It was no surprise to the poker world when the officials of WSOP announced an official entry of 22,374 as the pre-registration counts had already projected it as the world’s largest field tournament. The four starting flights and option to enter multiple times saw players adding up to the prize pool which reached the final figure of $11,187,000. Thus, the colossus also became the tournament with the biggest prize pool with a buy-in under $5,000.
“Wow,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “When you see a crowd that could fill many sports venues, there’s not much else you can say. We want to thank everyone who traveled from near and far to be part of this historic event, particularly the first timers. Just like the sign says, ‘We Hope You Come Back Soon’. We love to bring poker enthusiasts together and help build positive momentum for the game.”
3448 players survived to enter the Day 2 on Sunday making it the largest Day 2 ever in the tournament history of poker. The prize payout of the world’s largest poker tournament was announced on Sunday with a guarantee of $1,096 for the last person in the money. A record total of 2,241 players will take home the cash prize from the colossus while the champion will bag $638,880 with the WSOP gold bracelet.
Official #’s for #Colossus: A record 22,374 entries, creating a $11,187,000 prize pool. Paying a record 2,241 players. 1st gets $638,880!
— WSOP (@WSOP) June 1, 2015
As soon as the payout was declared, the poker community vented its disappointment over the low prize amounts for the final table and especially the winner. With over $11 million in the prize pool, everybody at Rio expected a 7-figure prize for the winner but the WSOP officials followed their theory of paying out to the maximum field. To secure cash for 2,241 players and a 6-figure prize for the top 7, WSOP made a flat payout. In poker tournaments around the world, around 10% of the field is paid which WSOP maintained by announcing a payout to 2,241 players. However, they fell short of awarding around 10%-15% of the prize pool for the winner which is taken as a standard share for the winner in tournament poker. This triggered a discussion in the poker circuit which surfaced on social media in no time. Vanessa Rousso tweeted:
Vanessa Rousso tweeted:
Really confused about @WSOP #Collossus only payin $600k 1st w 11mill in the pool- 5% of pool is a complete departure from industry stndrd 🙁 — Vanessa Rousso (@VanessaRousso) June 1, 2015
Will Failla tweeted:
Very disappointing payout structure for the Colossus!!! How could you win the biggest poker tournament in history and not make1 mill for it!
— Will Failla (@WILLFAILLA) June 1, 2015
Darryll Fish went on to declare it an epic fail:
Colossus paying 600k for first, and I actually thought the event was a huge success for a minute. What an epic fail by @WSOP — Darryll Fish (@DarryllFish) June 1, 2015
WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart clarified the intention behind this payout structure in a series of tweets:
The Colossus about the field at large, and we’re happy that thousands will go home with a pretty strong ROI for their efforts.
— Ty Stewart (@wsopSUITd) June 1, 2015
I think dangerous to look at one pay spot in isolation. Shouldnt look top down, gotta look bottom up all the way up the tiers. — Ty Stewart (@wsopSUITd) June 1, 2015
Day 3 Today
850 players are still in the battle to grab the coveted WSOP bracelet in The Colossus event. The Canadian player Craig Ripley will start in the chip lead when the game resumes today at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.