Ellen Deeb, Georges St. Pierre, Dean Heller to Be Featured at WSOP Main Event
On Saturday, Day 1A of the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event begins at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. According to WSOP officials, there’s a lot on the line for this year’s winner. Besides a payday that could approach $9 million, this year’s frontrunner also takes home “the most-expensive bracelet ever awarded to a Main Event winner (pictured), which features over 160 grams of 14 karat gold and over 35 carats of flawless diamonds.”
Only three starting days will be held this year and, in order to accommodate the field, tournament organizers have added 92 tables for a total of nearly 500. Day 1A will occur on Saturday, Day 1B will be held on Sunday, and Day 1C will take place on Monday. The start time for every day of the Main Event is Noon PT and play will last until 12:45am PT.
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Last year, the WSOP Main Event was a truly global affair. The “World” in “World Series of Poker” was operative, as players from 85 countries took part. The average age of the WSOP Main Event field was 37, with Ellen Deeb (pictured), grandmother of successful poker pro Shaun shaundeebDeeb, being the oldest player in the building at 91. In 2011, Florida’s Logan Deen was the youngest contestant; he turned 21, the legal gambling age in Nevada, on his starting day.
Last year’s field was predominantly male, as a whopping 96.5% of participants had one X chromosome and one Y chromosome. Accordingly, just 3.5% of the Main Event entrants were females.
In 2011, a variety of celebrities including One Drop participant and billionaire David Einhorn, “American Pie” actress Shannon Elizabeth, “Everybody Loves Raymond” actor Brad Garrett, rapper Nelly, Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce, “Everybody Loves Raymond” namesake Ray Romano, and actress Jennifer Tilly turned out.
This year, celebrities that will take part include comedian Kevin Pollak, UFC fighter Georges St. Pierre, NHL goalie Roberto Luongo, and Romano. There were 6,865 players last year in the Main Event and German poker pro Pius MastaP89 Heinz walked away with a first place prize of $8.7 million.
Every day in the Main Event, a “Shuffle up and deal” command is given. Celebrities, high-profile players, lawmakers, and bracelet winners alike have uttered the four most exciting words in poker. This week, WSOP officials released the names of the three people giving the “Shuffle up and deal” command on the three starting days of the Main Event.
On Day 1A, the elder Deebwill take to the podium to begin play. Deeb is 92 years old this year and her grandson, Shaun, has been taking to Twitter to promote her appearance. He Tweeted on Tuesday prior to the One Drop event airing on ESPN, “Tune into ESPN tonite to see a segment filmed this week with my grandma, also selling 1% sweats of her in the Main Event.”
On Day 1B, St. Pierre (pictured) will issue the “Shuffle up and deal” command to the assembled field at the Rio. He has received numerous accolades in recent years, including being named the Rogers Sportsnet Canadian Athlete of the Year in 2008, 2009, and 2010 and fighting his way to a UFC Welterweight title.
On Day 1C, which will take place on Monday, Nevada Senator Dean Heller, a Republican, will have the honors. Heller and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, represent Nevada in the chamber. Heller assumed office in May 2011 after the resignation of John Ensign and will be running for his Senate life in November.
Speaking on Heller, Poker Players AllianceChairman John Pappas told PocketFives, “When he was in the House, he voted against the Chairman and with the poker community in the 32-32 House Financial Services Committee tie vote in 2008. He was one of the few Republicans to break ranks. He has been working on this issue in the Senate and has been working with his colleagues there. He believes this is the right thing for Nevada and he’s committed to making this work.”
One of the burning questions on the mind of the poker community is what the attendance of the 2012 Main Event will be. Last year, the number of buy-ins shrunk 6% in the wake of Black Friday, far less than some people expected. Will the trend continue in 2012?
One poster on Two Plus Two guessed, “I don’t see how the numbers aren’t way down a year + after Black Friday. I think with some internet players moving on to other avenues and a number of other issues, I don’t see how Main Event numbers aren’t down quite a bit. I hope I’m wrong.”
What do you think? Are these three appropriate or who would you have selected? Leave a comment here or visit our Live Poker thread and tell us. We’ll keep you posted on the latest WSOP coverage right here on PocketFives.
