The main event is underway at the Rio in Las Vegas as we speak, but the next Poker World Championship is still a long way and many hours at the tables from being crowned. The main event kicked off with Day 1A last Friday, but the final table won’t be played until Tuesday, July 17.
The first two days of the main event drew a combined 2,832 players, and with approximately 1,600 players expected to come out for Days 1C and 1D, the organizers are estimating a field of around 6,000 players, give or take a few. For those keeping score at home, that total would be down from 8,773 last year.
Before the hordes gathered for the main event, there were at least a few noteworthy bracelet winners over the last month at the Rio. One of the first bracelet winners at this year’s WSOP was Tom Schneider, who won Event 5, the $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha/7 Card Stud Hi/Lo tourney during the opening week. Schneider became the lone double-bracelet winner at this year’s 2007 WSOP three weeks later, when he was the last man standing in Event 46 , the $1,000 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo. Schneider also made another final table this year and pocketed a combined $416,829 in prize money, and won the 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Award.
The richest winner at the 2007 WSOP heading into the main event was Bill Edler. The poker pro won his first WSOP bracelet and $904,672 after winning Event 45, the $5,000 No Limit Short Handed. Edler barely topped Burt Boutin by just over $3,000. Boutin won Event 7, the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha, and cashed in two other events to pocket $901,456.
The win that had everyone talking was Phil Hellmuth’s record-setting 11th WSOP bracelet. Hellmuth passed Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan after achieving his 11th WSOP victory in Event 15, $1,500 No Limit Hold’em. Hellmuth has been his usual consistent self at this year’s WSOP, having made two final tables and cashing six times.
The tournament with the smallest field so far at the 2007 World Series of Poker has paid out the biggest first prize. It helps that the tournament had by far the highest buy-in at this year’s WSOP, at $50,000. Aside from the $10,000 No Limit Hold’em World Championship main event, the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament is the tourney that every player at the WSOP wants to win.
Since the tournament has such a huge buy-in only a select few players can actually afford it. This year only 148 players were able to squeeze an extra $50,000 out of their bankroll. And even with the small field, the winner of the tournament received $2,276,832.
After five grueling days of Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Lo, Razz, Seven Card Stud and Stud Eight or Better, the last man standing was fan favorite Freddy Deeb. This was Deeb’s second career WSOP bracelet, as he had also won the $5,000 No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball event in 1996. The final table in the H.O.R.S.E. event lasted 14 ½ hours, and Deeb masterfully lasted that long despite not having the chip lead until heads-up play began between him and Bruno Fitoussi. The final hand of the tournament was played in Stud Eight or Better, and with Fitoussi forced all-in before the cards were even dealt, Deeb ended up winning the tournament with a lousy pair of fives.
While Deeb got rich busting out the smallest field the 2007 WSOP has seen so far, the latest $1,500 No Limit Hold’em event just broke a record for the largest non-main event field that had only been standing for three weeks. The third event on this year’s WSOP schedule had a field of 2998 players and was a record-setter. Late last week, 3151 players anted up the $1,500 for the No Limit Hold’em event and set a new record. The winner of the record-setting event was in for a $722,914 payday once the smoke had cleared.
The WSOP officials have been taking notice of the large turnouts and as a result have added an extra Day 1 to the $10,000 main event. Monday, July 9 was supposed to be a day off, but instead is now Day 1D of the main event. Last year’s main event drew 8773 players and this year’s number may actually be on par with that, despite initial predictions of a much lower number.
