The WSOP* is coming and poker players around the globe turn their thoughts to playing the $10,000 buy-in main event. You’re not alone if you wonder “Am I ready for this?” You may be asking what to expect on-site and what is the best way to prepare for extended, grueling days of playing live against the planet’s leading competitors. If so, this guide is for you.
Live and on-line players who have never played the event might be taking their very first shot at the tournament this summer. Some are experienced live players who have never ever played the main event while others could be former Internet players from the U.S. who choose to go this year for the first time playing live.
Whatever your situation, this post is Part 1 of three for any person wanting to get ready for this major tournament:
Schedule: The event runs this year from May 27 to July 16, 2012 and consists of 61 poker tournaments of different types (limit and no-limit hold’em, Omaha, and so on.) and buy-ins. The best recognized event is of course the $10K buy-in main event (officially known as Event #61) but there are numerous smaller tourneys which players can participate in with buy-ins ranging from $1K to $5K. If you want to drop some serious coin, play the Big One For ONE DROP, with its $1 million buy-in. Something new for this year is the fact that there will be only three starting days for the main event, down from 4 last year. You are able to find a total list of all 61 events for 2012 in other parts of this article. For basic information on schedule, structures and guidelines go to WSOP.com.
Places to stay: The tournaments are all held at the Rio once again this year. Even though not situated on the Strip, the venue is close for the Strip. Locations to stay certainly include the Rio itself, the Palms Hotel (just across the street), and any strip hotel, all of which are inside a 15 minute cab ride. Caesars properties including Caesars, Harrah’s, Bally’s, and so on typically have a totally free shuttle going to the Rio at various times. Most do, but not all, so ask the hotel once you’re planning your trip.
Other choices are to obtain an apartment, condo or home rental. This really is fairly appealing should you want to be in Vegas for a month or more. Staying at a hotel all that time can get quite exhausting with constant negotiating through gaming areas and the normally loud and busy atmosphere of any casino. You may also find staying outside of casino/hotel choices permits you to stick to a healthier diet (more on that in Part Two–it really is crucial) and also can save on food expenses. Drawbacks consist of a lot more hassles for transportation given that such accommodation is seldom close to the strip. Searching for short-term rentals and sub-lets can be tough but try Las Vegas real estate sites and forums or get in touch with area real estate agent in Las Vegas for free help.
Location and layout: The Rio is a typical Vegas hotel, meaning it is a huge expanse of gaming, retail, restaurant and hotel areas. The event is held in the convention area at the rear of the complex. So do yourself a favor and skip the main valet and parking and head to the rear where there is a dedicated valet and parking area for the convention space. Tell taxi drivers to drop you off at this valet as well. You’ll still be doing some walking but this will reduce it down.
The basic layout covers two large rooms. Inside each is a sea of poker tables-a pretty awesome site for anyone who likes poker, actually. One room is where most tournaments start, sit and go and other satellite and small tourneys take place, and cash games are run. A myriad of cash games are offered and the action is quite good. This is also where the awards stage is located. The awards stage is where bracelets are given to event winners in brief ceremonies held around noon each day. Kind of entertaining is the playing of each bracelet winner’s national anthem, Olympics-style, during which all dealers pause games and most stand.
The other room is for tournaments only, and usually the later stages of tournaments although some start off there as well. It is also where a number of televised table set ups are, used to shoot feature tables and final tables. If you’re a fan, you are able to actually watch final tables being shot for television, despite the fact that seating and standing is somewhat restricted.
Finally, there are a few mostly exclusive players lounges set up by sponsors and also a general eating area. The general eating area has a handful of different food stations serving hot and cold choices. Many pan the food, but there is decent variety and even some healthy options so it’s not bad given the scale of the event. There are also a few on-site restaurants but you need to send a friend to reserve a table at those if you expect to use a tournament meal break to eat at any restaurant.
So now you have a basic sense of the WSOP event’s layout.
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