WSOP Chip Usage History – Main Events
The following is a timeline of the chips used at the WSOP Main Events since its introduction in 1970.
For information on all WSOP chips used, especially a comprehensive guide of chips used since the WSOP moved to the Rio, see the links below. I created this post for those who want to know about the Main Event chips without sifting through the full chip usage guides to try and determine which chips appeared in the Main Event and when.
WSOP Chip Usage - Binion's Horseshoe
WSOP Chip Usage - 2005 Rio Primary Bud Jones
WSOP Chip Usage - 2007 Rio Primary Paulson set
WSOP Chip Usage - 2007 Rio Secondary Paulson Set
WSOP Chip Usage - 2012 Rio Secondary Bud Jones
WSOP Chip Usage - 2022 Paris/Bally's Primary Paulsons
WSOP Chip Usage - 2022 Paris/Bally's Secondary Paulsons
WSOP Chip Usage - 2022 Paris/Bally's Tertiary Paulsons
WSOP Chip Usage - 2022 Paris/Bally's Paulsons - Side Events
DISCLAIMER: Some assumptions and educated guesses were made for chips used in the 1970s through the 1990s based on scarce photos and grainy videos. Information from year to year may not be 100% accurate. All chip information from 2004 – present should be accurate.
NOTE: I know a lot of the pictures below are not the best. I am always looking for better WSOP chip pictures if you have them!
1970 – 1978
Binion’s Horseshoe Club
25 – Green Binions
100 – Black Binions
500 – Gray Binions
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
1970 – 7 (1)
1971 – 6 (1)
1972 – 12 (1)
1973 – 13 (1)
1974 – 16 (1)
1975 – 21 (1)
1976 – 22 (1)
1977 – 34 (1)
1978 – 42 (5)
Introduced for the original WSOP cash event, these were continued to be used at the Main Event tournaments from 1971 - 1978. These chips were actually “Cash Value” and players were given $10,000 in live casino chips to play with in the freezeout tournaments.
1979 – 1986
Binion’s Horseshoe Club and Horseshoe Building
25 – Gray-Green Horseshoe Building
100 – Black Binions
500 – Gray Binions
1,000 – Red Horseshoe Building (.25 value chips)
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
1979 – 54 (5)
1980 – 73 (5)
1981 – 75 (9)
1982 – 104 (9)
1983 – 108 (9)
1984 – 132 (9)
1985 – 140 (9)
1986 – 141 (36)
The late 70s and early 80s saw a large increase in Main Event entries and the addition of the first 1,000 chip. The 1k chips is technically the first true “NCV” chip at the WSOP, being worth only a quarter. The 25 – 500 chips were again live cash chips.
1987 – 1990
Binion’s Horseshoe Paulson
25 – Green Paulson
100 – Black Paulson
500 – Gray Paulson
1,000 – Gold Paulson
5,000 – Brown Paulson
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
1987 – 152 (36)
1988 – 167 (36)
1989 – 178 (36)
1990 – 194 (36)
Introduced in 1987, these were both the first Paulson chip set and the first full NCV set used at the WSOP. 1990 was the last time Paulson chips were used exclusively at the Main Event until 2007.
1991 – 1992
Binion’s Horseshoe Paulson and Bud Jones
25 – Green Paulson
100 – Black Paulson
500 – Gray Paulson
1,000 – Gold Paulson
5,000 – Purple Bud Jones
10,000 – Bright Orange Bud Jones
Changes – Brown 5,000 Paulson chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Purple 5,000 Bud Jones chip. Bright Orange 10,000 Bud Jones chip added, making it the first 10k chip in WSOP Main Event history.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
1991 – 215 (36)
1992 – 201 (36)
1991 was the first of many years that the WSOP made the unfortunate decision of mixing Paulson and Bud Jones chips in their tournaments.
1993 – 1996
Binion’s Horseshoe Paulson and Bud Jones
25 – Green Paulson
100 – Black Paulson
500 – Yellow Bud Jones
1,000 – Blue Bud Jones
5,000 – Purple Bud Jones
10,000 – Bright Orange Bud Jones
Changes – Gray 500 Paulson chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Yellow 500 Bud Jones chip. Gold 1,000 Paulson chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Blue 1,000 Bud Jones chip.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
1993 – 231 (27)
1994 – 268 (27)
1995 – 273 (27)
1996 – 295 (27)
The mid 1990s saw even larger fields and even more Paulsons replaced by Bud Jones chips. The Main Event final table in 1993 was the first to feature only Bud Jones chips in WSOP history.
1997 – 1999
Binion’s Horseshoe Paulson and Bud Jones
25 – Green Paulson
100 – Black Paulson
500 – Yellow Bud Jones
1,000 – Blue Bud Jones
5,000 – Purple Bud Jones
10,000 – Bright Orange Bud Jones
Changes – Bright Orange 10,000 Bud Jones chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Warm Red 10,000 Bud Jones chip.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
1997 – 312 (27)
1998 – 350 (27)
1999 – 393 (36)
The WSOP inexplicably decided to change the 10k chip in 1997, the first year the Main Event surpassed 300 entrants.
2000 – 2003
Binion’s Horseshoe Paulson and Bud Jones
25 – Green Paulson
100 – Black Paulson
500 – Ivory Bud Jones
1,000 – Blue Bud Jones
5,000 – Bright Orange Bud Jones
10,000 – Hot Pink Bud Jones
25,000 – Lavender Bud Jones
Changes – Yellow 500 Bud Jones chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Ivory 500 Bud Jones chip. Purple 5,000 Bud Jones chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Bright Orange 5,000 Bud Jones chip. Warm Red 10,000 Bud Jones chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the Hot Pink 10,000 Bud Jones chip. Lavender 25,000 Bud Jones chip added, making it the first 25k chip used in WSOP Main Event history.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2000 – 512 (45)
2001 – 613 (45)
2002 – 631 (45)
2003 – 839 (63)
These were used in the early 2000s and were handled by Chris Moneymaker during the infamous 2003 Main Event that changed poker forever.
2004
Binion’s Bud Jones S2
25 – Army Green
100 – Violet
500 – Hot Pink
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Black
10,000 – Lavender
25,000 – Red
Changes – Brand new chips for all denominations. No new denominations introduced.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2004 – 2,576 (225)
The WSOP introduced their first ever all Bud Jones set in 2004 in the wake of the poker boom that saw an increase of over three times the Main Event entrants from 2003. These chips were short lived however, only being used one year before the WSOP was sold to Harrah’s and moved to the Rio.
2005
Rio Bud Jones S2
25 – Army Green
100 – Black
500 – Hot Pink
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Lavender
10,000 – Black
50,000 – Tan
Changes – Brand new chips for all denominations for the Rio but many chips were variations of the Binion’s chips used the year before. The Black 10,000 chips were the last 10k chips used at the Main Event. The Tan 50,000 chips were the first 50k chips used at the Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2005 – 5,619 (560)
The first WSOP at the Rio saw the Main Event tournament field more than double from the year prior. Despite the Rio being the official host of the WSOP the final two days of the Main Event were actually held at the Binion’s Horseshoe but used the new Rio chips.
2006
Rio Bud Jones S2
25 – Army Green
100 – Black
500 – Hot Pink
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Bright Orange
25,000 – Fire Red
100,000 – Leaf Green
Changes – Lavender 5,000 Bud Jones chip discontinued at ME and replaced by the 5,000 Bright Orange Bud Jones chip. The Fire Red 25,000 chips were introduced. The Tan 50,000 were discontinued at the Main Event. The Leaf Green 100,000 chips were added, making them the first 100k chips used at the WSOP Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2006 – 8,773 (873)
The 2006 WSOP Main Event was the last to use the Bud Jones chips. Paulsons would be the only chips in play moving forward. Jamie Gold won the record breaking $12,000,000 first place prize that remains the highest payout of a non-High Roller event in poker history.
2007
Rio Paulson
25 – Day Green
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Peach
50,000 – Hot Pink
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
250,000 – Almond
Changes – Brand new chips for all denominations. The Hot Pink 50,000 chips were the last 50k chips used at the WSOP Main Event. The Almond 250,000 chips were the first 250k chips used at the WSOP Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2007 – 6,358 (621)
The 2007 WSOP was the first year to use the iconic Rio Paulson primary chips we all know and love. The Main Event was marred with never ending complaints as players could not distinguish between the 5k, 25k, and 50k chips which all looked extremely similar in stacks.
2008 – 2009
Rio Paulson
25 – Day Green
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
250,000 – Almond
Changes – Peach 25,000 chips discontinued at ME and replaced by the Forest Green 25,000 chips. The Hot Pink 50,000 chips were discontinued at the Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2008 – 6,844 (666)
2009 – 6,494 (648)
2008 was the first year the Forest Green 25k chips were used and have been used at every Main Event since.
2010 – 2014
Rio Paulson
25 – Day Green
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
250,000 – Almond
500,000 – Red
Changes – The Red 500,000 chips were introduced and were the first 500k chips used at the Main Event. The Almond 250,000 chips were the last 250k chips used at the WSOP Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2010 – 7,319 (747)
2011 – 6,865 (693)
2012 – 6,598 (666)
2013 – 6,352 (648)
2014 – 6,683 (695)
The 50mm 8V Red chips introduced in 2010 were the first ever oversized chip used at the WSOP Main Event.
2015
Rio Paulson
25 – Day Green
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
500,000 – Red
Changes – The Almond 250,000 chip was discontinued at the Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2015 – 6,420 (1,000)
Chip usage remained pretty much par for the course with the exception of the Almond 250k chips being deemed unnecessary and not used in the Main Event in 2015.
2016 – 2017
Rio Paulson
25 – Day Green
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
500,000 – Red
1,000,000 – Canary Yellow
Changes – The Canary Yellow 1,000,000 chips were introduced and were the first 1M chips used at the WSOP Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2016 – 6,737 (1,011)
2017 – 7,221 (1,084)
All lower denominations remained the same and a T1,000,000 50mm Canary Yellow chip was added.
2018
Rio Paulson
25 – Day Green
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
500,000 – Red
1,000,000 – Canary Yellow
25,000 – Forest Green RFID Final Table
100,000 – Hawaii Flower RFID Final Table
500,000 – Red RFID Final Table
1,000,000 – Canary Yellow RFID Final Table
Changes – All chips remained the same from the following years until the Final Table. New RFID enabled chips were introduced for the final table.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2018 – 7,874 (1,182)
At the final table, the WSOP busted out some new 50mm 412 edgespot chips featuring the same base colors as their normal counterparts but with simplified edgespots. These unique chips had “WSOP” written in the edgespot on the sides of the chips.
2019
Rio Paulson
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
500,000 – Red
1,000,000 – Canary Yellow RFID
5,000,000 – Blurple
Changes – The Day Green 25 was discontinued at the Main Event due to structure changes. The Canary Yellow 1,000,000 RFID chips were exclusively used as opposed to the 1M 8V chips. The other RFID chips were not used at all however for unknown reasons. The 50mm Blurple 5,000,000 chip was introduced and were the first 5M chips used at the Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2019 – 8,569 (1,286)
2020
Rio Paulson
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green RFID
Changes - Due to COVID restrictions, the WSOP was moved online in 2020. However, they had two satellite tournaments that led to a live heads up Main Event showdown using only the four denominations above.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2020 - 2 (1)
2021
Rio Paulson
100 – Black
500 – Desert Flower
1,000 – Canary Yellow
5,000 – Blaze Orange
25,000 – Forest Green
100,000 – Hawaii Flower
1,000,000 – Canary Yellow RFID
5,000,000 – Blurple
Changes - Returning to a full live schedule, the Main Event featured a similar lineup to 2019 but dropped the red 500k chips.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2021 - 6,650 (1,000)
2022 - 2023
Bally's and Paris (Caesar's Entertainment) Paulson
Horseshoe Las Vegas and Paris (Caesar's Entertainment) Paulson
100 - Black
500 - Purple
1,000 - Yellow
5,000 - Red Version 1
25,000 - Green Version 1
100,000 - Blue Version 1
500,000 - Dark Brown
1,000,000 - Orange Version 1
5,000,000 - Silver Version 1
Changes - After a long run at the Rio, the WSOP was moved to Bally's and Paris. All new chip sets were ordered, and these primaries were used for the Main Event.
Year – Entrants (Places Paid)
2022 - 8,663 (1,302)
2023 - 10,043 (1,507)
