The $10,000 buy-in Main Event is scheduled to get underway in thet 50th World Series of Poker at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on July 3.
Last year's Main Event drew 7,874 players, the second-largest field in the event's history and the largest since 2006. That created a $74 million prize pool paid to the top 1,182 places with $8.8 million going to the eventual winner, John Cynn.
This year's World Series kicked off in May with the Big 50 no-limit hold 'em tournament, which attracted a record-breaking 28,371 players paying the $500 entry. Femi Fashaskin became the first Nigerian-born champion, winning $1.1 million.
Almost 500 poker tables are set up across more than 100,000 square feet in the Rio Convention Center to accommodate the thousands of players from around the world who attend what has been called poker's annual Woodstock.
World Series of Poker events continue through July 15, with the Main Event's Final Table set for July 16. Admission is free for spectators at the Final Table. Seating is first-come, first-serve in the Amazon Ballroom at the Rio.