World Series of Poker Off to a Great Start

The 37th-annual World Series of Poker has finally gotten under way at the Rio in Las Vegas, and all signs indicate that this year is going to be huge.

First, the WSOP couldn't have gotten off to a better start. Harrah's ran its exclusive invitation-only Tournament of Champions tournament before the first bracelet event. It featured 27 players, including WSOP Tournament Circuit event winners and the 10 players who made the 2005 WSOP main-event final table.

With a field filled with superstars like Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, and Gus Hansen, the action was fast and furious, but it was one of the original founders of the event who took home the $1 million first prize.

Mike Sexton, the "Ambassador of Poker," outlasted the field and bested Negreanu after a lengthy heads-up battle to take home the title. The man known to millions around the world as the World Poker Tour host took down the first-place cash and, in true Sexton style, donated 50 percent of his winnings to charity. Sexton is truly a great spokesperson for the sport and an excellent player, as well.

The 2006 World Series of Poker officially kicked off with the casino employees no-limit hold'em tournament. The first bracelet event on the WSOP calendar drew 1,233 entrants, smashing last year's record number of 663. As a result of the record turnout, the two-day event (June 26-27) boasted a $554,850 total prize pool. Chris Gros, a poker dealer from Caesars, took home $127,616 and earned the distinguished honor of being the first bracelet winner of the 2006 World Series of Poker.

The first "open" event of the WSOP, the $1,500 no-limit hold'em tournament, got under way with the second-largest field in WSOP history; 2,726 players began the first day of the tournament in their quest for the first-place cash of $757, 839. The total prize pool was $3,789,240. It is always an impressive sight to see all of the tables in the tournament room filled with players.

Two pieces of history have already been made this year at the Rio. Greg Raymer became the first person to cash in the five tournaments that have featured fields of more than 2,000 players after he finished in 63rd place in the $1,500 no-limit event. Not to be outdone, Phil Hellmuth reached another major poker milestone by tying Men "The Master" Nguyen for the WSOP record number of cashes at 49 with his money finish in the same event.

If the tournament's first events are any indication, the Rio will be slammed with players and fans, and many great poker stories will unravel this year.

Here's one last thing: For the WSOP, CardPlayer.com has launched some new tools in our tournament section. Our new chip-count graph, which includes historical and trend information, enables viewers to track a player's progress in an event. Not only does this give the viewer a better idea of the ups and downs that a player experiences in an event, it also provides a useful statistical tool for players to track how they play at a particular stage in a tournament.