Day Two of WSOP Featured Even Longer Lines

Day two of the World Series of Poker again featured long lines of players waiting to register at for the $1,500 no-limit event, causing more than an hour delay to the start of the event that featured a record-breaking field of 2,998 players.

All those players made this the largest field in any live poker tourney that's not called the WSOP main event. The 2005 and 2006 main events are the only two live poker tournaments to attract more people.

But all those entries helped create such a large traffic jam of players that WSOP Director of Communications Nolan Dalla said there was a "near riot."

The event featured more than 400 alternates who had to spend the first several blind levels crowded in the hallways off to the side of the Amazon Room. This made for plenty pf disgusted players.

The long wait to register is the second day the problem happened. Some players had to wait in line for close to four hours, no matter if they showed up before the sun rose.

Even people who preregistered for the event online still had to endure the long wait as they were put in the same line as everyone and were not separated until they were about 20 yards from the Amazon Room's cage.

Meanwhile, the line started almost 100 yards away near the entrance to the convention center, where the Amazon Room is located.

Player Joe Faust, who flew in to Vegas specifically to play in the $1,500 event, woke up at 4 a.m. to try to avoid the long wait. By the time he was registered, it was past 7 a.m.

And despite registering that early, he still ended up on the alternate list and was herded into the hallway with the rest of the poker players anxiously waiting to have a seat.

"It was the worst conditions I've ever seen," Faust said. "They should have had an alternate plan."

Faust ended up only missing the first level, and said he was fortunate enough to double up twice almost immediately, negating the hour and a half wait he endured while players both raked pots and were knocked out.

"I feel sorry for the guys who didn't have that situation (of hitting hands early)," Faust said.

To the WSOP's credit, both Dalla and WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack took the blame for the line and new card debacle, Pollack in a very public way by addressing the players before today's $1,500 event.

Dalla called the situation a mess. He said that although it wasn't apparent earlier in the day, changes were made as far as adding staff to help with the crowds. By mid-afternoon, it seemed like the changes took hold, as the hallways were clear of lines and alternates as the tournament rolled along inside.

"I think we've we dropped the ball as we certainly should've handled the crowd management issues better," Dalla said.

The massive crowds and playing fields are a price that both the players and Harrah's pay (in the form of bad publicity and unhappy consumers) for the success and prestige of the WSOP, he said.

The popularity of the WSOP has changed the series forever, and Dalla said that although Harrah's believes it is doing everything it can to rectify the situation, the waits probably will become the norm for years to come.

"I think there was a crush of people that expected to walk and right to the game, but I'm sorry, that's not the way it works," he said.

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