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873. That was the total for Day 1b of the WSOP Main Event. Last year, Day 1b had 1,158 players. That’s a 285 player drop from last year. So far, this Main Event has had 466 fewer runners over last year’s event. Granted, Day 1c and 1d may be massive, but that is still a decent chunk of players to make up to improve upon last year’s number.

The TRUE Reason to Play the Main Event

Thinking about this further, I think that for many people, the Main Event just isn’t in their bankroll unless they win a satellite. From the numbers from the preliminaries, I am wondering if some players have decided to spread some of their main event money over some of the smaller events to give themselves the best chance to win a bracelet.

In honesty, the main reason to play the Main Event is the money. While many will say they want to be champion, they can realistically give themselves a better chance to win a bracelet in a smaller event. The Main Event, much like many mega-field NL events, is a glorified crapshoot. We all know it. When one plays the Main Event, the goal is to either try and get lucky or hope you can survive until the luck factor evens out.

Unless Day 1c and 1d just blow last year’s numbers out of the water, the Main Event will drop in overall attendance. Some might say that this is a bad sign, but considering how well that other events did this year, I personally don’t think that it is a cause for concern.