Johnny Chan has played in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) for twenty years, won it twice and has a record 10 bracelets, yet he is only fourth on the all-time World Series of Poker money list.
Aussie Joe Hachem has finished in the money only twice and has one top prize to go along with a cold slug of Foster's. Yet, Hachem is in first place on the all-time money list and Chan is only fourth.
What's happening here?
Pure and simple, the prize money has exploded. Today's winner gets significantly more money than the payout Chan got when he won his two championships in the late 80's.
Hachem won the 2005 WSOP, a record setting year for payout to the winner ($7.5 mil), participants (5600+), and total prize pool ($56 mil+) in the final, No Limit Texas Hold 'em event.
Greg Raymer, who won it all in 2004, is in second place with $5.4 mil, courtesy of a $5 mil payday last year.
Steve Danneman, who finished second to Hachem in 2005, moved into third place, one ahead of Chan. It was Steve's one and only "in the money" finish at the WSOP, but it was a whopper at $4.25 mil.
Johnny, with about $3.5 mil in WSOP payouts over 20 years of play, won back-to-back championship titles, the last person to do so, in '87 and '88, for a total of about $1.3 mil.
How the times have changed. With the big payouts now, the newbies - with a single high place finish - have jumped ahead of some of the biggest names in poker, some of whom have been playing 20 years or more.
Here are the top five, according to the official statistics of the World Series of Poker, now owned by Harrah's:
Joe Hachem, 2005 winner, $7,525,850
Greg "Fossilman" Raymer, 2004 winner, $5, 433,450
Steve Danneman, second place finisher, 2005, $4,250,000
Johnny Chan, $3,744,331
And rounding out the top five winners, with six WSOP bracelets since his first start in 1985, is T. J. Cloutier, at $3,697,251. Cloutier has never won the Big One, though he finished second to Chris "Jesus" Ferguson in 2000. Cloutier is just a steady, consistent winner.
What will happen in 2006?
Chances are good that all the records set in 2005 will be topped in 2006.
Chances are that an unknown will take it all.
Chances are that a new name will go to the top of the leader board.
Murphy James is a freelance writer specializing in the gaming industry. He has been published in men's magazines, business journals, and newspapers. His website is http://www.murphyjames.com His email address is murphyjames@murphyjames.com.
His most recent interviews were with poker pros Barry Greenstein and Jennifer Harman.
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