World Series of Poker - The best place to become a star

The World Series of Poker it's the place where you will find world class poker players, online amateurs, Hollywood celebrities, all competing for first prize. The tournament can transform regular people into millionaires and celebrities.

It is televised by many networks and is watched by millions of people. It's like a marathon, where skill and luck can make you very rich. It lasts six weeks and has tournaments for various poker games.

The most anticipated tournament is the Texas Hold'em tournament. It will start Thursday and more than 6000 players are expected to compete in it, all of them paying the $10,000 entry fee. The final table will begin July 15 and the winner may go home with more than $7.5 million.

Harrah's Rio will host the tournament and in its 60,000 square foot surface there will be placed 200 tables, all going at once, with 10 players at each table. The best 450 dealers will be present at this event, working three shifts round the clock.

In Texas Hold'em each player receives two own cards. Another 5 face up cards are dealt on the table, and each of the players may use these cards.

After rounds of betting, the player with the best five cards poker hand, from the seven cards dealt in total, wins the round. In no limit poker, each player can place the bet that he wants, meaning he can risk his entire amount of money at anytime.

One of the most famous poker players in the world is Chris Moneymaker, who qualified for the WSOP after he won an online tournament. The online tournament cost him $40 and he won $2.5 million by winning the WSOP. Greg Raymer won last year for $5 million, when 2,576 players entered the main event.

Who knows maybe this year the same thing will happen?; an unknown player will win the main prize by beating all the pros at the final table. Phil Ivey is one of the main favorites for the big prize, but given the large number of players competing, it is too difficult to predict a winner.

Some of the other favorites include: Phil Hellmuth, Howard Lederer, Annie Duke, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Chris Ferguson, T.J. Cloutier, Daniel Negreanu, and Antonio Esfandiari. As mentioned before there is not any certainty that one of them will win the event.

Usually the WSOP winners’ lives have changed after they have won the event. For instance, Moneymaker quit his job nine months after his victory, then divorced his wife and married another woman. He then opened two companies: Moneymaker Gaming, and the Chan-Moneymaker Academy; the first one being a chip company and the second one a chain of poker schools.

Moneymaker still believes that he lives a dream; he still can’t believe that he won the championship. Raymer’s life has changed too: he also quit his job after he won, to follow a poker career. He says that he has to travel most of the times from one poker tournament to another, which is difficult for him because he stays a lot of time away from his family.

He represents PokerStars.com, and he goes to many charity events. The success brought him a scare last December when someone wanted to robbed him at gunpoint at the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

They grabbed him while he was entering his room and then tried to duct tape him. He knew that they wanted to rob him, but he didn't know if they would harm him. He decided to fight against all odds and he managed to fight them off until they ran. The suspects were arrested later.

During play, he is happy that he is recognized by people and that he can give autographs and talk with his fans. Any of the players can win the tournament, including Bill Barnett, the 64-year-old mayor of Naples, Fla.

He won a PokerStars.com tournament competing against 80 other players, and his prize was a seat at the World Series of Poker. On top of that he also received $1,000 in his online account and hotel expenses for nine nights.