We’re just two days away from the start of the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). The game’s elite and a host of amateurs will descend upon Las Vegas on Friday to capture one of 57 bracelets up for grabs and claim riches in a slew of cash games and side events. The Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino will serve as the epicenter of the poker world until July 17th.
The first two days promise to feature record-setting fields and a high caliber of poker talent. On Friday at Noon PT, the annual $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em tournament will begin. Last year, 866 players turned out for the contest, with Andrew Cohen emerging victorious for $83,000.
Starting at 5:00pm PT on Friday is the first ever running of the $50,000 Player’s Championship, which will air as part of ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 WSOP. Entrants will test their prowess at Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. The tournament is the most expensive on the 2010 WSOP slate.
Last year’s $50,000 HORSE Championship, which the Player’s Championship replaces, attracted just 95 players. David Bach defeated John Hanson heads-up and banked $1.2 million. Also making the eight-handed final table were Vitaly Lunkin, Huck Seed, Chau Giang, and 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship runner up Erik Seidel. The HORSE Championship will revert to a $10,000 buy-in this year.
On Saturday, the first of six open $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em events will kick off. In 2009, the WSOP featured the Stimulus Special, a $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournament that attracted 6,012 players. Twenty-four year-old Steve Sung from California emerged victorious and earned $771,000 for the win. The Stimulus Special attracted the largest non-Main Event field in WSOP history, crushing the previous record by 53%.
Each open $1,000 buy-in tournament features two starting days. Besides May 29th to 30th, other $1,000 events will kick off on June 5th and 6th, June 12th and 13th, June 19th and 20th, June 26th and 27th, and July 1st and 2nd. Each event is scheduled to stretch for four days, although Harrah’s officials noted that the tournaments might take an extra day to complete depending on the field size.
This year, the Rio Pavilion, the site of the former Gaming Life Expo and PokerPalooza, will add 58,000 square feet of gaming space to the WSOP’s inventory. Across the hall, the Amazon Room will house restarts and final tables. Only two rooms will be used and all bracelet ceremonies, which feature the national anthem of the winning country being played, will pan out in the Pavilion. No Expo will take place in 2010, although interactive exhibits will line the halls of the Rio Convention Center throughout the entire duration of the WSOP.
Four events are on deck for the 2010 WSOP’s opening weekend. Here’s what poker players have to look forward to come Friday:
Friday, May 28th at 12:00pm PT
Event #1: Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em
$500 buy-in
Friday, May 28th at 5:00pm PT
Event #2: The Player’s Championship
$50,000 buy-in
Saturday, May 29th at 12:00pm PT
Event #3: No Limit Hold’em
$1,000 buy-in
Sunday, May 30th at 5:00pm PT
Event #4: Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better
$1,500 buy-in
The Main Event begins on July 5th with the first of four starting days. It will play down to a nine-handed final table on July 17th before being paused until November.
