The World Series of Poker Main Event is officially the largest in its 54-year history. And it’s still growing.

WSOP executive director Ty Stewart briefly paused play during the first level of action in the $10,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em World Championship on Thursday at Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas to announce the record field.

The previous high was 8,773 entrants set in 2006.

Players continued to enter Flight 1D on Thursday, and late registration will remain open for two levels each on Friday and Saturday, meaning the final total could top 10,000 entrants.

The Main Event drew 8,663 entrants last year, falling just shy of the record. Tournament officials ensured the mark would fall in 2023, running numerous promotions and online satellites that allowed players to win their seat.

This is the fourth time in Main Event history the field has surpassed 8,000 players. There were 8,569 entrants in 2019 when Germany’s Hossein Ensan came away with the top prize.

The final table of the Main Event is scheduled to begin July 16.

The WSOP has seen attendance increase year-over-year in nearly every tournament this summer, signaling a mini poker boom. The $300 buy-in Gladiators of Poker No-limit Hold’em event was the second-largest live tournament in history with more than 23,000 entrants.

Contact David Schoen at [email protected] or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ

on Twitter.