WSOP NOTES FROM EARLY 09

The 40th annual World Series of Poker is upon us.

Wait, did you come here for the latest High Stakes Poker update? Seems we feel into a bit of a lazy rut, just updating the episodes. That being said, we will get the 13th and final episode of the season up soon. However, in the meantime we should turn our attention to the WSOP

Players from all over the real and online world have congregated in Vegas and the online players will discover they got more chips than normal to play with. Sure, most of our ilk are fumbling the chips anyway, although if there were a prize for doing trips with your mouse or artistic points for tossing a laptop in the pool we'd win those for sure.

However the ratio of chips to buy-in has once again increased. It started at 1-1. Then doubled to 2-1 in '07 and this year it is 3-1. That means the players in the 40k special tournament got 120,000 in chips to start with. Course the blinds and antes didn't start at the same place. Do they really think we are that stupid. Pollack in the USA Today spins it saying they did it to "create more play and more value for everyone... You have a bigger gas tank, if you will." Who's buying this? Is anybody?

Effel, in the article, credited his wife with the idea for the 40k buy-in. Which will create a "final table for the ages" though many of the TV names are already eliminated except for Chris Moneymaker. Which would be a HUGE story but does anyone really expect him to final table this? If you do, bet it because you can get great odds, even now, with him second in chips and only 88 players left. For more on the 40k event go here.

The Binion Cup is another idea created to celebrate the history of the World Series. They are going to give the winner of the event a vintage 1970 Corvette, a trophy named the Binion Cup, and bragging rights. No, prize money.

If poker players had any balls or since of solidarity, these champions would make an example of themselves and get a piece of the TV money ESPN feeds to Binions. They should sit out and ask for a small prize pool to be added to the event. Most of the old champions are just that old, and probably could care less about a vintage Corvette. It'll be more a hassle selling it for them.

Not to get off on a rant here but it looks like I already have. Harrahs has a tidy deal with ESPN, yet the players still pay admin fees and have to tip out the dealers. The only way the casinos are going to give players a piece of the pie is if the biggest players make a stand. The Champion Cup is made for TV. Stage a sit out and don't give Harrahs or ESPN their made for TV event. They might stop squeezing the players so much if the biggest players make a stand.

It could only happen at an event like this, because right now the casinos know in any other event if Phil Ivy, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Hellmuth don't show they'll still have a 1000 other players in search of a bracelet.