2011 World Series of Poker Just a Month AwayWSOP Communications Director Seth Palansky Talks about what to Expect this Summer at the Rio |
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Sometimes no news is news and that is certainly the case with the 2011 World Series of Poker. The 42nd annual version of the most popular poker tournament series in the world will be staged at the Rio in Las Vegas and the neither the schedule nor buy-ins will be affected by the events of Black Friday. “The reality is that the event’s schedule is set and will offer 58 gold bracelet events and there will be non-stop satellites and cash games,” said Seth Palansky, Communications Director for the WSOP.
Palansky went on to say, “We’re not impervious to outside influences but the World Series of Poker is in a unique position. It’s the largest most prestigious poker event in the world and that minimizes the impact that broader economic and regulatory issues have on the event. Players save all year long and plan their poker schedule around our tournament series. We have proved to be resilient in the face of challenges ranging from the passage of UIGEA to pronounced global recessions. It’s full bore ahead for us.”
The Setup has Settled in at the Rio to Maximize Space
The setup at the Rio will be exactly the same as in 2010, which means that there will be 380 poker tables available daily for tournaments, cash games, and satellites. “Anyone who came last year is going to see a vastly similar experience. The layout is exactly the same, and it is the first time we have been able to say that during our time at the Rio,” said Palansky.
There will be at least three mega satellites scheduled daily with $330 and $550 buy-ins, as well as single-table satellites all day and all night as interest dictates. The WSOP will also feature daily deep stack series events three times a day with buys-ins ranging from $135-$235, giving players an abundance of choices. “We were overwhelmed with the response to all of these things last year, from the cash games to the satellites to the daily deep stacks, so not only did we see a 20 percent increase in participation for bracelet events, but all of these other things grew exponentially,” said Palansky.
The WSOP staff has learned how to maximize the available space at the Rio since the event moved to the location in 2005, and the ability to run as many satellites as possible during the summer should soften the blow of Black Friday.
“The number one provider of entries into the WSOP via satellite is the Rio. The Rio conducted more than 7,000 satellite tournament last year. Second to those 7,000-plus is the WSOP officially licensed 1,723 additional entries,” said Palansky. He continued, “To us it’s very clear that if you were ranking the WSOP participants via satellite the Rio would rank first and the WSOP would rank second in terms of feeding players. We used to grapple with space features and that was something that really got fixed last year. The capacity to offer more live satellites has been one of the main reasons that attendance has done what it’s done at the WSOP the last couple of years and we expect that to continue.”
New Bracelet Events and Hard Stop Times for all Events
The 2011 WSOP will offer the largest number of bracelet events ever with 58 tournaments that will run from May 31-July 19. Bracelet events will feature triple starting stacks and similar blind structures to last year. A new development for 2011 is hard stop times for all tournament days that limit play at a maximum of 10 levels. “We took a real hard look at when all of the events ended last year and there weren’t many that went over 30 levels, which is how we built these things, three 10-level days to get to a winner. We thought it was important to get a hard stop time in there for everyone’s sake. People can plan accordingly better,” said Palansky.
A few tournaments have been added to the lineup this year, and none of those events is larger than the $25,000 heads-up no-limit hold’em event that will kick off the tournament series on May 31. “We were amazed by what our heads-up event did at the WSOP Europe. By offering it there with a £10,000 buy-in level it attracted all of the biggest names. We like to start off the WSOP with a small event, but a prestigious event as well,” said Palansky.
The other two tournament that were added for 2011 include a $2,500 six-handed 10-game mixed event and a $5,000 six-handed pot-limit Omaha event. “Short-handed play is becoming more popular. It is definitely a more popular game in general these days and it is our job to meet the popularity,” said Palansky.
It will be interesting to see what happens at the WSOP this summer; not only in terms of who wins the coveted gold bracelets but also in terms of how many players will be competing for those bracelets. One thing is clear, the World Series is prepared to host the event as planned and they will offer players as many opportunities as they can to play liver poker this summer in Las Vegas.
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