Big bets and bracelets

Each year, thousands of poker players around the world shell out cash in order to register at the World Series of Poker. The World Series of Poker, or WSOP, is an annual poker tournament held at Las Vegas. The tournament consists of 55 events, wherein the winners of each event get to take home a considerable amount of money and the World Series of Poker bracelet. This is considered the most desirable prize a poker player can win, especially if it is won at the Main Event.

WSOP charity events

Then again, competing at the World Series of Poker does not always mean collecting bracelets. There are also non-bracelet events at the WSOP. While most of these are charity-related, still the competitive atmosphere is not to be outdone by the mainstream bracelet tournament. The non-bracelet events from the last WSOP included an Ante Up for Africa charity tourney wherein the final two players, Dan Shak and Brandon Moran, agreed to share first place and donate all prize money to charities in Darfur. Another non-bracelet event is the World Series of Rock Paper Scissors, an annual fundraiser for the “Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation.

World Series of Poker does Europe

The WSOP tournament is held at Las Vegas every year since 1970. However, in September 2007, WSOP championship events outside of Las Vegas were held. These were the events of WSOPE or the World Series of Poker Europe, the first expansion of the World Series of Poker. The events in WSOPE do not differ much to those of the WSOP. The only difference is that the minimum legal age for casino gaming in Nevada is 21 while the minimum legal age in the United Kingdom is 18. In fact, the youngest poker champion in WSOPE is Annette Obrestad who won before she turned 19.

There are no announcements yet but WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has indicated that another expansion of the World Series of Poker might be made. The two locations they are considering as possibilities are Egypt and South Africa.

Live WSOP coverage

Television coverage of the tournament is also given much attention. It began in the late 1970s when the WSOP was covered by CBS. In the late 1980s, the sport’s network ESPN took over the mass media coverage. Initially, they only broadcast a single one-hour coverage of the main event. Early coverage was primitive compared to what ESPN does now.

The Discovery Channel covered the WSOP in 2000 and 2001. In 2002, ESPN regained their positioned and took over again. Each year, ESPN was able to improve their coverage on the tournament. They included the “Featured Table” wherein the viewers could see the player’s hole cards and subsequent strategy. A great addition that helps viewers learn more about poker moves and betting behaviour.

WSOP goes mainstream

The hype on the World Series of Poker does not end on broadcast media. In 2003 and 2004 a DVD set was released by ESPN of the Main Event. In 2005, a video game based on the tournament, titled World Series of Poker, was released. A sequel called World Series of Poker: Tournament of Champions came out in 2006. In 2007, World Series of Poker 2008: Battle for the Bracelets was released. In 2007, a poker school aimed at providing poker players with the skills needed to win a WSOP Bracelet was created. The school was called the World Series of Poker Academy and branches were launched in Tunica, Mississippi, Indiana, and Las Vegas.

Of course, it is not only the monetary gain and the WSOP bracelet that makes the world’s best poker players gather every year nor is it the hype that the WSOP has gotten from sponsors and the mass media but the pride and prestige of being named the World Champion of Poker.

WSOP Prizes

Since Poker’s popularity increased in the 21st century after several online poker games where introduced, a lot of people are now interested in playing and betting on the game. It truly is a fun and exciting game, but more than anything, the reason why more people indulge themselves with it is to gain more money.

This year, the annual World Series of Poker will again take place in Las Vegas, expecting more championship hopefuls to bring home thousands of dollars, plus the WSOP bracelets.

If you are interested in entering the WSOP, either through buy-in or via your own poker sites promotions, the following are the Rules and Regulations of the WSOP Prizing:

1. Prizes and entries are non-transferable.

2. Winners are in-charge of the payment of all taxes and other fees that are required and related with the WSOP prizes.

3. Winners must bring and present their valid IDs (driver’s license, state or military ID’s) in order to collect the prizes. If the winner is not a U.S. citizen, he or she should present his or her passport, consular ID, or alien registration card.

4. Harrah’s (Harrah’s Operating Company, Inc.), the parent, affiliate and subsidiary of WSOP has the right to cancel or modify the Tournament at any time, for any reason, given that such modification shall not alter or change any prize that has already been awarded.

5. Non-value Tournament chips are used for the Tournament and are the exclusive property of Harrah’s and may not be removed from the Tournament area or the assigned Event. Players found to be transferring chips from one Event to another or from one player to another will be subject to penalty.

The main event of the World Series of Poker 2010 will kick off on July 5, 2010, with a brand new $50,000 buy-in Player’s Championship that will play out in an Eight Game format.

For more information on registering for the WSOP, check out our Registration page.