Last year at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas, JD jdpc27Wheeler finished as the runner-up to Tony Veckey in a $1,500 No Limit Hold’em tournament. The event drew 2,818 players and Wheeler walked away with $418,000. Flash forward one year. Wheeler is back at the scene, this time vying for his first bracelet and second final table at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. This week, he appears on the PocketFives.com Podcast to discuss the latest activities from Sin City and preview where the highest value tournaments can be found.

Wheeler has been a member of the online poker community for three years and recently took down the Full Tilt Poker$125,000 Guaranteed for $43,000. He owns the 81st spot in the PocketFives.com Poker Player Rankings and explained why he has a leg up on the competition in the vastly different live arena: “Most players are coming straight from the online arena to the live arena and they’re playing the same way with the same stack sizes, the same moves, and same opens that they would online and it’s just a different game. I came out a little early and played some of the smaller buy-in Venetian tournaments to get myself back into the groove of live play.”

Overall attendance at the 2010 WSOP is up 15.6% compared to 2009 through 27 events. However, three $1,000 No Limit Hold’em tournaments have played out over the same time span compared to only one last year. Wheeler noticed that the overall field strength is up year over year: “It’s definitely a stronger field than I’ve seen in years past. There are a lot more players with solid fundamentals not making the bigger mistakes. I think the trend this year is younger, more talented, and more aggressive. There’s still a lot of room for players to make money though.”

Poker players in Las Vegas are spread out across the valley. Some choose to camp out in hotels, while others have rented palatial houses with several of their friends. Wheeler shared his living arrangements: “I rented an apartment that’s just a few blocks from the Rio and part of a failed conversion project, so they’re just renting them out. It’s actually great for me. I’m only a few blocks away from the Rio, so I can come back here on dinner breaks and wake up at the last minute.”

Wheeler, who hails from Illinois, is a family man and now finds himself on his own in Las Vegas during the six-week run of the WSOP: “That’s one of the hardest things. Prior to being as serious as I am now, I just had a girlfriend. Even juggling that and poker is fairly difficult. Trying to have a family is probably the hardest aspect of it, but they’re very understanding in what I need to do.” Wheeler plans to take his family on a vacation when he gets back home. Possible destinations include Europe if the 2010 WSOP goes well or a destination closer to home if the poker gods frown upon him.

Wheeler authored a highly popular WSOP Primeron PocketFives.com that, in part, discussed the differences among tournaments at casinos like Caesars, the Venetian, and the Rio: “Caesars and the Venetian are the best value for mid-stakes players, all big tournaments from $300 to $600. Last year, Caesars tried an experiment where they held $10,000 of the prize pool and gave it as a seat to the Main Event to the winner. That was problematic because people like to deal in those mid-stakes events. The $10,000 seat became a deal-blocker. They’ve done away with that this year.”

Finally, when you’re on the Strip, nearly every major hotel has a poker room. From quaint setups like the Flamingo to the mammoth Bellagio poker room, you’ll find them all in the Mecca for the game. Wheeler gave his take on the city’s top poker destinations: “In terms of playing poker, I really like the Venetian. They have a really great poker room. I also like the Wynn if you want to play a little higher up. They’re one of the only casinos that will have a no cap game. If you’re towards the other end of the Strip, I like the MGM Grand because their poker room is out in the open near the sports book and bars and clubs, so it gets some overflow from casual poker players.”

Listen to the rest of this week’s PocketFives.com Podcast.