Remember PokerStars’ record-setting PSPC event with a $25,000 buy-in tournament? Well, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) has announced its own version, and it’s set to be nearly twice as big.
$50,000,000 — yes, that’s the prize money WSOP has pledged for a single event dubbed the Super Main Event as it returns to the Atlantis Paradise Island in the Bahamas for the second iteration of WSOP Paradise, taking place from December 6 to 19.
It’s the largest guarantee in live poker tournament history, surpassing the $40 million record set by the World Poker Tour at Wynn, Las Vegas last year.
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As with last year, WSOP 2024 Paradise will be hosted in collaboration with its international partner GGPoker, which will play a significant role by sending a substantial number of qualifiers. Last year, GGPoker sent over 1,000 players to the Caribbean, and this year, they would be aiming to double that number.
This announcement comes as WSOP 2024 in Las Vegas approaches its final day. The historic Main Event, with three players remaining, is set to award $10 million to the winner from a $94 million prize pool, which drew a record 10,112 players.
“The action we saw during the WSOP summer series is a testament to the health of poker, particularly for high-roller tournaments,” said Ty Stewart, SVP & Executive Director of the WSOP. “Last year was no one-time gimmick. We’re thrilled GGPoker has reaffirmed their commitment to building WSOP Paradise through the biggest guarantee in poker history.”
WSOP Paradise 2024 Key Details:
- When: December 6 – 19, 2024
- Where: Atlantis Paradise in the Bahamas
- Highlight: $50,000,000 Million “Super Main Event”
- Buy-in: $25,000
- Online Partner: GGPoker
Nearly Two Times Bigger than PokerStars’ PSPC
With the buy-in set at $25,000, the WSOP Super Main Event in the Bahamas would need to attract at least 2,000 entries to cover the massive $50,000,000 guarantee. This would set a new record for the largest $25,000 buy-in tournament in history.
The current record for the largest $25,000 buy-in tournament is held by PokerStars’ Players No Limit Hold’em Championship (PSPC), which drew 1,039 entries in 2019 at Atlantis Resorts in the Bahamas. The 2023 event nearly matched this record, falling short by just two dozen entries, with both editions seeing over 300 players sent by PokerStars for free.
WSOP will be hoping for a similar effort from its online international partner GGPoker.
Full Schedule to be Announced Later
WSOP announced that the “reimagined WSOP Paradise festival will feature the most comprehensive set of high roller and super high roller tournaments ever offered.” While the full schedule details will be revealed later, officials have disclosed that the buy-ins will range from $2,500 to a massive $1 million.
The main attraction of the festival, will of course, be the $25,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em Championship, featuring a record-breaking $50 million guarantee. Online qualifiers and tournament promotions are set to start immediately on GGPoker, according to the press release.
“This is one you can’t miss,” said Daniel Negreanu, GGPoker Global Ambassador. “There were a lot of learnings from year one and everything is going to be bigger and better. A 50 million guarantee in the Bahamas! Are these guys crazy?”
When WSOP Paradise debuted last year, the entire series guaranteed $50 million. This year, a single event will promise that figure, marking a significant undertaking. It will be the largest live poker tournament outside of the WSOP Main Event in Las Vegas.
It remains to be seen how many bracelet events will be offered this year. In 2023, the inaugural WSOP Paradise offered 15 gold bracelets and $50 million in guaranteed prize money. The Main Event, with a $5,000 buy-in, promised a $15 million guarantee. It barely surpassed this figure, with 3,010 entries creating a prize pool of $15,050,000.
A number of events had record-breaking turnout. For instance, the opening event, Mystery Millions, had a $1,500 buy-in and attracted 3,446 entries, generating just over $5 million in prize money. Overall, the series generated $71.7 million and drew a total of 17,267 entrants.
WSOP Paradise 2024 returns from December 6 to 19.
