The '15 World Series of Poker, which begins on May 27 with the first two of 68 tournaments scheduled through July, will "likely produce multiple events with participation above or similar to last year’s monster stack," according to Case Keefer of the LAS VEGAS SUN. There is "virtually no doubt that the WSOP will set a record number of entries over the summer for the third consecutive year." The WSOP as a whole last year "drew 82,630 entries to create a total prize pool of around" $224M. That represents a near 4% "increase from the 79,471 people who bought into a tournament" in '13. WSOP Exec Dir Ty Stewart said that pre-registration for this year's event has "beaten the total from the last five years combined." Keefer notes much of the advance planning "revolves around a new no-limit hold’em tournament dubbed 'The Colossus.'” At a $565 buy-in, the event scheduled for two starting days on May 29 "is the cheapest open tournament in WSOP history." The WSOP believes it has been able to "implement the wider-reaching events without alienating its core customer base of poker professionals" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 5/13).
