For everyone in the world who loves poker, there’s nothing like the World Series of Poker Main Event, held each year in Las Vegas. It’s the most prestigious tournament that can be won. The Main Event Champion is the most coveted title in all of poker.

The Main Event is steeped in a rich history. It all started in 1969 with a six player invitation only tournament, the brainchild of Benny Binion. To give an idea of how much things have changed, the first ever Main Event had six entrants, and the champion, Johnny Moss, was determined by secret ballot, after a set amount of time.

This is an important year for the WSOP Main Event. A year unlike any other to be sure, 2011 has been one of the most tumultuous earth-changing years in the poker world. With the Department of Justice seizing the domain names of PokerStars, Full Tilt, and Cereus all in one foul swoop just two short months ago, the poker world is hopeful for some good news.

For many poker players, this year’s World Series of Poker is a chance to briefly forget about the gloomy news of the last few months with online poker. For the world’s best poker players who are in Vegas now, this year’s WSOP is about chasing bracelets, huge cash prizes, as well as trying to score big in the massive cash side games that run in Las Vegas this time of year.

For many poker playing Americans with money still stuck online or who’ve been banned from playing poker online recently, this year’s World Series of Poker is serious business. Win now or go home and find a day job. The pressure is certainly on. In situations of adversity there is always a kernel of opportunity. The events of Black Friday are a shakeup of the whole poker industry, and this year’s World Series of Poker is sure to make history, with new faces stepping into the spotlight while others fade away for good.

One of the trending stories with this year’s World Series of Poker is the number of entrants into the Main Event. Will Main Event numbers drop significantly from last year? The current size of the Main Event can be traced to one man and one year. Chris Moneymaker and 2003. When Chris Moneymaker won the main event in 2003 he showed the world that the average Joe was capable of getting rich off of getting lucky in a poker tournament. Now with the poker world awaiting news of poker legislation hopefully coming soon, what will the turnout for this year’s Main Event say about the current and future state of poker in the United States? Here’s a look at the numbers.

Main Event by Year, Winner & Entrants:
1971. Johnny Moss, 6
2003. Chris Moneymaker, 839
2004. Greg Raymer, 2576
2005. Joe hachem, 5619
2006. Jamie Gold, 8,773
2007. Jerry Yang, 6358
2008. Peter Eastgate 6,844
2009. Joe Cada. 6,494
2010. Johnathan Duhamel, 7,319

The 2011 WSOP is taking place right now at the Rio in Las Vegas, with the Main Event running July 7th to the 20th. We will keep you posted on Main Event news as well as results. Who will have their picture hung in the Binion’s Gallery of Champions? Who will make history along side three time winners, Stu Ungar and Johnny Moss as well as two time champions Doyle Bruson and Johnny Chan? How will Black Friday effect Main Event turnout? Stay tuned, one thing is for sure, history will be made!