High stakes mean high expectations for the World Series of Poker 67 tournaments. The major and most prevalent event in the world and in the poker industry, this year’s WSOP revealed some pleasing highlights that critics hope will repeat for next year’s edition.
Aside from the fact that over 50,000 players graced the entrants’ list this year, the overall flow of the event went well. It is obvious that this year the organizers decided to try out some new things, as tournament Director Jack Effel points out that the WSOP is in it for the long haul and sometimes things need to change.
Event Highlights
The opening weekend alone saw 22,374 entrants in the Colossus $565 buy-in event. The tournament managed to attract a record number of total players.
The organizers treated the Main event accordingly. With a pot that awards $7.6 million to the first place winner and a $10,000 buy-in, the starting festivities were up to par.
Talk ensued about the state of the bathrooms. With players and viewers alike overflowing the floor and inescapably the restrooms it was a miracle that attendants could keep up. Gold star for the service.
Quick changes were made at the behest of player feedback. Effel did admit that certain details were not exactly stellar, such as the quality of the playing cards. As many players were disappointed by the flimsiness of the cards, the WSOP organizers were quick to respond by changing them.
The Main Event honoured Kevmath, the famous Bluff magazine poker expert. Poker enthusiasts worldwide recognize and celebrate Kevin Mathers for the invaluable help he has given during his extensive career. WSOP was swift to observe this fact and the honour has not gone unnoticed by fans.
This year WSOP tried new events with the DraftKings 50/50 and a $777 buy-in bracelet event among the more mentionable. Also, their live reporting has improved and it was actually put together by WSOP organizers this year, as opposed to relying on PokerNews till now.
Two other memorable features were the great treatment with which the media was treated and the new Player of the Year system.