Would You Rather Get a WSOP Main Event Seat for Life or $200,000?
The long anticipated drawing for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event "Seat for Life" promotion was revealed prior to Sunday's final table, and it went to Canadian poker player Jason Clarke.
Clarke will receive free entry into poker's world championship event until 2053, valued at $300,000 — $10,000 each year — assuming he lives that long. The seat is non-transferrable.
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The drawing held was for all 10,043 entries in the record-setting 2023 WSOP Main Event. Only one individual would win one of the most epic promotions in poker history. Clarke, who played but didn't cash in his first Main Event, was handed a prop check from Jack Effel prior to "shuffle up and deal."
While there wasn't an option for the winner to trade in his prize to find out what's behind Door #2, so at PokerNews our Phil Hourguettes pondered the question on social media — what if the winner could pick another prize? More specifically, what if that alternate reward was $200,000 in cash instead of the 30 free buy-ins.
What Would You Do?
There's never a guarantee for anyone to cash in the Main Event, even over many years. Take Allen Kessler, for example, who broke a 15-year drought of failing to reach the money in 2019. So, in the "Chainsaw's" case, had he won free entry, the monetary value for those 15 empty years would have been $0. Hence, why there could be some merit to taking the $200,000 guaranteed cash in our hypothetical scenario.
But we don't want to influence your vote, so let's get straight to it. If you won the drawing and were given an option from the WSOP to trade the prize in for the money, would you take it?
For a bit of reference, in this year's Main Event, surpassing $200,000 would have required finishing in 44th place or better. One deep run or a number of small cashes is all it would take to make it more profitable taking the seat for life. Of course, in this hypothetical scenario, the only guarantee that you'd make any money off the prize would be to take the cash. That said, the entertainment value of playing in poker's Super Bowl every year can't be topped.
Clarke, who won a Daily Deep Stack for $19,500 to cover his Main Event entry, will no longer have to pay to play in the biggest poker tournament again. He said he'll donate 5% of future winnings in the Main Event to various charities.
Follow Live Coverage of the WSOP Main Event Final Table
In this Series
- 1 The 2023 WSOP Main Event is Underway: Jamie Gold Ready for Record to Be Broken
- 2 Agony of Defeat: Poker Player Runs Kings into Aces Twice Vs. Same Opponent, Busts Main Event Day 1
- 3 Espen Jorstad in Action, Ready to Defend World Championship
- 4 July 5, 2019: Reliving the Craziest Day in WSOP Main Event History
- 5 Poker Boom 2.0: 2023 WSOP Main Event Officially the Largest Ever
- 6 Two Players Bust on the First Hand of 2023 WSOP Main Event Day 1D
- 7 The Greatest Show: Hellmuth and Jungleman Make Grand Entrance into 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 8 Ex-Manchester City Striker Sergio Aguero Makes Surprise Entry into 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 9 Would You Fold Kings Preflop on Day 1 of the WSOP Main Event in This Spot?
- 10 Alexandra Botez & 888poker Ambassadors Make Day 2 of Main Event
- 11 Rapper Hoodie Allen Abandons Chips in Poker World Championship for Friend's Wedding
- 12 Online Poker Pioneer Isai Scheinberg Plays WSOP Main Event for the First Time
- 13 Phil Hellmuth Coolered Out of WSOP Main Event by Nicholas "Dirty Diaper" Rigby
- 14 2023 WSOP Main Event Registration Closes w/ 10,043 Entries & $12.1M to Winner
- 15 Tom Dwan Busts WSOP Main Event; What Would You Do Here?
- 16 Popular Rapper Returns in Time for Poker World Championship...And Gets Aces Cracked
- 17 The Muck: Was the WSOP Main Event Payout Structure Absurd?
- 18 Queen on the River Dashes Nicholas Rigby's WSOP Main Event Title Dreams
- 19 Pollster Nate Silver's Chances of Winning 2023 WSOP Main Event are Now 0%
- 20 Nicholas Rigby Busts Chance Kornuth in a 200 Big Blind Pot on Day 5
- 21 Moneymaker, Hachem Bust Day 5; All Past WSOP Main Event Champs Out
- 22 Nicholas Rigby Talks "Dirty Diaper" Strategy in the 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 23 Nightmare Runout Knocks Alexandra Botez Out of the WSOP Main Event
- 24 Father & Daughter Make the Money of the 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 25 Kings Lose to Aces on the Bubble of the 2023 WSOP Main Event
- 26 Do You Know Which Poker Player Just Set the Record of Cashing Seven Consecutive Live WSOP Main Events?
- 27 2023 WSOP Main Event Hands of the Week: Royal Flush Twice in 4 Hands; Miracle Running Kings
- 28 Would You Rather Get a WSOP Main Event Seat for Life or $200,000?
- 29 Alexandra Botez Wants the WSOP Main Event Stream to Be Free; Do You Agree?
- 30 Can Some Fool's Gold Help Adam Walton Capture the 2023 WSOP Main Event Bracelet?
- 31 Jones, Weinman and Walton to Battle for 2023 WSOP Main Event Title
- 32 Pros vs. Jones: One of These 3 Players is Hours Away From Poker Immortality
- 33 Adam Walton Jams 80 Big Blind Stack Into Pocket Aces, Busts WSOP Main Event
- 34 Daniel Weinman Wins Record-Breaking 2023 WSOP Main Event for $12,100,000
- 35 How Much Money Players at 2023 WSOP Main Event Final Table Really Made
