2010 World Series of Poker Predictions

The 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is almost upon us. Players from around the world will head to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas for 57 bracelet events and a host of side tournaments and cash games. Last year, the annual extravaganza topped the $1 billion mark in prize money during its 40-year existence. What will this year’s WSOP hold? Poker News Daily asked several of our writers and Guest Columnists for a few predictions.

We asked several members of our team – staff writer Dan Cypra, poker strategy guru Dan Katz, reigning National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Annie Duke, Cake Poker Card Room Manager Lee Jones, and tournament director extraordinaire Linda Johnson, Daily Deal host Sean Gibson, Canadian poker whiz J.D. McNamara, WSOP live reporter Brett Collson, and PND Editor Maria del Mar – to weigh in on the hot topics headed into the 2010 WSOP. Here’s what they had to say.

Prediction: The 2010 WSOP Main Event will have ___ entrants.

Dan Cypra: 6,202
Lee Jones: 7,000
Linda Johnson: 7,192
Annie Duke: 5,860
Dan Katz: 6,913
Sean Gibson: 6,454
Maria del Mar: 6,800
J.D. McNamara: 7,200
Brett Collson: 6,435

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: The nine of us are all over the map on this one. I’ve heard rumblings that attendance at the 2010 WSOP Main Event could be as low as 5,000 given fewer online qualifiers heading to Las Vegas, but Harrah’s officials have touted the large number of pre-registrations so far. Katz’s prediction is about what the Main Event’s attendance would have been last year if 500 players weren’t shut out on Day 1D.

Prediction: ___ women will win bracelets in open events this year.

Dan Cypra: 1
Lee Jones: 1
Linda Johnson: 1
Annie Duke: 1
Dan Katz: 0
Sean Gibson: 1
Maria del Mar: 2
J.D. McNamara: 0
Brett Collson: 1

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: It looks like Mike Matusow won’t be streaking down the Strip after all, which he threatened to do if three women won bracelets during the 2010 WSOP, including the Ladies’ Event. Unless del Mar is right…

Prediction: How will Full Tilt Poker pro Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad fare in her first WSOP? ___ bracelets, ___ cashes.

Dan Cypra: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Lee Jones: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Linda Johnson: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Annie Duke: 0 bracelets, 4 cashes
Dan Katz: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Sean Gibson: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes
Maria del Mar: 1 bracelets, 3 cashes
J.D. McNamara: 0 bracelets, 4 cashes
Brett Collson: 0 bracelets, 3 cashes

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: Only one of us picked Obrestad to win a bracelet, which is surprising. She is the darling of this year’s tournament series and will have media hype aplenty surrounding her. Obrestad recently made a splash by departing Betfair for Full Tilt Poker.

Prediction: Who will win this year’s scooter race, Doyle Brunson or Amarillo Slim?

Dan Cypra: Brunson
Linda Johnson: Slim
Annie Duke: Slim
Dan Katz: Brunson
Sean Gibson: Brunson
Maria del Mar: Brunson
J.D. McNamara: Brunson
Brett Collson: Brunson

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: This seemed like an obvious vote for Brunson, but maybe the two poker pros on the panel know something the rest of us don’t. Is Slim’s scooter turbo-charged this year?

Prediction: The player with most number of cashes will be ___ with ___ cashes.

Dan Cypra: Erik Seidel with 7 cashes
Linda Johnson: Phil Hellmuth with 7 cashes
Annie Duke: Phil Ivey with 9 cashes
Dan Katz: Daniel Negreanu with 7
Sean Gibson: Brandon Cantu with 7
Maria del Mar: Phil Laak with 8
J.D. McNamara: Jason Mercier with 7
Brett Collson: Jonathan “FatalError” Aguiar with 8

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: Once again, quite a bit of variety with our answers, but five of us agree that the person with the most number of cashes will have seven. Last year, Seidel had five cashes (including Ante Up for Africa), Hellmuth had six, Ivey had six, Negreanu had eight on U.S. soil, Cantu had three, Laak had none, Aguiar had three, and Mercier had four in Las Vegas.

Prediction: ___ will win the WSOP Tournament of Champions.

Dan Cypra: Annie Duke
Linda Johnson: Mike Sexton
Annie Duke: Obviously me, but if Huck Seed gets voted in, then him
Dan Katz: Jason Mercier
Sean Gibson: Joe Hachem
Maria del Mar: Phil Ivey
J.D. McNamara: Phil Ivey
Brett Collson: Allen Cunningham

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: A total of 27 players will compete in the WSOP Tournament of Champions. Duke and Sexton are former winners of the event.

Prediction: Will the Main Event winner be a known pro or an unknown player?

Dan Cypra: Unknown Player
Lee Jones: Unknown Player
Linda Johnson: Known Pro
Annie Duke: Unknown Player
Dan Katz: Unknown Player
Sean Gibson: Unknown Player
Maria del Mar: Known Pro
J.D. McNamara: Unknown Player
Brett Collson: Unknown Player

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: If recent history tells us anything, it’s that an unknown player will take down the Main Event. However, Ivey and Jeff Shulman gave known pros everywhere a glimmer of hope last year.

Prediction: ___ will win two bracelets.

Dan Cypra: Erik Seidel, Jason Mercier, and Faraz Jaka
Linda Johnson: Daniel Negreanu
Annie Duke: Chris Ferguson
Dan Katz: Daniel Negreanu
Sean Gibson: Daniel Negreanu
Maria del Mar: Phil Hellmuth
J.D. McNamara: Jason Mercier
Brett Collson: Erik Seidel

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: The panel continues to express its love for Negreanu and Mercier. Negreanu has won one bracelet since 2004.

Prediction: There will be ___ women at the Main Event final table.

Dan Cypra: 0
Lee Jones: 0
Linda Johnson: 0
Annie Duke: 0
Dan Katz: 0
Sean Gibson: 0
Maria del Mar: 1
J.D. McNamara: 0
Brett Collson: 0

Dan Cypra’s Thoughts: Duke finished 10th in the 2000 Main Event. Barbara Enright is the only woman ever to make the final table of the Main Event, doing so in 1995.

Prediction: What would you love to happen at this WSOP, but aren’t holding your breath for?

Dan Cypra: PND staking me into the Main Event.
Lee Jones: What I root for every year: a 40 year-old soccer mom from Des Moines taking down the whole thing. It’s Moneymaker, the redux, and women pour into the sport.
Linda Johnson: More tournaments that aren’t No Limit.
Annie Duke: A woman to make the final table of the Main Event.
Dan Katz: A non-poker celebrity making the final table of the Main Event.
Sean Gibson: I’d love to miraculously find the bankroll and time to play in my first ever WSOP event. If that doesn’t happen, I would love for a former WSOP Main Event champion to make the November Nine.
Maria del Mar: A random female online qualifier wins a bracelet and a ton of cash, does all of the talk shows, and gets more women playing.
J.D. McNamara: Me winning a bracelet.
Brett Collson: On May 31st, Barney Frank stands in front of thousands of poker players at the Rio and announces that the UIGEA has been overturned. After the announcement, Frank breakdances while Prahlad Friedman raps “In the Main Event.”