The World Series of Poker kicked off its 40th tournament Thursday in downtown Las Vegas at the Rio hotel and casino. The WSOP has become a great tradition where poker amateurs and legends engage in the opportunity to find fame and fortune through the timeless game of poker. With a $40,000 entrance fee this tournament is definitely not your average weekend game with the boys. The winner of this year’s main event will earn 12 million dollars, a WSOP bracelet and the prestigious title of champion.
Last year’s champion Peter Eastgate was the youngest winner in WSOP history. The 22-year-old player form Denmark dropped out of college to play poker full-time and has won a total of nearly 10 million dollars doing so. What’s most surprising is that Eastgate considers himself an avid online player and can be found at high-stakes tables on the website PokerStars. More and more professional players can be found online as the internet poker community grows larger.
Some familiar faces who entered the tournament is show-stopper Phil Hellmuth, poker legend Doyle Brunson, token female player Jennifer Harmon and fan favorite Daniel Negreanu. Newer to the scene are young players who have been introduced to the game through popular online poker sites like Full Tilt. With the explosion of internet poker and national television coverage, the WSOP has attracted and drawn positive attention to Las Vegas the game of poker at large. With 58,000 players in 55 events, this year’s seven week tournament will surely be one to remember.
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