World Series of Poker prepares for 10,000 entrants in Las Vegas

World Series of Poker organizers are preparing for 10,000 entrants to this year's main event. That's a 14 percent increase from last year and comes despite a US crackdown on online gambling sites that have boosted the tournament's popularity.
Organizers said today that the number was for planning purposes only, and did not reflect confidence that last year's 8,773 entrants would be topped. Half of last year's record number of entrants were estimated to have won their seats in online qualifier events.
The tournament plans to build a structure beside the host Rio casino-hotel in Las Vegas and increase the number of tables to 258. That would be enough to allow more than 3,000 players to play the first three days of the main event.
A higher number of entrants would mean the grand prize for the world's richest poker game would exceed last year's $12 million dollars.