Unique 2014 WSOP Events

Year after year, I always feel very fortunate to play poker professionally. Each year, I participate in dozens of poker tournaments across the country and look forward to certain annual events such as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event. Over the last couple of months, I have played in two distinctive events on the tour: the WSOP National Championship and the WSOP Millionaire Maker. Both unique in their own ways, I highly anticipated playing in each of these tournaments and wanted to share my thoughts on each of them.

WSOP National Championship

Before the Moneymaker Effect in 2003, the WSOP main event was a very small elite field. In the 1990s, the main event averaged only 272 players, with the largest field occurring in 1999. That year, Irishman Noel Furlong outlasted a total field of only 393 registrants to capture the most coveted bracelet in poker, along with $1 million.

Players who participated before the turn of the century reminisce that they would know most of the players at the table. Dotted with the occasional unknown player taking their shot, the room was primarily filled with familiar faces in the world of poker.

In today’s poker landscape, it would be highly unusual to recognize the majority of the people at your starting table. Professional players would actually feel very unlucky if they recognized several players as they sat down.

However, at the WSOP National Championship, the room was made up of solid grinders from the WSOP Circuit and top players who bought in via WSOP Player of the Year (POY) standings. Having primarily played in tournaments in the post-Moneymaker era, I now know what it must have felt like to play in the WSOP main event before the 2003 poker boom. As I scanned the new Bally’s Atlantic City poker room, I was familiar with most of the players and prepared myself for battle.

In addition to recognizing most of the players, the field as a whole was extremely tough. Twenty-six players ponied up the $10,000 which included 2013 WSOP main event champion Ryan Riess, 2013 WSOP POY contenders Loni Harwood and Matthew Ashton, the final four of the 2012 WSOP main event, former November Niner Ylon Schwartz, World Poker Tour (WPT) champion Marvin Rettenmaier, WSOP bracelet winners Scott Clements and Athanasios Polychronopoulos. Needless to say, this tournament was far from a cakewalk. It was probably the hardest field I have played against since the 2011 $25,000 WPT Championship, which had a similar familiar feel with only 220 players.

After three hard fought days, 2012 WSOP bracelet winner Dominik Nitsche won his second bracelet, becoming the first non-WSOP Circuit qualifier to win the WSOP National Championship. Playing the final table outside on the famed Atlantic City boardwalk, Nitsche beat Polychronopoulos heads-up to take home more than $350,000.

As for me, I was surprisingly not very nervous entering the WSOP National Championship. However, I definitely felt a little more stressed than usual, as this was an incredible opportunity to fight for a WSOP bracelet against such a small field (126 to be exact).

Although disappointed to finish in 19th place (the event paid 15 places), I was pleased with my play. Having never been dealt A-A, K-K or Q-Q throughout the entire tournament, I was proud to have gotten so deep considering I never got any cards. After surviving a tough Day 1, I got off to a good start on Day 2, but couldn’t gain any momentum to make a deep run. Many players say that they would rather bust early in a tournament than play for hours and just miss the money. I differ with that sentiment, as I would rather have the chance and the experience.

Overall, the WSOP National Championship was a truly memorable and enjoyable event. I hope to battle during the 2014-15 WSOP Circuit season in order to qualify again for the 2015 event.

WSOP Millionaire Maker

While the WSOP National Championship is an invitation only event, the WSOP Millionaire Maker is open to anyone. Last year, the “Milly Maker” made its highly anticipated debut, guaranteeing a staggering $1 million for first prize. The turnout of 6,343 entries was astonishing, making it the largest non-main event in WSOP history, eventually won by Canadian Benny Chen for almost $1.2 million.

This year, every poker player eagerly awaited this astronomical tournament held on the first weekend of the WSOP held in Las Vegas. Many people believed that this distinctive event would break last year’s record, but the question was “by how much?” On Saturday, May 31, 2014, everyone found out, showing the world that poker is alive and well, even after 2011’s “Black Friday.”

This year’s “Milly Maker” registration not only crushed last year’s number, but at one point looked like it had a chance to become the largest event in WSOP history, potentially besting the 2006 WSOP main event, which had 8,773 entrants.

Although the 2014 “Milly Maker” came up just short, the event still became the second largest WSOP event in history with 7,977 entries. After four days of battle, Jonathan Dimmig of Amherst, New York captured the gold bracelet and first place prize money of more than $1.3 million.

As the first day began, the event was truly a historic sight as every tournament room at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino was bursting at the seams. Although it was a $1,500 buy-in, the preliminary bracelet event had a definite WSOP main event feel. The major differences, aside from the even more massive prize pool, was that each player started with only 4,500 chips instead of the main event’s 30,000 and the levels were an hour long, instead of the main event’s two hour levels. Thus, this tournament would reach the money much faster than the main event.

Nevertheless, one setting in particular eerily resembled the main event: the money bubble. With 819 players making the money, many people were frustrated, as we had to wait for extended periods of time for 92 tables to finish during hand-for-hand play. However, this situation is exactly what happens during the main event. Overall, I was able to utilize my experience to overcome another card dead tournament. Almost surviving Day 2, I was eliminated with 40 minutes left to go when my 6-6 ran into J-J, ultimately finishing in 213th place. Not a fantastic result, but I was pleased with my first cash of the 2014 WSOP.

Thus, if you are interested in experiencing a WSOP main event without the $10,000 buy-in, consider playing the $1,500 WSOP Millionaire Maker in 2015. And just maybe next year, it will be a record-breaking event. ♠

Bernard Lee is a poker columnist for ESPN.com, author of “The Final Table, Volume I and II” and radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which can be found on RoundersRadio.com or via podcast on iTunes. Lee has over $2.1 million in career earnings, five career titles including his recent WSOP Circuit victory in Black Hawk, Colorado and is also a team member of RunGoodGear.com. Follow Bernard Lee on Twitter: @BernardLeePoker or visit him at www.BernardLeePoker.com.