From the 2006 World Series of Poker — Starting This Week

The World Series of Poker began this week at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Vegas.

Since its explosion after the 2003 World Series, poker and events like this have become a celebrity affair on the scale of the major Hollywood award shows. Actors, athletes, and most importantly the “pros” have descended on the Rio for 45 poker tournaments and a chance to win their share of the millions of dollars up for grabs and the coveted bracelet that signifies a world poker champion and is an instant status symbol in the burgeoning world of competitive poker.

It is impossible to imagine how immense this event (which runs from June 25 through mid-August) really is. A conference hall in the Rio has to be used because the events have grown too large for their original home at Binion’s Horseshoe.

I was able to watch some of the 2nd event, a $1,500 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold’em tournament. Two players, Ron Stanley and Don Zewin, were eliminated in one hand when Lee Padilla’s (who as of this article is playing in 2nd place) Ace/Jack of spades dominated Stanley’s all-in bet with Ace/Nine of clubs and a turn jack of diamonds sank Zewin’s pocket eights. To add insult to injury, Padilla also rivered an unnecessary flush.

Ron Stanley finished in 7th place and won $107,614.

Don Zewin finished in 6th place and won $126,940.

Not a bad consolation prize.

Some of the more interesting attractions, besides the makeshift poker room itself, were the promotional player/fan lounges set up by some of the major online poker sites. Full Tilt Poker took home the gold in this respect, setting up a room with plasma screens, free drinks and mingling pros like Mike Matusow. Full Tilt is, by estimation, the third most popular online poker community behind PokerStars and PartyPoker, but they are first in my book when it comes to advertising and promotion.

Article Author: John Guilfoil

John Guilfoil is the editor of Blast Magazine. He is the former editor and founder of The Review Center. He currently maintains the blog PRrag: All the news that's fit to spin.

Visit John Guilfoil's author page — John Guilfoil's Blog