The Biggest $25K Ever!
With 320 entries into this tournament courtesy of the PokerStars Platinum promotion, this tournament was always going to be the biggest $25,000 buy-in tournament in the history of the game. Among those 320, of course, were some lesser experienced poker players. Those, and the fact there's no rake, it's the Bahamas, and there's a guaranteed $1,000,000 added to first, attracted the sharks. And they are out in force.
When Bruce Buffer's last words echood through the Imperial Ballroom at the Atlantis Resort, the tournament clock indicated 728 players had registered. That's almost 100 players more than the standing record of 639 entries that was set in the WPT Championship event in the Bellagio back in 2007.
We took a look at the biggest $25,000 buy-in events in the history of the game. The Top 4 of that list, sorted by entries, is held by the WPT.
| Year | Tour | Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | First Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 639 | $15,495,750 | Carlos Mortensen | $3,970,415 |
| 2006 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 605 | $14,671,250 | Joe Bartholdi | $3,760,165 |
| 2008 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 545 | $13,216,250 | David Chiu | $3,389,140 |
| 2005 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 452 | $10,961,000 | Tuan Le | $2,856,150 |
| 2018 | partypoker LIVE | MILLIONS World Bahamas | $25,500 | 394 | $10,000,000 | Roger Teska | $2,000,000 |
| 2004 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 343 | $8,342,000 | Martin de Knijff | $2,728,356 |
| 2009 | WPT | Bellagio | $25,500 | 338 | $8,196,500 | Yevgeniy Timoshenko | $2,149,960 |
| 2015 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 269 | $6,456,000 | Ilkin Garibli | $1,105,040 |
| 2016 | PokerStars Live | EPT Monte Carlo | € 25,500 | 231 | $6,531,825 | Alexandru Papazian | $1,381,499 |
| 2014 | PokerStars Live | EPT Monte Carlo | € 25,500 | 214 | $7,257,852 | Philipp Gruissem | $1,378,059 |
Since 2010, PokerStars has organized a $25,000 event at the PCA. Here are the numbers for the main $25,000 event at the PCA since its inception:
| Year | Tour | Event | Buy-in | Entries | Prize Pool | Winner | First Place Prize |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 269 | $6,456,000 | Ilkin Garibli | $1,105,040 |
| 2014 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 247 | $6,051,500 | Jake Schindler | $1,192,624 |
| 2016 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 225 | $5,400,000 | Nick Maimone | $996,480 |
| 2013 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 204 | $4,998,000 | Vanessa Selbst | $1,424,420 |
| 2011 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 151 | $3,775,500 | Will Molson | $1,072,850 |
| 2012 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 148 | $3,626,000 | Leonid Bilokur | $1,134,930 |
| 2018 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 144 | $3,484,800 | Christopher Kruk | $836,350 |
| 2010 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 84 | $2,057,998 | William Reynolds | $576,240 |
| 2009 | PokerStars Live | PCA | $25,000 | 48 | $1,200,000 | Bertrand Grospellier | $433,500 |
Registration remains open till the start of Day 2. While reentries are not allowed, it's a given that the number will grow. The registration line was long, and some might opt to start a little later.