WSOP Circuit’s Age 40+ Event Causes Social Media Stir

The World Series of Poker’s decision to continue an experiment with circuit fields restricted to players age 40-plus caused a minor social media stir over the weekend.

Adam Hendrix tweeted his disapproval of WSOPC’s Grand Master 40/40/40 No-Limit Hold’em Re-Entry in Cherokee. Only players age 40 and over could enter the event, which featured a $150,000 guarantee and one of the better structures of the stop. While making clear that he supported ladies and seniors events, Hendrix wondered whether tournament operators had gone too far in restricting fields.

“My fear is eventually tournaments will be slightly privatized which goes against the whole beauty of tournament poker,” he wrote.

Respondents In Poll Support WSOP Circuit’s 40/40/40 Event

If Hendrix hoped to establish a grassroots pushback to eliminate these events, he got some bad news. More than 63% of respondents in his own poll said they supported the age-restricted tournament.

Hendrix, whose Card Player results page indicates he’s won two WSOPC events, did note later that he incorrectly said the 40/40/40 replaced an open event. Several posters corrected him, informing him that it actually replaced a traditional seniors event (50+). That means the number of restricted events was three for the entire series, a pretty “standard” setup for the WSOPC.

In that sense, the WSOP actually opened participation slightly. Players aged 40-49 had an extra event to play. Previously, they’d have been shut out of the second seniors tournament.

Historical demographic data from the WSOP Main Event shows that the average age of players there fluctuates only slightly and generally falls between 41-43. PokerScout found stats up to and including 2019. Assuming WSOP Circuit stops correspond closely to that crowd, a majority of the players participating in the tournaments actually qualify for entry into the 40/40/40.

Has Tournament For Players 40+ Been A Success For WSOP Circuit?

The numbers show mixed early results on whether the WSOP’s new 40/40/40 format is appealing to its player base.

The 40/40/40 format looks to have first appeared at WSOP Circuit Baltimore in March 2025. From there, it has run a total of four times out of 11 domestic stops.

From that standpoint, Hendrix’s fears about poker tournaments increasingly “shutting out the majority of pros” appear to be unfounded.

As for the performance of those events, here’s a look at how the 40/40/40 has compared to the traditional seniors events. PokerScout compared each 40/40/40 to the most recent seniors event at each stop with an analogous buy-in. We skipped WSOPC Baltimore, as the WSOP hadn’t operated in that market for multiple years prior to 2025. For the record, that one attracted 335 entries at $400 for a prize pool of $110,550.

Thus far, the delta for tournament entries favored the traditional seniors events by an average of just over 83 per event. They’ve also generated slightly bigger prize pools on average, by $15,650.

A combination of mixed results and too small of a sample make it hard to determine whether the WSOP Circuit has found a viable new product. As players vote with their wallets, the WSOP will gather data and determine whether to continue offering the format.

Image credit: Judy Baxter/Flickr (license)