First big event kicks off 57-tournament World Series of Poker in Las Vegas

World Series of Poker tournaments start in Vegas

LAS VEGAS — A set of 57 poker tournaments attracting wealthy gamblers and poker’s brightest stars started in Las Vegas on Friday with a $50,000 buy-in mixed-game championship at the World Series of Poker.

The series’ most expensive tournament attracted the game’s top players, including 11-time gold bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth and 10-time bracelet winner Doyle Brunson.

“Everybody knows the World Series of Poker is the biggest stage in the world,” Hellmuth said Friday. “This is where you make your name.”

The series’ first open event had 108 entrants after less than an hour of play, with registration remaining open until players had a scheduled dinner break after 4½ hours at the tables. An event earlier in the day for casino employees drew 721 entrants.

Some of poker’s biggest names began their series at stacked tables, with one table pitting Phil Ivey, Scotty Nguyen, Freddy Deeb and Chau Giang — who have won a combined 17 tournaments at the series — against one another.

The tournament, designed to give players deep chip stacks with a mostly slow betting structure, will play its final table on Tuesday.

Hellmuth, who has won $6.1 million at the series since 1988 and won the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em main event in 1989, said he is more prepared this year to play other poker games and face opponents who log long sessions playing poker on the Internet.

“I’ve studied the way the Internet kids play,” Hellmuth said. “I want to know what they’re thinking when they play pots against me.”

Hellmuth said he’s also determined to win to answer those who criticize his ability in games besides Texas Hold ‘em.

“I want to win,” Hellmuth said. “That’s been my driving force since I won three bracelets in ‘93. I’ve really worked hard.”

The five-day “Poker Player’s Championship” is a challenge of eight poker variations, designed to mimic the poker played in Sin City’s most exclusive cash games, where millions can be won or lost in a single session.

The tournament will test players in limit Texas Hold ‘em, Omaha high-low split, seven-card razz, seven-card stud, seven-card stud high-low, no-limit Texas Hold ‘em, pot-limit Omaha and deuce-to-seven triple-draw lowball.

The event’s final table will play no-limit Texas Hold ‘em, poker’s most popular game and the variation played at the series’ biggest tournament, the $10,000 buy-in main event.

The event replaces the series’ H.O.R.S.E. championship, where David Bach beat 94 others last year to earn $1.28 million. Many players consider H.O.R.S.E. the toughest test for any player at the World Series of Poker.

The series made the change because certain games — like stud and variations where low hands win — are hard to follow on television. ESPN, which holds television rights to the series, didn’t air the H.O.R.S.E. tournament last year after showing it in 2008 and entries dropped in 2009.

Brunson said he understands the change, but prefers the five-game H.O.R.S.E. format because the limit betting structures are consistent among its variations. He said no-limit Texas Hold ‘em — in which a player can lose his or her stack in a single hand — adds volatility to the tournament.

“I think the true barometer should be H.O.R.S.E. all the way,” Brunson said.

Brunson said he planned to play in about 15 tournaments at the series, which awards gold bracelets to each of its tournament winners.

The series runs 50 days between now and July 17 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, with tournaments costing anywhere from $1,000 to $50,000 to enter.

The final table of the main event will be delayed to November, allowing tape-delayed coverage of the tournament to air before it ends. Last year’s main event was won by Joe Cada, who became the series’ youngest champion by beating 6,493 opponents for $8.55 million.

“It’s definitely more important than any other tournament … and so it’s special,” Brunson said.