In the year of the Olympics, the World Series of Poker did a fair job representing its version of worldwide unity through the number of international players who cashed, made final tables, and won WSOP bracelets this year. Not counting the main event, players from 46 different countries made splashes in this year’s events, including players from Peru, Monaco, Guatemala, and Bolivia, just to name a few of the more random ones.
But Americans still are the big brothers of the poker world. Through 53 events, American players have won 38 bracelets in 2008, and every state — plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C. — boasts at least one player who cashed. Nevada leads all states with 12 bracelets, with California a close second with nine. A good portion of professional players live in Las Vegas or Southern California, so this should remain the norm for years to come.
New York is a distant third with four bracelets, and Missouri is the only other state with more than one bracelet (two). Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Washington, Louisiana, and Wisconsin all have one bracelet each.
Players from the United States have cashed well over 3,500 times through 53 events, which is by far the most out of all the countries represented at this year’s WSOP. This means that U.S. players scooped more than $83 million of the more than $123 million that was to be won in the first 53 events. Canada is a distant second with around 220 cashes, totaling around $6 million.
Countries represented by bracelet winners this year are: Belgium (1), Brazil (1), Canada (3), Denmark (1), France (1), Germany (3), Ireland (1), Italy (2), Netherlands (1), and Russia (1), for 15 total bracelets that will have to pass through customs at Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport.
Last year, players from the United States took home 44 out of 55 bracelets, so no matter what happens in the last two events (the main event and the casino employees event), international players — despite being outnumbered in a major way — have the ability to take on America.
Poker has grown hugely globally the last several years, and Harrah’s has taken notice. Last year, the WSOP set up an International Players Advisory Council to give those players a voice and to help make the international players’ stay in Las Vegas go as smoothly as possible. It also launched WSOP Europe.
Norman Chad, who often laments about the seepage of bracelets to countries not named America during his ESPN broadcasts of the WSOP, must be furious. The late Terry Rogers, who was one of the first people to bring Texas hold’em tournaments to Europe (he started the Irish Open in 1981), would probably be amazed.
