World Series of Poker Mania

Home
>
Casino & Gambling
>
World Series of Poker Mania

World Series of Poker Mania

The popularity of the World Series of Poker gained tremendous
momentum from The Travel Channel's World Poker Tour showings.
Although the event had been showing for a number of years on
ESPN, when new technologies such as the table camera were used,
television watchers began getting involved in the hands as they
were being played.

Other advancements will also take place since the purchase of
the World Series of Poker (WSOP) from Binion's in 2004 by
Harrah's. They will need them because of the sheer increase in
the number of players entering the tournament. In 2003 when
Chris Moneymaker won the title and $2,500,000, there were 839
entrants. In 2004 Gregory Paul Raymer became champion after
defeating 2576 players and was rewarded with $5,000,000. For
2005, the WSOP will be estimated to have over 7500 players
hammering each other for a top prize of $6,000,000. And most
of these will come from Internet poker rooms. A significant
number of online poker rooms will host online tournaments to
sponsor seats to the WSOP main event with buy ins that are
far less than the $10,000 fee.

The Internet will be instrumental in tournament poker because of
the 24/7 availability to play large numbers of hands that would
take months in just a number of days. This will allow experience
in the game to be gained much more quickly than one could gain
say 5 years ago. With the numerous poker games that are played
at the annual WSOP, (in 2004 there were 32), anyone can learn
and practice any game over the Internet in order to compete
for a WSOP bracelet and title.

Players come from all walks of life to play at the WSOP, both
male and female. But the makeup of the top performers has
changed. Aggressive players who understand areas of mathematics
in analytical professions will come out on top more and more.
No longer will champions be made up of just those who have
played poker for 20 to 25 years in order to build up razor
sharp instincts. This is why so many younger players are
being seen winning championship events. A number of newer
champions will be current college students.

For those who do not possess such knowledge, that will not stop
them from playing the game from a competition standpoint. Expect
more satellite tournaments at land based casinos to sponsor
seats to the WSOP in order to cash in on the poker craze. They
admit they don't make much from the tables, but what they make
on other sales and games from the players and the crowds they
attract, make poker something they will promote. Land based
casinos went from closing down poker rooms to opening them
up again and building new ones to handle the capacity.

You will still see familiar faces playing at the top of their
games like Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, T.J. Cloutier, Doyle
Brunson, Annie Duke and others. They are excited because even
though it is becoming tougher to win more tournament titles at
the World Series of Poker, overall they win more money because
of their level of expertise at the game. Players of this caliber
will stay contenders to be respected (and feared) at any final
table. The future of the World Series of Poker has an incredible
amount of potential with an estimated 50,000,000 poker players
in the United States alone. Keep your eyes open to see what
will happen next.

Tom Howze is a webmaster for 7 sites that relate to online gambling, World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour events and updates.

For more information, please visit 2005 World Series of Poker. He can be reached at webmaster@justgambleforfree.com for questions.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Automakers face skeptical senators on aid plan (AP)

AP - U.S. automakers drew fresh skepticism from lawmakers Thursday in a rocky confrontation over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they say they need to survive. Congressional analysts said one bailout plan under consideration would fall short of what the carmakers want.

India names Pakistani masterminds, date plot to 07 (AP)

AP - A Pakistani militant group apparently used an Indian operative as far back as 2007 to scout targets for the elaborate plot against India's financial capital, authorities said Thursday, a blow to Indian officials who have blamed the deadly attacks entirely on Pakistani extremists.

Suicide blasts kill 17 as Iraqi council OKs pact (AP)

AP - Suicide bombers killed 17 people including two American soldiers and wounded more than 100 in a string of blasts in two Iraqi cities Thursday as a timetable for withdrawing all U.S. troops won final government approval.

Calif. couple charged with torturing, abusing teen (AP)

AP - A California couple has been charged with kidnapping and torturing a 17-year-old boy police say they sometimes kept shackled in their home.

US mulls unusual tactic as Blackwater charges loom (AP)

AP - Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said.

Minn. teen girls charged in nursing home abuse (AP)

AP - Two teenage girls who worked at a nursing home have been charged with abuse, accused of taunting, spitting on and groping residents who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

Gun club, police chief indicted in boy's Uzi death (AP)

AP - Three men, including a small-town police chief, were indicted Thursday on involuntary manslaughter counts in the gun-fair death of an 8-year-old who accidentally shot himself in the head with an Uzi that a prosecutor said he never should have been allowed to handle.

Erik Estrada returns to Muncie for police patrols (AP)

AP - Erik Estrada has returned to Muncie to take part in overnight police patrols in the city where he starred in the short-lived reality series "Armed & Famous." The former star of the 1970s motorcycle cop drama "CHiPs" is a reserve officer on the Muncie Police Department.

NJ woman sues Pa. sports bar for toilet seat break (AP)

AP - A New Jersey woman is suing a Pennsylvania sports bar and restaurant, saying she got stuck inside a toilet bowl for 20 minutes when the seat broke. Kathleen Hewko, of Delran Township, said she was in the bathroom at Starters Pub in an Allentown suburb when the handicapped toilet seat she was sitting on cracked and dumped her into the bowl.

Avery has 3-hour hearing with NHL commissioner (AP)

AP - Sean Avery surged past camera crews and reporters Thursday, choosing to save his comments this time for NHL commissioner Gary Bettman during a three-hour disciplinary hearing. The Dallas Stars forward was suspended indefinitely on Tuesday just hours after he used a crude expression to describe former girlfriends now dating others while speaking to reporters.

Automakers face skeptical Congress on cash plea (Reuters)

Reuters - The top executives of the major U.S. automakers faced skeptical questioning on Capitol Hill as they pleaded for $34 billion in federal aid and warned of a possible collapse that would jeopardize millions of jobs.

AT&T cuts 12,000 jobs (Reuters)

Reuters - Top U.S. phone company AT&T Inc said it will eliminate 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its workforce, in a fresh wave of cuts to cope with an economic downturn that has exacerbated a decline in traditional phone sales.

Europeans make big rate cuts to fight recession (Reuters)

Reuters - The European Central Bank, Britain and Sweden all made big cuts in interest rates on Thursday to shore up economies across Europe in the face of ever-bleaker financial news.

Pakistan vows to hunt Mumbai attack plotters (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Thursday Pakistan had given assurances of its commitment to root out terrorism and round up anyone connected to last week's attack in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Iraq Presidency Council approves U.S. troop pact (Reuters)

Reuters - Iraq's Presidency Council has approved a security pact with the United States that paves the way for a complete U.S. troop pullout by the end of 2011, a spokesman for the council said on Thursday.

Russia's Putin makes warm overtures to Obama (Reuters)

Reuters - The United States will quickly feel a change in attitude from Moscow if President-elect Barack Obama transforms Washington's policies toward Russia, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday.

Thai king ill, misses much-anticipated speech (Reuters)

Reuters - Thailand's revered and influential king missed his traditional birthday eve address due to illness on Thursday, a speech many Thais had hoped would provide short-term relief to the country's intractable political crisis.

Arab-American hate crimes down since 9/11 (Reuters)

Reuters - Hate crimes against Arab Americans have decreased steadily since the September 11 attacks but are still more common than they were before the hijackings, a civil rights group said on Thursday.

European central banks slash interest rates to tackle recession (AFP)

AFP - Leading European central banks took historic action Thursday to ward off spreading recessions, slashing their key lending rates to boost businesses and consumers.

Bombers hit Fallujah as Iraq-U.S. pact endorsed (AFP)

AFP - Car bombers killed at least 15 people in a former rebel bastion on Thursday as Iraq's security pact with Washington won final approval before its launch at the end of the month.

World Series of Poker Mania

Casino & Gambling Casino & Gambling