What is WSOP (World Series Of Poker)? Explaining How to Join Tournaments with Prizes of Over 1 Billion Yen

“World Series Of Poker,” commonly known as “WSOP,” is one of the world’s largest poker tournaments.

Winning can result in ultra-high prize money, which attracts many players and the excitement increases year by year.

In the 2023 WSOP, the 8th Japanese winner (bracelet holder) in history was born in a high-stakes side event, and the prize money won was over 400 million yen!

In this article, we will briefly explain the outline of WSOP, previous Japanese winners, total prize money, participation methods, and side events.

What is “WSOP,” the World’s Largest Poker Tournament?

“WSOP” is an abbreviation for “World Series Of Poker” and is the world’s largest poker tournament.

It is characterized by being held once a year from May to July, where strong poker players from all over the world gather to engage in heated matches aiming for victory.

In addition to the prize money, the winner is awarded a bracelet engraved with “WSOP.”

Winning the WSOP, the largest of all poker events held worldwide, and receiving the bracelet is the dream of every poker player.

The WSOP Venue is Las Vegas!

WSOP is held in Las Vegas, which is famous as the holy land of casinos.

The physical event is held only at venues in Las Vegas, but since it is now possible to participate online or watch via U.S. television broadcasts, it effectively involves participants from all over the world.

The online venue is GGPoker, which is popular all over the world.

If you want to know more about what kind of online poker GGPoker is, please see the following article.

Japanese WSOP Winners (Bracelet Holders)

As of December 2023, the following 8 Japanese people have won the WSOP and received the bracelet, the proof of victory.

Name	Tournament	Prize Amount
Naoya Kihara	Pot limit omaha 6 hand	$512,029 (approx. 49.13 million yen)
Takahiro Nakai	No limit Holdem	$399,039 (approx. 12 million yen)
Shoma Ishikawa	No Limit Holdem 6 hunded Online	$117,650 (approx. 12 million yen)
Kazuki Ikeuchi	Online Bracelet Championship	$152,797 (approx. 17 million yen)
Shota Nakanishi	Short Deck No-Limit Holdem	$277,212 (approx. 37.4 million yen)
Motoyoshi Okamura	Mixed NLH/PLO 8-Handed	$209,716 (approx. 23.87 million yen)
Ryutaro	Nine Game Mix	$221,124 (approx. 31 million yen)
Masashi Oya	Ultra High Roller No-Limit Hold’em	$2,940,000 (approx. 430 million yen)

The highest rank for a Japanese person in the WSOP Main Event is 25th. The holder of this record is Hiroki, who is a cameraman for the popular poker YouTube channel “Sekai no Yokosawa.”

How Much is the WSOP Prize Money?

The WSOP prize money differs between the Main Tournament and Side Tournaments.

Here, we will introduce the prize money for each.

Prize Money for the WSOP Main Event

At WSOP 2023, an ultra-high prize of 12,100,000 dollars (approx. 1.7 billion yen) was prepared.

The participation fee for the Main Event is 10,000 dollars (approx. 1.3 million yen), so even after deducting the fee, you can get a large sum if you win.

Year	Winner	Main Event Prize Money
2023	Daniel Weinman	1.7 billion yen
2022	Espen Jorstad	1.3 billion yen
2021	Koray Aldemir	900 million yen
2019	Hossein Ensan	1.12 billion yen

Even though the participation fee is high, the number of participants in the WSOP continues to increase, so it can be expected that ultra-high prize money will be prepared from next year onwards.

Prize Money for WSOP Side Events

There are many WSOP Side Events, with over 90 types of events available with varying participation fees and prize amounts.

Some events can be entered for 300 dollars yet have a prize guarantee of over 400 million yen, making them just as heated as the Main Event.

Masashi Oya, who won a bracelet at the 2023 WSOP, is also a winner of a Side Event.

Masashi Oya participated in an Ultra High Roller event with a participation fee of 15 million yen and received a prize of 2.94 million dollars. Converted to Japanese yen, he won approximately 430 million yen.

As a result, the lifetime tournament earnings and rankings of Japanese professional poker players were significantly rewritten.

How to Participate in the WSOP Main Event

There are two ways to participate in the WSOP: participating locally or participating online.

How to Participate in WSOP Locally

If you are participating locally in Las Vegas, you must first create a Caesars Reward Card at a partner hotel and then register for the event.

Once you have prepared your entry fee, Caesars Reward Card, and passport and registered, you will receive a paper with your table and seat number. After that, just participate in the games at the venue until your chips are gone.

You can also complete the registration online in advance, so we recommend using BravoPokerLive to ensure things go smoothly on the day.

Participation Fee when Participating in WSOP Locally

There are two ways to participate in live poker locally: either win the satellite qualifiers in advance to obtain the right to participate in the Main Event, or pay the participation fee of 10,000 dollars (approx. 1.4 million yen) in cash.

• 10,000 dollars (approx. 1.4 million yen)
• Winning satellite qualifiers (participation fee approx. 14,000 yen)

It is cheaper to win a satellite, so please try challenging the WSOP satellites held in poker rooms across the country.

How to Participate in WSOP Online

Online participation in the WSOP is only possible through GGPoker.

If you win “ROAD to VEGAS,” you can get a total of about 1.5 million yen, which includes prize money, the entry fee for the WSOP (Main Event), and accommodation costs.

You must pass the “Main Event Mania” satellite in the GGPoker tournaments. Anyone with a GGPoker account can challenge it.

For the registration method for GGPoker, please refer to the following article.

Participation Fee when Participating in WSOP Online

The entry fee for “Main Event Mania,” the online satellite for the WSOP, is 1,175 dollars.

However, for those who think they cannot pay such an amount, satellites to participate in Main Event Mania are available starting from 125 dollars, so please give it a try.

Furthermore, satellites to challenge these satellites are being held for 2 dollars. You need to win the tournament three times, but you can keep the WSOP participation cost down to 2 dollars.

How to Participate in WSOP Side Events

If you are participating in the WSOP, pay attention to the Side Events as well as the Main Event.

Side Events range from solo play to team battles, and there are various types of poker.

There are also Side Events online, and you can participate in your favorite one from the list by paying the entry fee.

The prize amounts are large, ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions, so actively participate in Side Events that interest you!

Join the World’s Biggest Poker Tournament: Test Your Abilities at WSOP!

WSOP is an abbreviation for “World Series Of Poker,” the world’s largest poker tournament.

Strong players from each country participate and engage in heated battles, making it highly recognized and so popular that it is even broadcast on television in the United States.

The WSOP Main Event is held in Las Vegas, and the winner’s prize is ultra-high at approximately 1.7 billion yen! Winning the WSOP is the dream of all poker players.

Also, there are many Side Events in the WSOP, and prize money is prepared for each, so be sure to check them out. Participate in various events and aim for the prize money.

WSOP satellites are also held at the globally popular online poker site “GGPoker.” The participation fee is cheap, so if you want to challenge it, register for GGPoker right now.

If you register through our site now, you can get a 20 dollar no-deposit bonus.