So far it seems that the 2009 World Series of Poker could not have gotten off to a better start! Four tournaments have begun and three records have been broken. In Event 2, the $40k buy-in 40th Annual No-Limit Hold’em Event, the record for largest prize pool outside of a Main Event was broken at $7.7 million. Event 3, the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo 8-or Better Split tournament, broke the record for most entrants ever in an Omaha tournament at 918. And now Event 4, the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em event, which has been dubbed the “Stimulus Special” has broken the record for most entrants in any tournament outside the Main Event. The event sold out yesterday at 6,000 entrants.
Event organizers were hopeful that the Stimulus Special would attract a lot of players who may not otherwise take the opportunity to play in a WSOP event. However, even they were not completely prepared for the crowds of people who wanted to buy-in to the tournament. They have had to make room for additional players by using every space available, even a seafood restaurant in the Rio Hotel.
With as many people as have signed up for the tournament, though, you would think they might want to stick around a little longer. Players were eliminated from Day 1A at an incredible rate of 4.36 players per minute! In all, 2,616 players were eliminated in the first 10 hours of play. Day 1B starts today at noon local time, where the other half of the entrants will do their best to make it on to Day 2.
Even though the Stimulus Special featured such a bargain buy-in, it did attract some of the biggest names at the World Series, including Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, and Shaun Deeb. Another player getting some attention on Day 1A was none other than rap star Nelly. Their fame didn’t seem to help, though, as none of these players made it through the furious action that was Day 1A of the Stimulus Special. Be sure to check back later at FTR for more updates from this very interesting World Series no-limit event.