Last year Black Friday kept a number of players away from the World Series of Poker, including the likes of Phil Ivey and Tom Dwan. Even meek players like John Juanda were verbally accosted at the 2011 WSOP due to their Full Tilt poker ties. This year it’s almost a certainty that those two players will be in attendance, but there are still some other poker players who may want to continue to avoid the bright lights of the WSOP.

Here is a look at some of the players who may be MIA at the 2012 WSOP

Annie Duke

Annie Duke has proven to have little time for her detractors over the years, but this time around it will likely be more than Daniel Negreanu and a few other players jeering Annie. After running the Epic Poker League into the ground (and pocketing a six-figure salary in the process) Duke will likely get a very cold reception should she turn up for the 2012 WSOP. Even still I expect her to be there for the Main Event at the minimum.

Chances Annie shows up at the 2012 WSOP – Close to 100%

Howard Lederer

Annie’s brother is almost assuredly not going to be in attendance at the 2012 WSOP, considering he might not only get punched, stabbed, or worse by a disgruntled former Full Tilt poker player, but he might also end up being walked out in handcuffs if the DOJ decides go looking for him.

Chances Howard shows up at the 2012 WSOP – Less than 1%

Chris Ferguson

Ferguson is in the same boat as Lederer, so he is another player that is unlikely to be in attendance. According to the WSOP, Ferguson’s visage will be at the 2012 WSOP in the form of his Champion’s banner. In past years the WSOP has covered the banner of Russ Hamilton for his transgressions against the poker world, but the WSOP has decided not to play ethics police and will not cover Ferguson’s banner.

Chances Chris shows up at the 2012 WSOP – Less than 1%

Russ Hamilton

With the Full Tilt Poker ownership taking some of the focus off, this may just be the year that there is a Russ Hamilton sighting at the WSOP. Hamilton has fallen off of everyone’s radar after Black Friday, and the poker junkie may be thinking the heat has died down enough for him to go back to Vegas. As slight as the chance of Hamilton playing in the WSOP is, I still put it above the chance of wither Ferguson or Lederer showing their faces.

Chances Russ shows up at the 2012 WSOP –1%

Tags: Annie Duke, Black Friday, Bright Lights, Chris Ferguson, Cold Reception, Daniel Negreanu, Detractors, doj, Figure Salary, Full tilt Poker, Howard Lederer, John Juanda, Phil Ivey, Poker Player, poker players, Poker Pros, Poker World, Transgressions, World Series of Poker, WSOP

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 20th, 2012 at 8:50 am and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.