The World Series of Poker started earlier this week and has gained enormous publicity. The event has witnessed large crowds from players, to tourists as well as those who wanted to visit merely to get a glimpse as to what all the hype was about. While the halls at the Rio were not packed to capacity, there was a huge influx of people who were eager to check out the tournament as well as the number of players and celebrities who were present.
The first couple of days saw over 200 players take part in numerous games but the most popular of them all was a $5,000 eight-handed no-limit hold’em tournament that took place in the Amazon room.
The scene for the first couple of days at the World Series of Poker was perfect for tourists and fans who wanted to sightsee. There was a lot of excitement in the air as those who battled it out on the first day, stood a chance to win $553,906 later on. Those who managed to survive the first day, headed off to the Brasilia Rooms to try their first $1,000 buy-in tournament. A number of familiar poker pros managed to get through.
Over the weekend, the number of amateurs who are in the tournament is expected to reduce drastically as they take part in the main event which is scheduled to be held on Saturday. Called the “Millionaire Maker”, this is a $1,500 buy-in which is expected to attract some of the top poker professionals in the world. Reports suggest that this tournament could very well turn out to be as big as the annual world championship which generally takes place on the 4th day of the WSOP.
There is no doubt that this unique Millionaire Maker event has brought a lot of publicity as well as a lot of players who want to try their luck at the event. One of the main reasons for the attraction, Stewart said is that the tournament has an extremely high return on investment. The WSOP gives players the opportunity to get over a 600 times return on their buy-in.
In a statement, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said
One of our big goals over the past few years has been to kick off the series with a bang. Everyone wins — cash-game players, tournament players, satellite players, the city — when there’s more action from the start. I can promise you you’re going to want to stay longer
