Big, Bigger, and Biggest

Saturday's Millionaire Maker tournament exceeded even the most optimistic hopes and projections.

By any measure, the $1,500 buy-in gold bracelet tournament classified in the 2013 WSOP schedule as Event 6, will go down as a momentous occasion in the long and storied annals of the world's longest running and most prestigious gaming competition.

Let's look at some of the numbers and put them into historical context:

1. The Largest Non-Main Event Live Tournament in History – WSOP Main Events have drawn as high as 8,771 players (2006 Main Event). Until this year, only one other non-Main Event tourney had ever drawn more than 6,000 players. However, the final tally for Event 6 rolled in at a staggering 6,343 players. That makes this tournament the largest non-Main Event gathering in history.

2. The Biggest Single Day in Poker History – No live tournament ever has registered and dealt in as many players in a single day as the “Millionaire Maker.” Keep in mind that Main Event fields are grouped into different starting sessions over multiple days. This tournament packed everyone into a single day spread across two starting flights.

3. The Biggest Payout Ever for a $1,500 buy-in Tournament – The total prize pool for the “Millionaire Maker” was $8,563,050. That meant the $1 million guaranteed to the winner was actually surpassed. In a surprise announcement, the champion will collect a stunning $1,199,104. That's nearly 200 grand more than the expected guarantee. It represents 799 times the original buy-in!

4. Largest number of payouts for any non-Main Event in History – There were 648 very happy poker players on Sunday afternoon, once they realized they were all in the money. Each player was guaranteed at least $2,740. All players who make the final table will collect at least six figures. That's also the first time in history this has happened for anything less than a $5,000 buy-in tournament.

Given the huge numbers, the tournament will extend into an added fourth day of action. The new millionaire-plus will be crowned on Tuesday on the ESPN Main Stage. That promises to be one of the early highlights of a 2013 WSOP which is on track to be as big as any poker series ever in history.