With the 2011 World Series of Poker Europe in Cannes, France done and the question of who's going to win the Main Event – answered, we can now look back at the past two weeks and see if Caesars Interactive Entertainment's decision to move the event from London to Cannes was the right thing to do. The WSOPE was launched in 2007 and quickly became one of the biggest poker tournaments in Europe, mostly because unlike other big events it was giving away actual WSOP bracelets.
If the numbers are true (and they usually don't lie), the World Series has made the right choice by moving the event south – in 2011 the number of participants increased two times with all seven events attracting a total of 2,626 whereas in 2010 the number was 1,395. However, an important thing to mention is that last year WSOPE hosted just five events therefore it would be best to compare the average attendance. In 2010 one event gathered an average of 279 players and this year the number increased to 375 – another point for Cannes. Would the same amount of players have entered if the tournament was still held in London? No one can answer that, so it would be best to stick to the point where everyone’s delighted with the new location.
Another fact is that this year Event #2: €1,090 No-Limit Hold'em has beaten the all-time WSOPE single event attendance record by attracting 771 players to the tables. It overcame the previous record of 608 which was reached in £1,075 No-Limit Hold’em Event in 2009.
Here is the list of all WSOPE events played since 2007 including the number of players, event winners and prizes.
| *Year | Event | Players | Winner | 1st-Place Prize |
| 2007 | £2,650 H.O.R.S.E. | 105 | Thomas Bihl | £70,875 |
| £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha | 156 | Dario Alioto | £234,390 | |
| £10,350 Main Event | 362 | Annette Obrestad | £1,000,000 | |
| Total Players | 623 | |||
| 2008 | £1,575 No-Limit Hold’em | 410 | Jesper Hougaard | £144,218 |
| £2,650 H.O.R.S.E. | 110 | Sherkhan Farnood | £76,999 | |
| £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha | 165 | Theo Jorgensen | £218,626 | |
| £10,350 Main Event | 362 | John Juanda | £868,800 | |
| Total Players | 1,047 | |||
| 2009 | £1,075 No-Limit Hold’em | 608 | JP Kelly | £136,803 |
| £2,650 Pot-Limit Hold’em/Omaha | 158 | Erik Cajelais | £104,677 | |
| £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha | 154 | Jani Vilmunen | £204,048 | |
| £10,350 Main Event | 334 | Barry Shulman | £801,603 | |
| Total Players | 1,254 | |||
| 2010 | £2,650 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em | 244 | Phil Laak | £170,802 |
| £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha | 120 | Jeff Lisandro | £159,000 | |
| £1,075 No-Limit Hold’em | 582 | Scott Shelley | £133,857 | |
| £10,350 High Roller Heads Up | 103 | Gus Hansen | £288,409 | |
| £10,350 Main Event | 346 | James Bord | £830,401 | |
| Total Players | 1,395 | |||
| Year | Event | Players | Winner | 1st-Place Prize |
| 2011 | €2,680 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em | 360 | Guillaume Hubert | €215,999 |
| €1,090 No-Limit Hold’em | 771 | Andrew Hinrichsen | €148,030 | |
| €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha | 180 | Steve Billirakis | €238,140 | |
| €3,200 No-Limit Hold’em Shootout | 258 | Tristan Wade | €182,048 | |
| €10,400 No-Limit Hold'em (Split Format) | 125 | Michael Mizrachi | €336,008 | |
| €1,620 Six-Handed Pot-Limit Omaha | 339 | Philippe Boucher | €124,584 | |
| €10,350 Main Event | 593 | Elio Fox | €1,400,000 | |
| Total Players | 2,626 |
Further analysis shows that in 2011 there was an increase in player numbers of 88.2 percent when compared to last year's tournament. Of course, two additional events had lifted the numbers, so to make out the most fair digit the average number of players in one event of 2010 times two should be added to the total number which would then make 1,953 players to have played last year if there were 7 events. Still the growth in 2011 would be 34.5 percent.
The WSOPE Main Event has seen a huge growth as well from 346 contestants in 2010 to 593 players entering the event this year. The increase is even bigger than the overall tournament growth – 71.4 percent more players have entered the Main Event in 2011. That also means that this year's winner will take home a much bigger cash prize – €1,400,000 whereas the 2010 Main Event champion James Bord collected £830,401 or €950,000. Last time the winner took home a seven-digit WSOPE Main Event prize was in 2007 when Annette Obrestad won the event for £1,000,000.
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*Image Courtesy of PokerNews.com
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