year’s tournament added a $20-million bonanza bonus to the prize pool of $180-million. The 55 events run over 47 days at the Rio -- and then the final table of nine won’t take place until November to build even more excitement and anticipation for both players and the network TV audience. Pollack, who said the player count increased by 36 percent over last year, added that during the tournament to-date every American and Canadian state has been represented with money winners!

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