The World Poker Tour has always had a strong turnout on the East Coast, but nothing compares to the record number of attendees they have seen in the last two years. Last year a whopping 1,018 players registered and this year even more players joined the tournament. The 1,042 entrants this year signify the highest ever number of attendees in the WPT Borgata Poker Open event.

Why did so many players come out for the Borgata Open? It could be that more and more people are getting into tournament poker, but the more likely reason is that the WPT drastically lowered the buy-in for the event. Typically the event had a $10,000 buy-in, but for the last two years they lowered it to $3,500. At the same time as they lowered the buy-in, they raised the prize-pool guarantee to $2 million. With these kinds of stakes, who wouldn’t sign up?

Of course, it is important to point out that the payout structure for the event has also been changed so the winner will walk away with a smaller payout than in years past. A year ago, winner Olivier Busquet took home $925,514. This year’s tournament winner will take home only $733,802. But I’d say that’s still pretty good considering the $3,500 buy-in.

If you are one of the players taking part in the WPT Borgata Poker Open, or have another tournament coming up, I suggest practicing with a free poker game online to brush up on your skills before the big event!