The Paris Ballroom -- the largest of all poker spaces between Paris and Horseshoe Las Vegas -- is currently hosting the largest number of players in WSOP Main Event history. (Image: courtesy of WSOP)

It was a possibility at the start of Monday for Day 2D of the 2024 World Series of Poker Championship Event in Las Vegas – the “Main Event” as the WSOP has trademarked – that there could be history. 

Only 551 players were necessary from the late registration period, the first two levels of the final Day Two, to eclipse that mark. By late Monday afternoon, the page in the poker book of “largest Main Event in WSOP history” had been torn out and replaced with a new mark.

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$10 Million to the Next World Champion

A total of 3,823 players came back for action on Day 2D, the survivors of the largest-ever Day One in the history of the WSOP Main Event. If that weren’t enough for those runners, they would have to contend with any newcomers who just happened to find their way into $10,000 and jump into the fray. After two levels, 562 players came to the fore and made history for this year’s tournament.

Days 1A, 1B and 1C had 4,275 entries in the book for the 2024 WSOP Main Event, while Day 1D alone upped that number by 5014 players. If it had stopped then, it would have been the third largest WSOP Main Event in history (9,289 players), but the late registration period on both Day Twos would add in more players. For Day 2ABC, that saw 206 latecomers to the party, and on Day 2D, the record was snapped as 562 players drove the final total up to 10,112, a new record for the Main Event.

Although the record was broken, this year’s winner will not take home the largest-ever payday from the tournament – but that person won’t be crying. 

The 1,517 players who make it to the end of the week will split the $94 million ($94,041,600, to be exact) prize pool for the 2024 WSOP Main Event. 

Nobody will turn down the $15,000 minimum cash requirement for the tournament, even though it won't be double the buy-in. Each member of the final table (nine players) will earn $1 million or more, with the eventual World Champion taking down a $10 million first-place prize.

The reason that the largest ever prize pool won’t pay out the largest ever prize? In 2024, Caesars and WSOP officials flattened out the payout structure to ensure that those on the lower end of the totem pole earned a decent return on their investment. To pay for that move, the money had to come off the top, so the first-place prize had to come down to ensure a more level payout structure.

Day 2D Sees Defending Champion Rise

The final Day Two of the 2024 WSOP Main Event was kicked off by the legendary Jack Binion, whose father, Benny, was responsible for the creation of the WSOP. In addition to giving the call to “shuffle up and deal,” Binion was also responsible for the unveiling of the 2024 WSOP World Champion bracelet, that will be one of the prizes for the next victor. With that, 4,441 players were off to the races.

There is a throng of former World Champions who are looking to capture another piece of jewelry for their mantle. Defending champion Daniel Weinman, who delivered the “shuffle up and deal” call way back on Day 1A, is still alive for a repeat (something that has not been done since Johnny Chan in 1987 and 1988) sitting on a 229,500 chip stack. There are other World Champions still itching for a second title, including 2013 World Champion Ryan Riess (103,500), 2015 victor Joseph McKeehen (309,500), 2014 winner Martin Jacobson (154,000), 2022 titleholder Espen Jorstad (133,000) and 1998 winner and Poker Hall of Famer Scotty Nguyen (206,000).

Alex Livingston, seen in 2019, led Day 2D at the 2024 WSOP Main Event. (Image: Steve Marcus/Las Vegas Sun)

Another member of Weinman’s final table from 2023 is making the most noise on Day 2D, however. Canada’s Alex Livingston finished third in the 2023 version of this tournament, and he is looking to drive a couple of steps further here in 2024. Livingston is off to a decent start, sitting on top of the leaderboard with 750,500 in chips, good enough for the Day 2D chip lead.

Day 2D Top Five

1. Alex Livingston (Canada), 750,500
2. Tyler Hatchel (USA), 679,000
3. Donovan Dean (USA), 634,500
4. Shuyang Han (USA), 604,000
5. Charles Russell (Ireland), 602,000

Now the Fun Begins

Just when the players think that they have achieved something – in this case, surviving to Day Three of the tournament – they learn the stark reality that, of the WSOP Main Event, the journey is just beginning. For the first time in this tournament, the entirety of the field will be coming together, meaning that the 2068 players who emerged from Monday’s battleground will join Sunday’s 1549 Day 2ABC survivors as one of the 3617 players who still have a shot in the event. Surprisingly, it is the leader from the Day 2ABC action who sits on top of the standings when the entirety of the WSOP Main Event field convenes on Tuesday:

1. Anthony Marsico (USA), 797,000*
2. Christopher Vincent (USA), 772,000*
3. Alex Livingston (Canada), 750,500
4. Manuel Machado (Portugal), 680,500*
5. Tyler Hatchel (USA), 679,000

* Day 2ABC competitor

The field may whittle itself down to the 1,517 fortunate souls who will earn a flag from this year’s WSOP Main Event on their Hendon Mob resume, but it is more likely that the bubble will pop on Day Four on Wednesday. The action will only ramp up in intensity, however, as the end is nigh for the 2024 World Series of Poker Main Event.