At the 2009 WSOP a one-off $40,000 tournament started the longest running poker festival in the world to celebrate the series’ 40^th anniversary. That particular event attracted 201 players and was eventually won by Vitaly Lunkin of Russia who netted $1,989,120.

This year Harrah’s, owner of the World Series of Poker, have introduced the $50,000 Poker Player’s Championship which will see some of poker’s elite battle it out over eight different poker variants. The games to be played are fixed-limit Hold’em, fixed-limit Omaha hi/lo split, Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud hi/lo split, no-limit Hold’em, pot-limit Omaha and 2-7 Triple Draw. Games will rotate every eight hands although the final table will be solely no-limit Hold’em.

Harrah’s have decided to use this tournament to replace the $50,000 HORSE event which attracted only 95 entries last year, down from 148 in 2008. Much of the blame for the reduced figures must go down to the decision to not air the final table on ESPN so many of the player’s sponsors refused to buy their players into the tournament. This mistake will not be repeated in 2010 as the final table of the $50,000 event will be broadcast by ESPN who have the rights to the WSOP for the next couple of years. Tournament poker videos of the event should also be available.

Another new tournament that is sure to draw in the crowds, especially the internet tournament specialists, is Event #52 – the $25,000 6-max no-limit Hold’em tournament. Each of the players will start with 75,000 chips and play to blind intervals starting at 150/300/25, increase every hour. The short-handed format should generate a lot of action and the coverage of the event should boost ESPN’s viewing figures as thousands will tune in to see some super-aggressive poker.

Aldridge had been getting the best of Cavella for quite a while at this point and Cavella needed to make a move to try and get back in the tournament. He looked down at K4 diamonds and liked his chances so he shoved in and got an instacall from Aldridge who had him dominated with KQ. The flop gave him a little hope with K99, but the board never matched or hit an Ace and this marathon was finally over. Aldridge takes down $428,259 for first and Cavella will take home $264,814 for second place.

Event #10 was another long day, 13 hours in all. This tournament had been moving much slower than the others. So much so that the last day was only supposed to be a final table, but they had to play from 18 because of the pace. In the end, Boukai would emerge as another first time bracelet winner. We are seeing a lot of new names emerge so far as the pros are having a very difficult picking their way through these massive fields of very aggressive players. Here is a recap of the last hand.

Bennani was on the button and made a pot limit raise. Bouakai came over the top to put him all in and Bennani made the call. Boukai was sittign on pocket 9’s, but Bennani had two live over cards with a JdQh. The flop was great news with AKQ and it looked great for Bennnani until Boukai hit a 2 outer on the turn with a 9d. To add insult to injury, an Ad hit the river and Bennani was sent to the rail. He collected $151,335 for second place and Boukai wins $244,862 and his first bracelet.

In other tournaments…

Event #11 has finished its day two with 25 players still remaining so they will have to come back a little early and play a long session down to the bracelet winner. Hellmuth was eliminated to his usual rant when he placed his faith in 66 and was not rewarded. Picking a name out of this one is like a blind draw, but Scott Hall has been playing great and is well within striking distance of the chip leader. Let’s see if he can make a move on the final day.

Event #12 is easily the largest field of pros that we have seen go this far in a tournament. In fact, the top position is held by Huck Seed and Todd and Doyle Brunson are nipping at his heels. When Seed has chips he is as good as they get, but nostalgia has to have you hoping that Doyle can get it done one more time.

Event #13 is still trudging along with 180 players left in the field. Chip counts were not yet posted for this event. Event #14 was also in its first day and this one has a surprising amount of eliminations being a limit tournament. Our guess is the players playing no limit hands in a limit game and donating their chips in pot after pot. This is another event that is stacked with top name pros as the game of limit is a little more than most No Limit players can adjust to. This should be a great day two.

The most notable of the early departures was Dario Minieri. While he has proven he has moxy in the WSOP, his claim to fame came via some impressive wins on PokerStars. He recently made an appearance in High Stakes Poker and got felted during the last installment of the season. His bad luck continued as he was chased fairly on in the action.

Another huge internet name that has already been sent to the rail is Steve “gboro780” Gross. While he has an incredible reputation as an online tournament player, his venture to high stakes live action was not so successful. He had the unfortunate luck of drawing an A9 to Doyle Brunson’s AQ and put Texas Dolly up over $200,000 in chips.

The kickoff event of the tournament is going to add almost $2,000,000 to someone’ bank account and you would have to think it is likely to be a big name player. While there are some amateurs in the field, this one is loaded with land mines called, Hellmuth, Chan, Brunson, etc…

With the size of the field, this tournament will be reminiscent of some of the older tournaments that the pros used to dominate. A lot of the luck factor will be taken out and skill should come out on top. With this being the second largest buy in of the tournament and more than likely being considered very prestigious due to its title and uniqueness (this is supposed to be a onetime anniversary event), you would have to think that every pro will be on their A game the entire time.

Another huge factor is that this is the first event any of these pros are playing in. Playing against Brunson on Day 1 of the entire event is going to be much different than facing him on Day three of the actual Main Event. My money is on the big boys for this one.

Stay tuned for more updates. We will post them as they come in.

The controversial final table delay of a year ago is back again, along with the addition and elimination of many other events. The decision to continue with the four month long delay has not come as a surprise to many, as the final table in 2008 saw an increase of 50% amongst Television viewers. The buzz and excitement apparent in the final table theater was something the poker world had never seen before.

Player’s looking to “buy” their way to a title through the re-buy events will be out of luck at this years WSOP. The re-buys have been completed eliminated from the competition. The WSOP committee’s goal in eliminating these events is to make the competition fair for everyone, regardless of their bankroll. Although these events have been eliminated, the addition of two new events that offer “no cost re-buys” will give the affect of a re-buy event. In these events, every player is awarded three add-ons, which come with the tournament entry fee. Players can choose when to add-on chips at any point, including the beginning of the tournament.

Those feeling the affects of the economic crisis will also be happy to see a $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em event. This is the first time since 2006 that the WSOP will feature an event with a buy-in below $1,500. Tournament representatives have stated, that although it is very difficult to estimate the number of entries for events, they believe this event could draw over 5,000 players; Which would mean the first place finisher could take down as much as $700,000 in prize money.

By far the event that has grabbed the most headlines and awaking professionals and amateurs alike on poker forums around the world is the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’Em event. Although officials have insisted that this event will not take the place of the main event as the “world championship,” many professionals, including Shannon Shor, Greg Raymer, and Daniel Negreanu have admitted that the bracelet winner for this event may represent the “best” player from the events. Many players are predicting a much smaller and talent rich tournament, compared to that of the main event.

In addition to the changes in events, tournament officials have also displayed a commitment to enhance the WSOP from the players standpoint, as well as from a viewers standpoint. Officials are already working to produce more affordable rooms at the Rio, as well as tying the payouts and structure of events to the number of entries. Tournament officials have also assured the public that they will work diligently to develop the final table presentation in a more detailed and effective manner. One tournament official assured that there would be more coverage of the heads-up action in particular, to the delight of players and spectators around the globe.

Whether you prefer satellites or posting your buy-in, secure your seats early, as this summers action promises to be as exciting as ever. Who knows, maybe you are the next World Champion! Until next time, get your money in the middle with the best of it!

$1,500 No-Limit Holdem – Last year this event was second on the schedule and ended up with almost 4000 entrants. That is right 4000, which made the prize pool a whopping $5.3 million. As it was early on the schedule the big names showed up eager to get the WSOP under way. Grant Hinkle was the eventual winner taking home more then $830 000, but notables like Chris Ferguson finished third, and Theo Tran finished at the final table in fourth. Making the final table of this event guaranteed you $83 000 and we can all agree that can be a life changing amount of money, even for finishing in the top 100 you could $5 000 plus.

$1,500 Pot-Limit Holdem – If no limit is not your thing, you can try your hand a pot limit game, last year they were back to back on the schedule. The pot limit event will have a much smaller field, 713 players last year, with less players comes a smaller prize pool. But you can still win a great amount of money, last year established pro David Singer won the title and $200 000 plus. You might see a lot of big names, but last year the likes of Tom McEvoy were in the field.

$1,500 No-Limit Holdem / Six Handed – If you like to play short handed games this might the tournament for you, there will be a maximum of 6 players at each table. Once again the field was relatively small last year, with just over 1200 players, but the eventual winner did take home more then $370 000. Commonly this would be a three day event and would appear early on the WSOP schedule, last year it was the ninth event.

$1,000 Ladies No-Limit Holdem World Championship – This ones just for the girls out there, but if you like the idea of matching yourself up against the best women in the world here is your chance. Over a thousand women played in the event last year, making the prize pool $1 million plus, with a winners take of close to $225 000. There is no doubt you will see some of the biggest names in women’s poker in attendance, ladies like Kathy Liebert, Evelyn Ng and Jennifer Tilly. This is World Championship event and will carry a lot of pride and prestige for the women who takes home the bracelet.

$1,500 Seven Card Razz - Well if you would prefer to expand upon your poker knowledge you give this game a try, although I don’t suggest it. If you are not familiar with RAZZ basically the low hand wins, and if want to try go right ahead. 453 players decided last year to invest there money in RAZZ and a poker super star came away with the bracelet, and that man was Barry Greenstein. If you actually enjoy playing RAZZ then this might be your way to get into the World Series of Poker for a cheaper price.

This is just scratching the surface, this list can go on and on. You see there is more then just the main event, your dreams can become a reality, for a much lower price tag. Not only that, but if you choose you can play in some satellites and try and gain entry the long way. We have all heard the stories of amateurs who make it big in the poker world, from Chris Moneymaker to Jamie Gold to Gerry Yang, you could be the next name on this list. Lets face it $1000 – $1500 is still a lot of money, but with some long term planning you can chase your dreams and sit along side the pros for your chance to win a World Series of Poker bracelet.

Barbara Enright is the first woman to ever make the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event. In 1995, Barbara Enright headlined a final tabled that featured Chuck Thompson, Captain Tom Franklin, and eventual champion Dan Harrington. It took an unlucky outdraw by Brent Carter to eliminate her from the event, but her legend remained.

Enright followed up her performance in 1995 by becoming the first woman to ever win an open event at the World Series of Poker. She took down the 1996 Pot Limit Holdem event for $180,000 and the coveted gold bracelet. This was her third overall bracelet. She won bracelets in the Women’s Seven Card Stud event in both 1986 and 1994.

Enright is known around the poker world for her ability as a stud player. In fact, many of her earlier tournament wins and cashes were in Stud. She has proven herself as a competent No Limit Holdem player as well, holding numerous cashes and 4 titles in No Limit Holdem. In 2007, Enright was inducted into the Professional Poker Hall of Fame with 11 time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

2008 has been a banner year for Enright. She has 10 cashes so far this year in tournaments, including 6 final tables and 3 wins. Earlier in 2008, Enright was inducted into the Women’s Poker Hall of Fame. A tournament was held as part of the induction festivities. Enright showed the field why she was in the Hall of Fame by winning the event.

I actually know Barbara from traveling around the tournament circuit and she is one of the friendliest professionals that you will ever meet. She can play every game inside of a casino and she plays them better than most men. Her friendly personality is not just an act she puts on either. Whether I see her in LA, Las Vegas, or wherever, she always is friendly to anyone that approaches her and is very gracious in either victory or defeat. Barbara also was gracious enough to teach me a thing or two about the game of Razz and her advice got me started on becoming a solid Razz player.

Some of us were sitting with Enright in the 2006 Orleans Open discussing the issue of Women’s Only No Limit Holdem events. Barbara spoke up and said that she enjoys playing in them for the fact that she can go in them and be very aggressive. She says that most women play the game too soft and that when a woman goes into a tournament and plays aggressive like a man, they can do very well.

Barbara Enright is an old school professional poker player that has been around the block quite a few times. Even at her age, she is more than a match for many of the players that she faces. Regardless of the fact that people claim poker to be a young person’s game, Enright proves that anyone at any age can play this game at a high level.