Tournament coverage Poker

Plenty to see at WSOP

Written by Pai Yao

This article first appeared in the May/Jun 2014 issue of World Gaming magazine.

For tournament poker players the world over, the annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) shimmers on the horizon like a desert oasis. While the birth of WSOP Europe in 2007 and WSOP Asia Pacific last year have made this famous series more accessible to the world, there is still nothing quite like the original and whether they be seasoned pros or aspiring amateurs, all players dream of winning a gold bracelet in the famous surrounds of Las Vegas’ Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino.

Now in its 45th year, the 2014 WSOP sees a number of notable changes to a schedule boasting 65 individual events – up from 62 in 2013.

Most important is the Main Event itself, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of the WSOP moving from Binion’s to the Rio by offering a US$10 million guarantee to the winner. To put that into perspective, only once before has the Main Event offered an eight-figure first prize with Jamie Gold taking home US$12 million in 2006 after 8,773 players sat down at the height of the global poker boom.

The biggest first prize since then was the US$9,152,416 Peter Eastgate won in 2008 but the US$10 million on offer this year is certain to add an extra element of anticipation to poker’s most coveted prize. It’s important to note that not everyone is pleased by the US$10 million guarantee. Many have pointed out that increasing the first place prize money in this way means the rest of the field – those who make the money at least – will have to take a financial hit in order to accommodate it. While this is true, the fact of the matter is that poker is waging an ongoing war against opponents of gambling and those who wish to demonize the game so any measures that encourage people to take a shot should be encouraged – even if it’s not completely palatable to the purists.

2014 also sees the return of US$10,000 Championship events. The WSOP has historically offered a US$10,000 buy-in “Championship” for all of the major poker variants but last year they dropped the entry for many of these to US$5,000, leaving just four US$10,000 events including the Main Event. This year common sense has prevailed and there will be 12 US$10,000 events covering everything from Hold’em and Omaha to Seven Card Stud, Razz, HORSE and Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball.

The 2013 final table. Eventual winner Ryan Reiss is fourth from the left.

The 2013 final table. Eventual winner Ryan Reiss is fourth from the left.

There is something special about a US$10,000 buy-in event and inevitably the fields are full of the very best exponents each discipline has to offer.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this year’s WSOP is the return of the world’s biggest buy-in tournament – the Big One for One Drop. With an entry fee of US$1 million, this charity event was last run in 2012 with Antonio Esfandiari topping a field of 48 players to take home the record US$18.3 million first prize. With the maximum field increased to 56 players this time around, the lucky winner can look forward to a prize of more than US$20 million in 2014!

Other events to keep an eye on include the US$1,500 buy-in “Millionaire Maker” – which attracted a staggering 6,343 players last year – and of course the US$50,000 Players’ Championship which is widely considered to be the truest test of a player’s all-round ability. Boasting a field of the highest quality, previous winners of this 8-game mixed event include Scotty Nguyen, Michael Mizrachi, Freddy Deeb and the man after whom the trophy is named, Chip Reese.

As always, WGM will bring you all the important results and information from the 2014 WSOP in upcoming issues as well as on our website at wgm8.com.

2014 WSOP Schedule
Event Date (m-dd) Tournament Buy-in (US$)
1 5-27 Casino Employees Event $500
2 5-27 Mixed Max NLHE $25,000
3 5-28 Pot Limit Omaha $1,000
4 5-29 NLHE $1,000
5 5-29 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball $10,000
6 5-30 NLHE Shootout $1,500
7 5-30 Razz $1,500
8 5-31 Millionaire Maker $1,500
9 6-01 NLHE $1,000
10 6-01 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $10,000
11 6-02 6-max NLHE $1,500
12 6-03 Pot Limit Hold’em $1,500
13 6-03 No Limit Draw Lowball $10,000
14 6-04 Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $1,500
15 6-05 6-max NLHE $3,000
16 6-05 Limit 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball $1,500
17 6-06 Seniors NLHE $1,000
18 6-06 Razz $10,000
19 6-07 NLHE $1,500
20 6-07 NLHE Shootout $3,000
21 6-08 No-limit hold ’em (three-day event) $1,000
22 6-08 HORSE $10,000
23 6-09 Turbo NLHE $1,000
24 6-10 6-max NLHE $5,000
25 6-10 Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $2,500
26 6-11 NLHE Championship $1,500
27 6-12 HORSE $1,500
28 6-12 Pot Limit Hold’em $10,000
29 6-13 NLHE $2,500
30 6-13 Seven Card Stud Hi Lo $1,500
31 6-14 NLHE $1,500
32 6-14 6-max NLHE $10,000
33 6-15 NLHE $1,000
34 6-15 Seven Card Stud $1,500
35 6-16 8-handed NLHE $5,000
36 6-16 No Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball $1,500
37 6-17 Pot Limit Omaha $1,500
38 6-17 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $10,000
39 6-18 NLHE $3,000
40 6-19 Heads-up NLHE $10,000
41 6-19 Dealer’s choice (16 games) $1,500
42 6-20 6-max Pot Limit Omaha $5,000
43 6-20 Limit Hold’em $1,500
44 6-21 NLHE $1,500
45 6-22 NLHE $1,000
46 6-22 Poker Players Championship $50,000
47 6-23 Ante Only NLHE $1,500
48 6-24 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $1,500
49 6-25 NLHE $5,000
50 6-25 Eight-game Mix $1,500
51 6-26 NLHE “Monster Stack” $1,500
52 6-26 Limit Hold’em $10,000
53 6-27 Ladies NLHE Championship $1,000
54 6-27 Pot Limit Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $3,000
55 6-28 NLHE $1,500
56 6-29 NLHE $1,000
57 6-29 Big One For One Drop $1,000,000
58 6-30 Mixed Max NLHE $1,500
59 6-30 Omaha Hi-Lo Split 8-or-better $3,000
60 7-01 NLHE $1,500
61 7-01 Seven Card Stud $10,000
62 7-02 Little One For One Drop $1,111
63 7-01 10-game Mixed $1,500
64 7-03 Pot-limit Omaha $10,000
65 7-05 NLHE World Championship (Main Event) $10,000