DAY 1-C DRAWS 3,418 PLAYERS - BIGGEST STARTING DAY FIELD IN WSOP HISTORY
Tidal Wave of Dreams:  The Biggest Day in WSOP Main Event History!

Day 1-C Draws 3,418 Players – Biggest Championship Field in History

2012 Main Event Championship is Fifth-Biggest Poker Tournament of All-Time – Closes at Five-Year Average with 6,598 Entrants
 
Las Vegas, NV (July 9, 2012) – It’s happened again.
 
Expectations were defied.  Predictions were exceeded.  And pessimists were proven wrong.  
 
Registration for the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship is now closed.  The final official tally of entrants reads 6,598 players, making it the fifth largest poker tournament of all time.
 
In fact, Day 1C – which was the third of three starting sessions – was a monster of unprecedented proportions.  The field size amounted to 3,418 entrants for Day 1C alone, which is higher than the first two starting sessions combined.  Incredibly, no Main Event date in the 43-year history of the championship has ever surpassed the number of players who were present on this day, playing at the Rio in Las Vegas, in pursuit of a dream.  That's right, not even the 2006 Main Event -- the biggest live poker tournament in history --  had more players playing at one time, as on this summer day along the Las Vegas Strip.
 
What does all this mean?  It means that overall -- the 2012 WSOP is the richest poker event in history.  Total prize money exceeds a whopping $220 million for all events combined -- which is up from last year's record figure.  The top 666 finishers will collect prize money -- with a $19,227 guaranteed to each in-the-money finisher.  The 2012 world champion will earn a whopping $8,527,982 in prize money for finishing in first place.
 
Fact is, there is nothing in the gaming universe, perhaps nothing in all of sports that rivals the international attraction of poker’s world championship.  Year by year, they come.  They play.  And, they return.
 
Again, and again.

Note:  LIVE TOURNAMENT UPDATES are available on WSOP.com.  The official report from Day One will be posted to WSOP.com once the current playing session is completed.  The report will include player updates and statistics relating to the composition of the Main Event Championship.
 
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by Nolan Dalla