After previously making a decision that brought the ire of the poker community, officials at Caesars Entertainment and the World Series of Poker have removed the $10 million guarantee for first place in this year’s Main Event.

“The dream of life-changing money is core to the DNA of the WSOP Main Event and we also want to make it easier to experience playing in poker’s Big Show,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “Our players understand numbers and 2015 now presents the best odds ever to leave the Main Event a winner.”

With the removal of the $10 million guarantee for this year’s World Champion, WSOP officials have instead decided to pay out the top 1,000 finishers. The flattened payout structure, using the numbers from last year’s Main Event, would guarantee that the entire final table would receive a $1 million payday, with first place earning $8 million. The entire final table being paid at least $1 million is something that hasn’t occurred since 2009, when ninth place finisher James Akenhead earned $1,263,602.

Although it would be unthinkable to believe that it could happen, WSOP officials put a minimum player number on the prospective 2015 Main Event field before they will pay out 1,000 players. If the tournament does not crack the 5,000-player mark, something that hasn’t happened since 2004, then the 1,000-player payout guarantee will be removed.

The minimum payday in the 2014 Main Event from the 693 players who earned a cash was $18,406 (three players split the 693rd place money). If the same number of players participate in the 2015 tournament, the 694th through 1,000th place players would receive $15,000.

The change reflects some softening of the stance of WSOP officials. Traditionally, poker tournaments only pay the top 10% of the finishers, and rarely do tournament officials deviate from that mark. By expanding the payouts to almost 15% of the field for the 2015 WSOP Main Event, WSOP officials hope that the move will encourage more participation from new playersand, as a result, increase the overall prize pool.

The reason for the change goes a bit further than that, however. After announcing in December that the $10 million guarantee would return this year, debate immediately began over the decision. Many in the poker community felt that the WSOP would be better benefitted by paying more players rather than a massive prize up top for the eventual champion. That charge was led by none other than one of poker’s loudest voices, Daniel Negreanu (pictured). Read Negreanu’s thoughts.

Soon after the WSOP proposed the $10 million guarantee for the 2015 Main Event, Negreanu was quick to shoot it down. Negreanu opined that the world’s greatest poker tournament would benefit more from having more players paid out than having a guaranteed first place prize. “When the bubble is smaller, players won’t stall as much and bring the game to a halt,” Negreanu explained. “More people come out of the tournament a winnerand it keeps the money flowing to a wider group of players so they can continue to play the next series of events.”

What impact the players’ comments or Negreanu’s outreach had on the change by WSOP officials is unknown, but it is interesting that the removal of the $10 million guarantee and the payout of 1,000 players is basically in line with what Negreanu was suggesting for the 2015 Main Event.

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