This is the largest Main Event field since 2010, which is great and as the cap to the largest World Series of Poker in history, it sure feels like poker is moving up and the WSOP is at the forefront.
Here is a look at the age breakdown:
Age Bracket
Number of Players
21-25
347
26-30
1,520
31-35
1,478
36-40
895
41-45
731
46-50
753
51-55
613
56 >
884
Taking a closer look, it seems like the "poker boom" generation is getting a little older, with 2,998 of the 7,221 entries falling between the ages of 26-35. Meanwhile, only 347 players of that 7,221 are under the age of 25. Alex Conklin was the youngest player, turning 21 during the opening flights of the Main Event, and for the fifth consecutive year, 96-year-old William Watcher was the oldest entry.
Here is a look at the U.S. entries versus International entries and also how many female players entered from each of those brackets.
Hand #52: Ben Lamb raised to 675,000 from middle position, Michael Krasienko three-bet to 1,700,000 from the button, Lamb four-bet to 7,700,000, and Krasienko folded.
Hand #53: Dan Ott limped from the small blind and Karen Sarkisyan checked his option.
The flop came down , Ott bet 300,000, and Sarkisyan folded.
Hand #54: Christian Pham raised to 675,000 from middle position, Krasienko reraised all in for 5,900,000 from the hijack, and Pham asked for a count. Upon hearing the number, Pham folded.
Hand #55: Ott raised to 675,000 from the cutoff, Lamb three-bet to 1,325,000 from the small blind, and Ott called.
The flop came down , Lamb bet 1,450,000, and Ott folded.
Hand #56: Ott raised to 675,000 from the hijack, Lamb called from the button, and Pham called from the big blind.
The flop came down and Pham checked to Ott who bet 925,000. Lamb and Pham folded, giving Ott the pot.
Hand #42: Pedro Oliveira raised to 700,000 from early position and claimed the blinds and antes.
Hand #43: Richard Dubini raised to 600,000 on the button and Valentin Messina called in the big blind. After a flop of , Messina checked and called a bet of 600,000 by Dubini. The on the turn brought no betting action and Messina bet the river for 1,600,000.
Dubini quickly tossed in a single chip for the call and Messina showed for a missed straight draw, while Dubini claimed the pot with for queens and deuces.
Hand #44: Oliveira received a walk in the big blind.
Hand #45: Dubini's raise to 600,000 in the hijack won the blinds and antes without any further resistance.
Hand #46: Dubini raised to 600,000 and Richard Gryko in the big blind was the only caller. The flop came and Gryko checked, Dubini bet 550,000, and that sent the pot to the Argentinian, as Gryko let go.
Hand #42: Jack Sinclair raised it up to 700,000 from the hijack and John Hesp was the lone caller from the big blind. The flop came down and Hesp checked to Sinclair who continued for 700,000. Hesp immediately announced raise and put out 1.5 million. Sinclair called and the hit the turn. Hesp checked again and Sinclair checked it back. The completed the board and Hesp fired 1.5 million. Sinclair quickly called and Hesp showed . It was no good though, as Sinclair tabled for a better overpair.
Hand #43: Sinclair raised to 700,000 for the second hand in a row and Scott Stewart called from the big blind. The flop of saw Stewart check to Sinclair, who bet 650,000. Stewart called and the hit the turn. Another check came from Stewart, and another bet came from Sinclair, 1.3 million this time. Stewart called again and the river brought the . Stewart checked a third time and Sinclair bet enough to put Stewart all in. Stewart had 2.95 million left and he went into the tank. Stewart thought for over three minutes before he called.
Sinclair rolled over for six high, and Stewart tabled to earn the double-up to nearly 12 million in chips.
Hand #44: Michael Ruane raised to 750,000 from under the gun and John Hesp called on the button. They went heads up to a flop of , and both players checked. The hit the turn and Ruane checked again to Hesp, who bet 1.2 million. Ruane didn't take long to fold, and Hesp took in the pot.
Hand #45: Bryan Piccioli made it 750,000 to go from early position, and everyone else released their hand, giving the pot to Picciolo.
Hand #46: Action folded to John Hesp in the hijack and he raised to 800,000. Sinclair called and they went heads up to a flop of . Both players checked and the hit the turn. Sinclair checked to Hesp, who fired 800,000. Sinclair called and the river came the . Both players checked and Hesp tabled for the winning hand.
Hand #57: Christian Pham raised to 750,000 from the small blind. Michael Krasienko called from the big blind.
The flop came down and Pham led out, betting 750,000. Krasienko called.
On the turn, Pham slowed down and checked. Krasienko bet 1,300,000 and Pham thought for a bit before moving all in. Krasienko called quickly.
Pham:
Krasienko:
The river was the , ensuring the double-up for Krasienko through Pham and he raked in the pot doubling to 14,800,000, while Pham fell to 23,400,000.
Hand #58: Pham raised from the button to 725,000. Benjamin Pollak called from the big blind. The flop came down and Pollak checked to Pham who bet 725,000. Pollak folded and Pham took in the pot to recover a bit.
Hand #59: Karen Sarkisyan opened with a raise to 725,000 from under the gun. Ben Lamb was next to act and he three-bet to 1,850,000. Action folded around to Krasienko on the button, and he cold four-bet, making it 3,900,000. Sarkisyan got out of the way quickly, but Lamb held onto his cards. He thought for a bit, then folded, and Krasienko took in the pot without seeing a flop.
Hand #47: Scott Stewart raised to 600,000 from the hijack and Jack Sinclair three-bet to 1,900,000. Stewart tossed his cards away and Sinclair scooped the pot.
Hand #48: The action was folded to Sinclair on the button who raised to 650,000. Jonas Mackoff called from the big blind and the flop came . Mackoff checked and Sinclair bet 900,000, which got Mackoff to muck his hand.
Hand #49: Stewart raised to 600,000 from early position and the rest of the table tossed their cards away, allowing Stewart to pick up the blinds and antes.
Hand #50: Damian Salas raised to 650,000 from early position and John Hesp called from the big blind. The flop came and both players checked to the on the turn. Hesp led out for 1,200,000 and Salas took some time before making the call.
The river brought the and Hesp bet 1,200,000 again. Salas pushed all in for 3,800,000 and Hesp quickly called. Salas tabled for quad nines, and Hesp showed .
Hand #51: The action was folded to John Hesp in the small blind who raised to 700,000. Salas called from the big blind and the flop came . Hesp led out for 700,000 and Salas made the call. The turn was the and Hesp bet 700,000 again. Salas called again and the river was the . Hesp bet 700,000 for the third time and Salas went into the tank. The clock was called and Salas eventually mucked his hand.
Hand #47: Valentin Messina opened for 675,000 as second to act and swept up the blinds and antes.
Hand #48: Scott Blumstein made it 1 million in the small blind, and Richard Dubini called. The flop came and both players checked. Blumstein checked the turn and Dubini bet 1 million. Blumstein finally sprang to life with a check-raise to 3.1 million. He won the pot.
Hand #49: David Guay shoved for approximately 4.5 million and won the pot.
Hand #50: Pedro Oliveira raised to 700,000 under the gun, and Antoine Saout made it 2.5 million to go in the small blind. Oliveira folded in short order.
Hand #51: Richard Gryko raised to 700,000 early, and Saout three-bet again, this time to 2,225,000. Gryko responded with an all-in shove for around 10 million and won the pot.