World Series Of Poker 2016: Ones To Watch

Get ready for the crinkling of chips, the designer shades and verbal repartees thrown across the felt as liberally as the cards. The 2016 World Series of Poker is officially upon us until July 18, with swarms of poker’s greatest talents flying into Vegas for non-stop poker action at the Rio.

This year’s schedule has now been announced, with a host of new features including new tournament times and a first-ever Crazy Eights event by 888Poker with a buy-in of $888 and guaranteed payout of – you guessed it – $888,888. The stakes are high and the potential massive, but precisely who will take it on?

Although registration is still in full swing, our bets are hedged on certain showstopping amateurs from last year pulling in another appearance, not to mention those all-star professionals who never cease to bring their shrewd play and electrifying table talk to the game. And if last year’s fireworks were anything to go by, we’re in for a treat with 2016 WSOP—here’s why.

Neil Blumenfield

The 61-year old amateur Blumenfield of San Francisco rocked up to the 2015 WSOP and played the Main Event like a pro. He took calculated chances, fearlessly risked his chips and got consistent reads on his opponents, steamrolling into the November Nine. His huge $7 million bluff against Joe McKeehen showed a distinct nonchalance to the latter’s big stack, making the eventual champion sweat bullets. Fedora-wearing Blumenfield encapsulates the best of the classic breed of poker players and has the poker face to go with it. Has he got the potential to make it to the final table for a second time?

Daniel Negreanu

When he joins a table, the crowds cheer. The veritable upstart of the professional poker world, Canadian Negreanu is prone to jumping into position and busting the talent. Loquacious, calculating but intensely likeable, DNegs will drop the act and fold gracefully when he needs to – although he won’t hesitate to bring the table down if luck is on his side, which it often is. One standout aspect of his play is an uncanny ability to get a perfect read on opponents: last year, he notoriously announced Justin Schwartz’s cards during Main Event—and then called anyway, losing $1.3 million in the process and his place in the November Nine.

Kelly Minkin

A grand total of 220 women participated in last year’s WSOP, making up just 4% of total entries. It therefore became high symbolic when attorney and poker amateur Kelly Minkin landed on the final table on Day 7 – the last time this happened was back in 1995 by editor-in-chief of Women Poker Player magazine Barbara Enright. Minkin’s Mona Lisa smile kept the big rollers at bay as her premium hands saw the table fold to her time and time again, although she insists that she is not interested becoming a full-time professional. Quite the opposite, as she explains in an exclusive interview with Card Player: “The people at my work think it’s an advantage that I have skills in poker that I can relate to my job as an attorney.” Rather than making big plans, the secret of success seems to be her endurance: focusing on the game at hand rather than being overwhelmed by the bigger picture. Total earnings to date: $289,743.

Justin Schwartz

New Yorker Schwartz is poker’s equivalent of Vegemite: either you love him or you hate him. The ultimate anti-hero of poker typifies the young, upcoming generation of players: stingingly direct, brusque with phenomenal stamina. The way that this surly online poker pro flaunts his provocative table character and openly talks about growing up in the school of “hard knocks” makes for some intensely compelling game play, especially given that every apparent random he says during a hand is calculated down to the last detail. When Joe McKeehen knocked him out last year at the Main Event with a river card that couldn’t save him, Schwartz coolly walked out of the Rio with the parting words: “I don’t give handshakes, people.”

Federico Buttoroni

Every tournament sees Italian native Buttoroni ruffle feathers for his painstakingly slow game play: the “Clock” as he is known in inner circles is notorious for taking his time to make decisions, although they often turn out to be the right ones. Last year he made it to the final table before being eliminated at 8th place, with total earnings totalling over $1 million. A chance to be seated next to his idol Daniel Negreanu proved the perfect moment for him to drop the question: “So which fish am I?” to which Negreanu retorted with characteristic wit: “No fish. I see a shark.”

The WSOP is always peppered with personalities whose exchanges are as integral to the game as their play and the outcomes. With the gates wide open to anyone to register, we can guarantee memorable moments from the above five showstoppers but also plenty of drama, surprises and a whole lot of compelling viewing from the rest. Stay tuned!

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