The 2007 World Series of Poker Starts Today

Today marks the first day of the 2007 World Series of Poker, the gorilla of all poker series and the one in which players of every skill level and pedigree fantasize about performing their best. With 55 bracelet events, there are more chances than ever for players to come out of the WSOP with a prize they could show off to their grandchildren.

The money that comes with the bracelet isn't so bad either. Last year, more than $171 million was won through 41 events and the WSOP generated more than 48,000 player registrations. Last year's champ, Jamie Gold, won $12 million for running through the largest field in WSOP history, an amount that probably won't be matched this year for a number of reasons.

Nobody knows how many players will enter this year's main event. About half the field of last year's main event won their way in through online satellites, a number that's expected to be smaller this year thanks to the U.S. government. Many sites stopped doing business with U.S. customers after the president signed the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. Industry estimate say that before the UIGE Act, about 80 percent of the world's online poker players and gamblers lived here.

That said, the publicly traded sites that left - PartyPoker being the largest - have shifted their marketing resources to target players from all over the world. Qualifiers at PartyPoker, which is the official online site of the WSOP (the company's play money site, PartyPoker.net, that is) have been taking place for months now and none has been open to players located in the U.S.

In perhaps a sign that Harrah's feels more international players will be at the year's WSOP than in past years, it formed an International Players Council to tackle the concerns of players outside the U.S.

That's not to say that plenty of players who live in the U.S. will not have qualified through online sites. Through PokerStars, the largest U.S.-facing site, 912 players have already qualified for the main event. Full Tilt already qualified 127 players to the main event, and many more to the preliminary bracelet events. Sites like Bodog and Absolute Poker have also been running satellites constantly since the beginning of the year, and they're running right through June at all the sites.

Check back tomorrow for an article on ways to qualify for WSOP events online.

Also, Harrah's, the parent company behind the WSOP, changed the payout structure this year to give more people who make the money a bigger payout. If the payout structure was the same last year, Gold would have taken home only $10 million.

Only.

Storylines

Last year had quite a few: Phil Hellmuth winning his tenth bracelet, Chip Reese taking down the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E event, Jeff Madsen exploding onto the poker scene, Allen Cunningham winning a bracelet and then nearly the main event, William Chen winning two bracelets, Gold's fantastic run of cards during the main event, and the sheer number of entrants and money involved. But those were only the stories generated from the tournament floor.

There was Phil Laak jumping out of an airplane after he was knocked out of a promotional poker tourney. There were Pam Anderson and Doyle Brunson sharing a stage, both at a press conference announcing the launch of the now-defunct Pamela's Poker Room and at Brunson's roast (during which a sign fell from the ceiling and bopped her in the head). There was Ron Jeremy nearly falling asleep during the main event. There was Joe Sebok dressed like Wonder Woman and the Bodog girls pillow fighting in negligee.

Somewhere out there, right now, there is another Jeff Madsen sitting at home, figuring out how to get into a WSOP event. He or she may not even be 21 yet. The gaming expo at which the Bodog girls competed for attention with girls on roller skates, girls in bathing suits, and formal dresses will still be held, but it should be a little more subdued thanks to the UIGE Act.

Great performances at the poker table will happen. Hellmuth will try his hardest to win his eleventh bracelet (and he'll probably do it). Gold will be back to defend his title, as will many of the former champions, including 2001 champ Carlos Mortensen (who just won the World Poker Tour championship), 1995 champ Dan Harrington, 1998 champ Scotty Nguyen, 2000 champ Chris Ferguson, 2003 champ Chris Moneymaker, 2004 champ Greg Raymer, 2005 champ Joe Hachem, among many, many others who may have not won the main event, but are poker superstars and look to win the biggest poker prize of the year.

And it all starts today with the dealer's event and the $5,000 mixed limit hold'em event.

Hallelujah.

Please click here for the entire WSOP schedule, here to view last year's bracelet winners, and here for CardPlayer.com's page dedicated to the WSOP. Be sure to keep your browser centered on CardPlayer.com for stories, reports and video pieces about the WSOP.

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