[Harv72b]

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Can you imagine a much larger venue than the Rio had this year? And staffing an event that could be twice as large next year will be very difficult, if not impossible.

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Did the Rio lose money by hosting the World Series this year? I didn't think that was the case, and I certainly don't think they (or the other hotels/resorts in LV) would be upset with more people entering the WSOP in the future, spending more money in Vegas on food, lodging, and recreation, and bringing them even more "free" advertising on major international cable networks. That's my biggest problem with this argument--if you want to say that the huge fields take away from the skill factor required in winning the ME (true) or turn the WSOP into more of a carnival atmosphere than a major championship, fine. But don't base your argument on faulty premises. Believe me, if they have 15,000 entrants in the ME next year, they'll figure out a way to run the tournament.

I also don't think you can really limit the number of slots available in the ME. Part of the allure of the WSOP is that anyone can play in it, even more so now in the days of internet qualifiers. It's something that poker novices and small stakes players the world over dream about, and a huge part of the popularity explosion the game is enjoying. If you cut down on the number of entrants allowed to participate, invariably people are going to be left out and the event loses some of its luster. And besides, it makes for great television (and is great for the game) when a relative unknown scores a big WSOP victory.

I can definitely see raising the entry fee. I can also see cutting down on the number of other events played at the WSOP.