WSOP Announce New Payouts

The World Series of Poker has announced that payouts for their 2007 events have been flattened out so that most players who finish in the money will receive a higher percentage of the winnings. It also means that those who reach the final table will receive slightly less.

This comes on the heels of numerous complaints last year from players who finished in the money with very little to show for it. Of course, is it really surprising that professional gamblers would be greedy when it comes to money?

According to Harold Greenbaum, a bigwig with Harrah’s Entertainment, “The new schedules are designed to increase the rewards to players who finish in the money but don’t reach the final table.”

He also added, “Our goal is to keep more money circulating among more people in the poker community.” That’s probably a good idea considering that people like Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth are dropping hundreds of thousands of dollars on prop bets away from the table.

The same number of players will still get paid, but the overall totals will be greatly affected. Last year, for example, 846 players would have won more money that they actually did, but the top 27 players would have finished with less money. In fact, let’s take a closer look at what players last year would have received if this year’s new structure were being used.

Last year, players who finished in 873rd through 775th place received either $14,605 or $15,512. By the new system, they would have received $22,266.

Places 82 through 73 received $66,010. They would have taken home $126,173 under the new guidelines.

The runner-up in 2006 got $6,105,900. Their winnings would drop to $5,442,769 in 2007.

The winner of the Main Event received $12 million. That would now be reduced to $10,028,715.

This means, of course, that those who finish in the money won’t be complaining in 2007. Those who finish in the top 27, however, will no doubt voice their displeasure.

For more details on the payout schedule, you can log onto the WSOP official site. Keep in mind that the final payout schedule will depend on the final number of entrants.

The 2007 WSOP will be presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light and gets started on June 1st at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

WSOP Announce New Payouts