The doors of the World Series of Poker 2010 have opened at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and the games have begun! The 41st edition of this prestigious event features 57 tournaments including the well-known ‘Ante Up for Africa’ charity tournament. This tournament always attracts famous poker players and raises a lot of money for this good cause.
The WSOP festivities started with the ‘Casino Employees’ Tournament on May 28th, followed by the first of seven popular $1,000 buy-in tournaments of the series and a $50,000 Poker Player Championship Event. A total of 116 had registered for the Championship event with many well-known faces present like Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen and Noah Boeken.
The schedule for the World Series of Poker 2010 is packed until July 17th when the series concludes. Like recent years, however, the anticipation is on for the winner to be named at the WSOP 2010 Main Event in November.
Since the first day, many famous poker faces have been seen at the tournament tables like Phill Hellmuth, Tom Dwan and many others. Plus, the expansion and improvements that have been made to the event have been being met with rave reviews. Here’s what some players are saying:
Chris Moneymaker (2003 World Champion) – “It’s incredible how big the WSOP has gotten. I remember back when I won it. The ceilings were low. You could smell smoke everywhere. You couldn’t even move around because there were so many people. Now, it’s very spacious. Harrah’s has done a fantastic job of spreading things out and giving the players plenty of room to play and move around. It’s really incredible to see how big the WSOP has become. It’s insane.”
“Amarillo Slim” Preston (1972 World Champion) – “I came in this morning and I thought the U.S. Marines had landed. This is the biggest (expletive deleted) room I’ve ever seen. I’ve got 40 acres of red hogs, but I sure as hell haven’t ever seen a building like this before.”
Jack McClelland (WSOP Tournament Director from 1984 through 1998) – “It looks like they finally got it right. It’s beautiful. The setup is near perfect. I remember when (the WSOP) was my baby for 15 years. Now, I feel like a proud uncle looking at all this. I’m very happy. It looks super.”
Thor Hansen (Two-Time WSOP Gold Bracelet Winner)– “My reaction is that the WSOP gets nicer and nicer each year. This is very good from what I have seen, so far. I remember when this tournament was just a couple of tables at the old Horseshoe and now to see this -- it’s going to be great this year.”
PlayingExpert.com is keeping a close eye on the World Series of Poker events this year and will keep you up to date on what is happening at the biggest and best WSOP yet. Plus, learn more about the hot game of poker in PlayingExpert.com's poker section.
