The 2018 WSOP starts in less than 2 weeks, so I thought it'd make sense to have a thread for general WSOP news & related stuff.
Hopefully,
@FCHD will grace us with his usual, superb, daily results & Updates thread, so this thread won't cover any of that.
If you have any questions or comments, fire away.
Those lucky enough to be attending, perhaps as a Sky Poker SPT Las Vegas qualifier, may be particularly interested, but the vast majority of players are not lucky enough to attend, but still like to follow all the WSOP news & goss.
Off we go then.
Comments
Slight changes this year to buy-in, reg fee, & starting chips, as below;
Each of the four deep stacks will start players with 5,000 more chips than they did last year. The buy-ins have increased in three of them, reducing the percent raked. The 2 p.m. deep stack is now at 1 p.m. and the 5 p.m. is now at 4 p.m. Daily Deep Stack Schedule:
1 p.m. - $250 No-Limit Hold’em
4 p.m. - $200 No-Limit Hold’em (Big Blind Antes)
7 p.m. - $365 No-Limit Hold’em (Accelerated Format)
10 p.m. - $150 No-Limit Hold’em (Big Blind Antes and Accelerated Format)
These Daily Deepies run every day (or almost every day) during the WSOP, & attract huge fields by the standards of "Live" Tournaments.
It really is quite a sight to see the packed Pavilion Room every afternoon, just imagine being part of this;
By the way, that room above is just one of several rooms in place, others include Amazon, Brasilia & Miranda.
The sheer scale of it all is amazing.
Big Blind Ante: There will be eight events at the 49th Annual World Series of Poker that will use the big blind ante format. This format is new to the WSOP and is designed to help speed up the game. In this format, instead of each player anteing before the hand, only the player in the big blind will ante. For this format, the ante will be equal the big blind for all tournaments and all levels that an ante is in play. In addition to the eight gold bracelet events that will use the big blind ante format, the 4 p.m. $200 deep stack and 10 p.m. $150 deep stack will also use big blind antes.
Shot Clocks will feature in 3 Events, too, though I doubt too many of us will be playing those events - look at the Buy-Ins.....
Shot Clocks: In addition the big blind ante format being used to speed up the game, shot clocks will also be introduced for the first time at the 49th Annual World Series of Poker, but to a lesser extent. Three events will use shot clocks—Event #5: $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, Event #77: $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller, and Event #78: The Big One for One Drop - $1,000,000 No-Limit Hold’em.
For any Brits playing any WSOP events, please note this;
ID Verification Requirements: Any person providing a U.S. Passport for identification must provide a secondary, unexpired governmental ID verifying their physical address such as a valid driver’s license. (No changes from previous for International Passport holders, meaning separate address documentation still required).
For High Rollers, there will even be a High Roller series every weekend in the Kings Lounge, which is sponsored by Kings Casino, the place owned by that interesting character, Leon. The Kings Lounge occupies a corner of the Pavilion.
King’s Lounge High Roller Series: King’s Lounge will be hosting a high roller series that consists of $25K buy-in and up tournaments that will run every weekend from Friday, June 1 to Sunday, July 8. All tournaments part of this series are one-day events. The King’s Lounge is located in the Pavilion Ballroom. High Roller Series schedule:
Fridays at 8 p.m. - $25,000 No-Limit Hold’em
Saturdays at 8 p.m. - $25,000 Pot-Limit Omaha
Sundays at 8 p.m. - $50,000 No-Limit Hold’em
The Kings Lounge is well nice, posh seats & everything;
Here's a quick quiz for you, name 4 of these players seen here in Kings Lounge last year;
There will even be an area for ESports this year. I'd explain what ESports were if I had the faintest idea or even the slightest modicum of interest. But I don't.
The World Series of Poker is partnering up with UMG Media Corp. to bring competitive gaming to the WSOP for the first time ever. WSOP players and spectators will have the opportunity to compete in a variety of gaming titles including Fortnite, Hearthstone and FIFA along with other popular titles on the UMG Esports Stage., which will be located on the Pavilion Room stage.
If by "Gee" you mean Tony G, aka Antanus Guoga, then yes, correct.
Matusow, yes, correct.
The fella standing & wearing a blue shirt should be the easiest, he is very well-known indeed. Unless it is not who I think it is.....
That just leaves the fella sitting, wearing a jacket. I've given a big clue as to his identity already.
Can't say I've ever seen Esfandiari wearing a jacket, so I'm just not sure on that one. Brightly coloured t-shirts are his bag, & he generally has a masseuse in attendance.
WINNER.
And yes, Mike Matusow stood to the right of Mr Sexton, & you have correctly identified Leon Tsoukernik, here's his Wiki page;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Tsoukernik
Here's Leon sat next to another controversial chap. Can anyone name him?
One more for today - can anyone name the fella with the dodgy hair?