Here’s How Much WSOP Earned from the Paradise 2024 Festival

The second version of the WSOP Paradise pageant wrapped up on Thursday, crowning its Foremost Occasion champion and forsaking some jaw-dropping numbers.

Spanning two weeks, the sequence awarded 15 gold bracelets and shattered information. Whereas final 12 months’s inaugural pageant distributed over $70 million in prize cash, this 12 months’s version greater than doubled that determine, awarding $160.5 million in prize cash. That is equal to a median prize pool of $10.7 million per occasion—exceptional in comparison with the WSOP Las Vegas sequence, which generated $437 million throughout 99 bracelet occasions at a median of $4.4 million per occasion.

Regardless of having simply 15 bracelets, the Bahamas pageant achieved practically one-third of the full prize cash seen in Las Vegas throughout this summer time.

So, how a lot did the WSOP revenue from this spectacle? Rather a lot.

The WSOP collected $10.4 million in event rake and a further $2.5 million in admin charges, which had been controversially charged at 2% to three% per bracelet occasion to cowl operational prices. Altogether, the pageant generated $13 million in income, a portion of which went towards paying employees and sellers.

For context, final 12 months’s Paradise pageant introduced in $5.4 million, making this 12 months’s monetary positive aspects much more putting.

(Word: The charges from solely the 15 bracelet occasions are included. WSOP earned extra from facet occasions, satellites, and money video games held in the course of the sequence.)

WSOP 2024 Las Vegas vs Bahamas

So, how did the WSOP handle to greater than double its income regardless of providing the identical variety of bracelet occasions? Nicely, the distinction is clearly within the buy-ins, which had been considerably increased this 12 months, making the sequence much more prestigious.

The Excessive Stakes Issue

This 12 months, 9 out of the 15 bracelet occasions had buy-ins of $10,000 or extra, together with standout tournaments just like the $1 million Triton Invitational and the $100,000 Triton Foremost Occasion. Naturally, these marquee occasions skewed the typical buy-in to a a lot increased stage.

For comparability, the typical buy-in throughout occasions in 2023 was roughly $16,000. This 12 months, the typical buy-in skyrocketed to over $100,000. Whereas such excessive buy-ins inevitably impacted participant turnout, the sequence nonetheless recorded roughly 9,494 mixed entries — down from 17,267 final 12 months however nonetheless spectacular given the circumstances.

Even when excluding the 2 Triton occasions, the typical buy-in remained at practically $25,000, which is about 50% increased than final 12 months. This makes the general turnout of near 10,000 individuals notably noteworthy, particularly contemplating the extraordinary competitors from rival occasions just like the WPT World Championship with its $5 million freeroll and EPT Prague going down in Europe concurrently.

WSOP Paradise: 2023 vs 2024

Large Charges from Main Occasions

The $50 million assured Tremendous Foremost Occasion was the pageant’s crown jewel. By no means earlier than had any stay operator set such an bold assure. Though the occasion narrowly missed its goal, attracting 1,978 entries and leading to a $550,000 overlay, it nonetheless turned the second-largest stay event of the 12 months, surpassed solely by its personal — the long-lasting WSOP Foremost Occasion in Las Vegas.

Regardless of the overlay, the Tremendous Foremost Occasion was a significant monetary success for WSOP officers, who earned roughly $3 million in rake from this single event.

The 2 Triton occasions additionally did very effectively. The primary, a $1 million Invitational Occasion, paired knowledgeable participant with an invited newbie companion, with every contributing $500,000. This distinctive construction attracted 37 pairs, with 22 opting to rebuy, culminating in 96 complete entries and a $48 million prize pool. It was gained by PokerStars ambassador “Papo MC“ for a $12 million payday. WSOP officers pocketed $4.8 million from this occasion alone.

The second Triton occasion, the $100,000 Foremost Occasion, additionally had a profitable outing. Drawing 182 entries, it amassed a prize pool exceeding $18 million. From this single occasion, the operator collected simply over $1 million in rake.

One other standout occasion was the WSOP Mini Foremost Occasion, which featured a $5 million assure. With 2,031 entries, the occasion narrowly surpassed its assure, producing over $650,000 in rake for the operator.

The pageant additionally included two on-line bracelet occasions hosted on GGPoker. The GGMasters On-line Championship, that includes a $2.5 million assure and a $2,750 buy-in, fell in need of its assure after attracting 813 entries, leading to a $467,500 overlay. In the meantime, the Thriller Tens of millions on-line bracelet occasion, boasting a $5 million assure drew 2,185 entries throughout all Day 1 flights to create a $5.4 million prize pool.

From these two on-line bracelet occasions, GGPoker generated over $900,000 in income, which included a further 2% administrative price charged on the prize pool.

The Way forward for Paradise

To sum up, WSOP and its new house owners, GGPoker, are doubtless happy with the general outcomes of this 12 months’s Paradise pageant. Internet hosting a sequence within the Bahamas—a location typically criticized for its excessive prices and logistical challenges—was undoubtedly a daring alternative. Few operators choose to run festivals right here as a result of previous complaints about bills, but WSOP and GGPoker managed to ship a sequence that generated the most important prize pool ever within the Caribbean.

Along with the excessive prices and logistical challenges, WSOP and GGPoker imposed further administrative and loyalty charges on high of the usual rake, a transfer that has not been effectively acquired by gamers.

That mentioned, this achievement comes in opposition to the backdrop of fierce competitors from the WPT’s World Championship in Las Vegas, which may have simply drawn gamers away.

GGPoker’s contribution by way of on-line qualifiers and satellites doubtless helped increase attendance and entries, mitigating a few of the potential challenges. Even so, the reported $13 million in income stems completely from the 15 bracelet occasions, considered one of which was a freeroll with no buy-in. Past these headline occasions, the schedule was full of facet tournaments, satellites, and money video games, all of which contributed appreciable further income to the pageant.

With one other profitable cease within the Bahamas below their belt, a 3rd version of the WSOP Paradise pageant subsequent 12 months appears virtually sure. The large query now’s whether or not WSOP and GGPoker will intention for an additional huge Foremost Occasion of this scale or select to scale it down.

In the meantime, WSOP has introduced the dates for the 56th annual World Sequence of Poker, set to return to the Las Vegas Strip for the fourth consecutive 12 months. WSOP 2025 is scheduled to run its Nevada poker pageant from Could 27 to July 16, 2025.