It’s now 2008 and there are many players who are just itching to earn themselves their next, or perhaps first, bracelet. There is a lot of talk about Hellmuth’s recent performance the last few years, and pro’s such as Allen Cunningham who has won at least one bracelet for the past three years. However, with things being a little different this year, many pro’s may be focusing on other prestige.
Incase you missed it, the WSOP 2008 schedule was released in mid December of 2007. To see the schedule and also opinions on it, please click here to view the previous post. To summarize, there introduced now 9 World Championship events, with a $10,000 buy-in (the HORSE is still $50,000) for every game they offer. Of course it has mixed emotions, but it is going to create a lot of commotion among the players. Not only will people be shooting to add bracelets to their records, but now World Championship bracelets. I can’t even imagine the self pats on the back if someone like Phil Hellmuth were to win one of these….
As for the countdown, it is now January 16, and the WSOP kicks off in 135 days on May 30. Event 1 is the first ever World Championship event for Pot-Limit Hold’em, and I am sure this $10,000 buy-in will see a lot of players. Being that is is still 4 months away (which believe me isn’t as long as it seems!), you don’t have to actually wait that long if WSOP history is what you’re trying to make. From now until May 21, there are hundreds of circuit events you can participate in to cure your WSOP itch.
The WSOP Tunica circuit event is currently under way at the Grand Casino, and the championship event will start on January 19th. In total there will be 22 events ran at the Grand Casino. Circuit events are also a great way for new players to “wet their feet” if they aren’t ready for the $10,000 buy-ins. There are many $200, $300, $500, and $700 tournaments of all forms of poker held at every circuit event. Event 1 at Tunica this year was a $300 buy-in which hosted 781 entrants, awarding the eventual winner Howard Reid $58,500 and some WSOP confidence! If you are working your way up, these are great tournaments to enter. Also, if you’re seasoned and don’t want to mess with these “micro-limits” all the championship events for every stop on the circuit have at least a $5,000 buy-in.
Once the Tunica events are over, the circuit moves to the Harrahs Casino in San Diego for another 23 events over 10 days, ending with the $5000 Championship. Other casinos and locations after this include the Horseshoe in Council Bluffs, Iowa, Caesars Palace in Atlantic City, Indiana, and Las Vegas, and also Harrahs in New Orleans. The WSOP circuit moves all over the US, so it could be coming to your city next! For a complete schedule on the circuit events, check out the World Series of Poker website (www.worldseriesofpoker.com).
As we move closer to May 30th and kick off of WSOP 2008, the news and talk will start to get more frequent. I can’t wait to hear the stories, bad beats, sick prop bets, and everything else that only the World Series of Poker can offer!