Dan Smith gave what he dubs a "hot take" on Twitter when he proclaimed the $10,000 buy-in Wynn Millions Main Event, which is currently underway in Las Vegas, superior to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He briefly explained his reasoning and it isn't as crazy of an opinion as it might seem on the surface.
The 2nd Annual Wynn Millions event — PokerNews is live reporting the entire tournament — features a $10 million guaranteed prize pool. In some years, the WSOP Main Event pays $10 million or more .... to the winner. But there's more to judging the quality of a poker event than just the total prize pool, as Smith explained in a tweet.
Better Venue?
Smith argues that the Wynn Millions being held in a "nice venue" is a benefit to the players. The WSOP has been held at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino since 2005, and many poker players had an unfavorable opinion of the property.
This coming summer, the series is moving to Bally's (soon to be the Horseshoe) and Paris on the Las Vegas Strip. So, we'll wait and see if the poker community prefers that venue to the Rio.
However, the Wynn, also on the Strip, is one of the most luxurious hotel casinos in the world, and poker players consistently rave about the staff and how well they operate tournaments.
Merit to His Take
There are a number of similarities between the Wynn Millions Main Event and the WSOP Main Event, starting with the comparable $10,000 buy-in. Many of the same players that compete in poker's world championship event also have entered the first two major Wynn events, with pros such as Daniel Negreanu and Dan Smith battling it out for big bucks against recreational players chasing life-changing money.
Last summer, Andrew Moreno, a San Diego poker pro attempting to become a tournament star, took down the first ever Wynn Millions $10 million guaranteed event for $1,460,106, and it changed his life much like has happened for those who have won the WSOP Main Event over the years.
There are a few differences between the two huge Las Vegas poker tournaments, most notably the WSOP Main Event is a freezeout, whereas the Wynn $10k allows for one re-entry per day, one reason why a heavily bankrolled pro such as Smith is such a fan.
Additionally, the world championship event has been around since 1970 compared to 2021, and the WSOP's top annual event attracts over 6,000 players each year these days. Registration remains open in the 2022 Wynn Millions, but the tournament last summer had 1,328 entrants.
Whichever side you're on, both events are historic. One is already a permanent poker tournament staple, and the other just might become one in time. As for Smith, he bagged 184,000 on Day 1a of the tournament. Others to punch their tickets to Day 2 are Day 1b chip leader Jonathan Jaffe (382,000), Vanessa Kade (345,000), Uri Reichenstein, and Jason Koon (143,000),
