A new record has been set – the most ever players entered into any tournament – outside of a WSOP Main Event.

Event #2, the ,500 No-Limit Hold’em tournament attracted 3,929 poker enthusiasts for the two-day starting tournament. 

“This is a great start,” said WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. “The sound of chips chirping throughout the Rio is a welcome return for all of us who love poker.”

The tournament is expected to last four days.

The record number has shattered the old high mark of 3,151 set during the final week of last year’s WSOP. The previous record was set in Event #49 – also a ,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em tournament.

While Main Events have attracted as many as 8,773 players (in 2006), no other tournament has ever attracted as large a field as this year's Event #2, ranking it as the fourth-largest poker tournament of all-time.

After a smooth start with the University of Nevada-Las Vegas Marching Band trumpeting “Viva Las Vegas” on opening, a star-studded field of 352 players turned out to play in the first World Championship event, a ,000 Pot Limit Hold’em tournament that began with legendary 10-time WSOP bracelet winner Doyle Brunson initiating the proceedings with the traditional “Shuffle Up and Deal” announcement.