The average poker player plays the game because it’s usually enjoyable, interesting, and highly social. The vast majority of players, even those who attend the WSOP, are not professionals. They know upon arrival, they’re the underdogs. That said, I believe what makes playing in the WSOP special is the fierce competition, the potential for fame and glory, and certainly life-altering prize money. But more than anything else, it is about being part of the experience. In what other competition do 90 percent of the participants leave and end up losing up to $10,000 in a single tournament, yet they almost always vow to come back and try again next year?
Think about it. Would anyone in any other activity say they enjoyed an experience that left them ten-grand poorer? Can you picture walking up to a blackjack table, losing $10,000 and then saying – I can’t wait to go back? Imagine walking into a retail store, forking over $10,000 and then leaving out the door with absolutely nothing. Most people would depart with regret and anger. Yet in the decade I have been working the WSOP, I have never once heard a player say he or she regretted playing and sworn not to return to the WSOP the following year. This alone says something about what is really important at the WSOP. It’s not the money. It’s the experience.

Nolan Dalla – 02/2010 – in WSOP News

 

I’d never experienced such a significant moment at a poker table. If I got my card here, it would be over. I felt the weight of all those hours of play as the dealer slid the card off the top of the deck and turned it over. Wow! Was it really the ten of diamonds? The noise rising from the spectators jammed up around the table and the TV cameras undeniably confirmed it. I’d made a full house, tens over twos to beat Jesse’s two pair. I was the new World Champion of Poker! [...]
When that last card crowned me champion, I felt like I had just climbed Mount Rushmore. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I was glad it was over.

Doyle Brunson – 10/2009 – In The godfather of poker

 

On June 11, I won my record breaking eleventh WSOP (World Series of Poker) bracelet, which was promised — last year — to my sister Molly, who was born 11/11/71. I have given all eleven of my bracelets away to family members (my parents, my wife, my sons, etc.), except the main event bracelet from 1989. In any case, I won event number 15, which was a $1,500 buy-in no limit Hold’em event, with over 2,600 players. Who says the pros can’t beat big fields?

Phil Hellmuth – 06/2007 – in Phil Hellmuth’s blog

 

For years, with the exception of Amarillo Slim (who appeared on the Tonight Show six times), the World Champions of Poker never did anything to help promote tournament poker and/or the poker industry.  And in my mind, that’s a big reason poker took so long to take off and grow. Although they have no obligation to do so, I think that the reigning World Champion of Poker should travel, do public appearances, seminars, photo sessions, television shows, etc., in order to help promote the poker community.

Mike Sexton – 01/2008 – In Poker News Daily