hi all , to start off with both are complex games , some have more luck element than the other , however in my opinion there is a big difference in "edge" , in chess for example an edge is almost everlasting, a novice player entering a tournament has almost no chance of winning vs the rest of the field of grandmasters , however in poker we know that it's very possible, and this main fact is why poker is much more attractive to the public, almost anyone regardless of experience of level of play can win a poker tournament which includes the worlds best players, also in chess one opponent can beat a lesser one by say 1000 - 0 games, in poker this isn't the case and even in 1000 games, a novice player can beat the best in the world...
luck doesn't even need to be a big element besides having say AA vs KK etc where the pro never folding KK ,
therefore in chess there is almost no hope, none for a novice to win, this can be crushing mentally, and a lot of people who start chess and get crushed remorselessly simply give up the game ....... poker is much more forgiving, of course people give up poker too, but usually for the reverse reasons - viz - bad players winning all the time despite mathematical
odds against it, and some good players tire of this and give up as well ,
this highlights another difference, in chess this will never happen, a bad player can continue to play bad and lose every single time without fail, if there were money involved in the chess games, the bad player would be broke in short time
bottom line poker is easier for a novice to learn basic stratergy enough to win
wsop vs worlds best , they are different games, and because poker is easier to win most people prefer it.
one thing to consider is as poker gains popularity, perhaps more chess players will move to poker, however some pride and feelings of lost time spent if leaving chess may prevent some from doing so ...