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$500,000,000 for WSOP: The Brand Is Sold to GGPoker’s Parent Company

$500,000,000 for WSOP: The Brand Is Sold to GGPoker’s Parent Company
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Vasilisa Zyryanova Blog Content Editor
  • Fact Checked by: PokerListings
  • Last updated on: November 26, 2024 · 8 minutes to read

On August 1st, 2024 Caesars Entertainment revealed the details of a jaw-dropping deal: the company signed an agreement to sell its intellectual property rights for the World Series of Poker ® (“WSOP”) brand to NSUS Group Inc., investment group and owner of GGPoker.

PokerListings urges you to remember the most illustrious moments of the latest non-GGPoker WSOP and think about what this deal could mean for the future of the brand.

What Does Selling Of WSOP Mean for the Brand?

The NSUS Group was previously known as GGNetwork Software Limited. As of 2024, it owns many successful brands and products besides GGPoker, such as ClubGG, 2Ace, SlotsVenture, Ocean Master.

At this point, the deal is almost sealed, since both parties need to wait regulatorators’ approval. Caesars sold WSOP for $250,000,000 in cash and another $250,000,000 obligation to be fulfilled in the next 5 years. The WSOP also will stay in Las Vegas for the next 20 years and will be held in Caesars’ property with active participation of the company.

The deal seems unexpected for players since WSOP has been booming and actively growing for the last few years.

Its schedule expanded extensively after the pandemic. If in 2019 it included 90 events of original WSOP and 15 of WSOP Europe, later this amounts dramatically grew:

Year / SeriesWSOPWSOP OnlineWSOP EuropeWSOP Paradise
20219974150
202211878150
2023129651515

In 2024, the original WSOP alone included 136 events while the other three versions of the series hadn’t been played yet. But we already know that the WSOP 2024 was record-breaking not only in entries and prize pool scores but in rake too. In 2024, it collected $480,764,185 from buy-ins and re-entries — this sum splits to $42,170,034 of rake and $438,594,151 of prize pools.

Curiously, one of the factors of WSOP growth in the last five years was its partnership with GG. It brought global WSOP Online and WSOP Circuit Online to life, expanded the online satellites offer and added to the schedule formats like Flip & Go or Mystery Bounty which are more fun for recreational players.

In the future we can expect WSOP to become even bigger and more available for players all over the world. But it is worth noting that expansion will very likely lead to rake or players’ expanses growth like it already was on Bahamas during WSOP Paradies 2023. We will be watching closely as it unfolds.

The Five Memorable Moments Of WSOP 2024

WSOP 2024 was a decent series with many nice, historical, touching and amusing moments, so it was quite a quest to select five of them for this part of the article. That’s why we focused on a few significant ones from community and historical perspectives.

#1 Patrik Antonius Finally Became a Hall Of Famer

Ex-tennis player from Finland Patrik Antonius is one of the most popular modern poker players who has been faithful to the game for more than 20 years. As of August 2024, Patrik had almost $23M in total live earnings with a best cash of $3,153,551 for the 2nd place in Super High Roller Bowl China 2018.

43-years-old Antonius had already been nominated in the Poker Hall Of Fame — it was in 2021 but then Eli Elezra “beat” him in the competition.

This time after the second nomination poker community united to support Antonius and was successful in it.

Patrik Antonius WSOP
Patrik Antonius

Patrik was solemnly inducted during WSOP which was shocking for him:

“This is a very big honor to become a new Hall of Famer. This has really been one of the nicest things for me. I’ve always been a student of the game and always hoped that poker continues to get bigger and better. And just look at where we are now. It looks like poker has never been as good as it is now — we’re breaking records all over the world.

The last 24-25 years with poker went pretty fast. I think I’m going to stick around for a long time.

It’s so nice that so many people have found poker and are passionate about poker. We can all do it together. Let’s keep growing the game and thank you to everyone who’s supported me and voted for me “

#2 Scott Seiver Won Three Bracelets And Became POY

The U.S. poker player Scott Seiver became the true furor of WSOP when he:

  • Won three bracelets in a row
  • Became a holder of seven bracelets in total
  • Won Player of the Year

As a new POY, Scott got an exclusive banner with his face in Paris/Horseshoe and the seat in $10K Main Event WSOP 2025.

Scott Seiver

These results were deeply desired by Scott, who hopes to become POY 2024 but was very realistic in his expectations. So, when he reached his goal, Scott felt full of joy:

“I feel very satisfied right now. I can’t really describe it. I’m like on Cloud Nine right now. This just means so much to me, and it also is a step in a personal journey I’ve made for myself where I’ve had an eye in the sky dream where I want to win one bracelet in every single discipline there is.”

Photo Credit: PokerGo

#3 Daniel Negreanu Broke Personal “WSOP Drought”

Another deeply satisfied participant of WSOP was U.S/Canadian poker player Daniel Negreanu who won his seventh bracelet and his favorite of all WSOP event $50K Poker Player Championship.

Daniel Negreanu

This victory was the first on World Series for Dan since 2013 when he celebrated success in two different versions of WSOP: APAC in Australia and Europe in France.

So when Dan finally won his seventh bracelet and celebrated with wife Amanda and friends, he appealed to haters who “helped” him succeed:

“I want to give a very special thank you to my haters and doubters, you are a very special part of the ying and the yang that drives me Spoiling your schadenfreude gives me great joy. You know who you are stew in the misery of my success while I giggle gleefully”

Fun fact: At the start of 2024, Negreanu announced changes to his poker routine after having the worst year in career. During 2023 he lost more than $2,2M due to winners’ tilt, overwhelming scheduling, bad luck and lack of edge over high roller fields. So in 2024 he decided to play only when he feels ready, less gamble, be humble and diligent, and not chase WSOP POY. Maybe, that was exactly a clue to his recent success.

Photo Credit: PokerGo

#4 Kristen Foxen “Made Noise” In Main Event

Canadian female poker pro Kristen Foxen (née Bicknell) did not win any bracelets on WSOP 2024 but still became one of the most discussed and praised players of the series.

The reason is her magnificent performance in the $10K Main Event that ended abruptly with one controversial spot. It happened when the remaining field of the event included 13 players.

WSOP 2024 Kristen Foxen
Kristen Foxen

The U.S. poker player Joe Serock with a 72bb stack opened A♠️K♣ ️with 2bb from UTG. Kristen Foxen called with 37bb and K♠️Q♦️. Pot is 5.5bb.

Flop: A♥️K♥️J♠️. Kristen checked, Joe bet 3.3bb and was called. Pot is 12bb.

Turn: 5♠️. Serock bet 9.6bb and Kristen shoved her 30bb stack. Joe called. Pot is 73.6bb.

River: 6♥️. Foxen was eliminated in 13th place with a $600,000 prize.

This spot split the poker community into three parts. The first one was people who accused Kristen of an awful decision. The second one was people who supported Kristen. And the third one was people who tried to figure out why she played like that.

One of the most detailed reviews of this spot was made by Doug Polk — you can watch it on YouTube:

There were a lot of reasons for Kristen to attract so much attention.

First, it was a really interesting bluff with a few possible calculations for different decisions and Kristen’s choice wasn’t an obvious one for the most part of the community. 

Second, Kristen became some sort of icon for other female poker players, showing that women can absolutely compete at the same level as men when they are supported in their choices.

Finally, she played masterfully during all days of the Main Event and met elimination with dignity without rushing to excuse her latest bluff. She just decided to show appreciation to her supporters:

“THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart to everyone who was cheering me on throughout the Main Event! It was a very disappointing finish; I really wanted that bracelet, and I played my heart out. 

Very grateful for the opportunity to play in such a monumental tournament. Fantastic job by PokerGO and WSOP. It’s amazing to see the fields grow and grow each year, and I had such a fun time.”

#5 PokerTDA And WSOP Somewhat Tightened A Few Policies

After a few years of infinite discussion in the community, Poker Tournament Director Association finally (but slightly) changed rules about player’s identification.

New language was approbated on WSOP 2024 in test format since it appeared in the middle of the series but will be mundane on the future series. It reads as follows:

The founder of PokerTDA Matt Savage clarified that this rule does not apply to masks since their wearing is connected to health safety.

The second big sort of change was about usage of poker solvers and RTA during the game. Every event on WSOP 2024 started with an announcement:

“We do ask you to please do not use any type of poker solvers at any point in time at the table or in the tournament area. If you’re found using one of these poker solvers, there’s a possibility of being disqualified from this tournament.”

We called it “sort of change” since it was only a vocal announcement but not part of the series’ rule book. This uncertainty later laid in the foundation of laptopgate on the final table of the Main Event, forcing the WSOP team to consider more strict and clear ruling. 

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