WSOPE breaking records in France

CANNES, France -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The 5th annual World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Barrière Poker at the Hotel Majestic and Casino Barriere de Cannes Croisette in Cannes, France obliterated tournament records in every conceivable category as the switch from London to France this year appeared to be “Très bon” (very good) as poker enthusiasts from 57 nations traveled to the famous French seaside to compete in the game’s grandest spectacle outside the United States.

Perfect weather, plenty of poker, great food, sun-drenched beaches and spectacular sightseeing all contributed to a two-week World Series of Poker Europe that set a new high mark in terms of prestige and pleasure amongst tournament players, staff and organizers.

“We Cowboys from Las Vegas have to work on our French a bit, but we certainly learned how to say très bien these past few weeks,” said WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart. “We got everything we hoped for in the move to Cannes, our partners Barriere Poker.fr have been wonderful hosts and we look forward to welcoming the stars of poker back to Cannes in 2012.”

At the 2011 WSOP Europe, there was plenty of top notch poker played by the game’s greatest players the past two weeks and many records fell by the wayside as a result of the action.

All-time records for France set at 2011 WSOP Europe:

Largest event prize pool in French poker history: €5,692,800 – Event #7 – Main Event.
Largest 1st place prize in French poker history: €1,400,000 – Event #7 – Main Event

Among the WSOP Europe records set this year were:

Largest prize pool: €10,620,330 ($14,740,285) – Up 69% vs. previous high (2010)

Most entries: 2,626 – Up 88% vs. previous high (2010) – Note, 2 additional events in 2011.

Most entries for one event: 771 – Up 27% vs. previous high (2009) -Event #2 – €1000 NLH

Most Main Event entries: 593 – Up 63% vs. previous high (2008) – Event #7 – €10,000 Main Event

Largest prize pool for one event: €5,692,800 – Up 57% vs. previous high (2008) – Event #7

Largest 1st place prize: €1,400,000 – Up 40% vs. previous high (2007) – Event #7 – ME

Most Pot-Limit Omaha entries: 180 – Up 9% vs. previous high (2008) – Event #2 – €5,000 PLO

Most entries for 6-Handed No-Limit Hold’em: 360 – Up 48% vs. previous high (2010) – Event #1

Highest average entries per event: 375 – Up 20% vs. previous high (2009)

Most $1 million events: 6 of the 7 events this year had prize pools over 1 million U.S. dollars.

When combining the 58 WSOP gold bracelet events in Las Vegas with the 7 gold bracelets in France, the final key metrics for the World Series of Poker in 2011 look as follows:

Entries: 78,298 (75,672 + 2,626) – This marks the most-ever in the 42-year history.

Prize Money Awarded: $206,739,395 ($191,999,010 + $14,740,285) – This marks the first time in history the WSOP has awarded in excess of $200 in one calendar year and the seventh consecutive year the WSOP has cracked the $100 million mark (all since Caesars bought the WSOP).

WSOP Europe is committed to returning to Cannes, France for the 6th Annual World Series of Poker Europe Presented by Barrière Poker in the Fall, 2012, tentatively in September, 2012 – a few weeks earlier than this year.