The culmination of 60 preliminary events, countless satellites and daily tournament, and high-stakes cash-game action is here as the 2012 World Series of Poker Main Event kicks-off today. While the One Drop, Phil Hellmuth, and wild stories on Twitter have provided us weeks of entertainment and historic moments, the WSOP Main Event is, as always, the beginning and the end of any WSOP tournament series.

This year there will be three separate starting days for players to register on (previously there have been as many as four starting days) and the expected turnout ranges based on who you talk to. WSOP officials feel that last year’s number of 6,865 (the third largest attendance number on record despite falling just after Black Friday) is an achievable feat, while the more pessimistic people in the know think the number may be as low as 6,000.

However you slice it, the WSOP Main Event will be just as wild, successful, and historic as all of the others, considering the winner of the event will earn somewhere between $8 million and $10 million, with the majority of the final nine players in the event becoming millionaires.

If you’re wondering who might be riding the hot hand entering the 2012 WSOP Main Event; look no further than the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year Race, where you can see precisely what players have been performing well during the summer tournament series:

1. Phil Ivey — 539.70

2. John Monnette — 524.25

3. Phil Hellmuth — 500.70

4. Antonio Esfandiari — 488.10

5. Michael Mizrachi — 486.20

6. Gregory Merson — 481.13

7. David (ODB) Baker — 433.38

8. Andrew Frankenberger — 406.66

9. Vanessa Selbst — 388.17

10. David (Bakes) Baker — 356.94

Some other stories to keep an eye on during the 2012 WSOP Main Event are:

* Will a woman reach the final table?

The Ladies have won three bracelets this year (the Ladies Championship, the Seniors Championship, and the $2,500 10-Game Mix tournament), but can they make the WSOP Main Event final table? This has only been accomplished one other time in the 42 year history of the WSOP, by Barbara Enright in 1995.

* Will Konstantin Puchkov extend his record number of cashes in a single WSOP (currently standing at 11)?

Perhaps overlooked during the 2012 WSOP was Konstantin Puchkov who has already cashed 11 times at the WSOP. A 12th cash, especially in the Main Event, could make Puchkov the star of the 2012 WSOP.

* Can Phil Hellmuth make a deep run and possibly be named the 2012 WSOP Player of the Year?

Once again Phil Ivey is a POY contender, but he’ll need a mammoth WSOP Main Event run to make it happen. Does the Poker Brat have one more deep run left in the tank?

* Who will put their stamp on the 2012 WSOP?

There have been zero repeat bracelet winners this year, so it’s anyone’s WSOP to claim. Who will it be that has had a solid WSOP so far, but can forever be linked with the 2012 WSOP by making the final table of the Main Event?

 

Tags: Antonio Esfandiari, Attendance Number, Bakes, Black Friday, Cash Game, Frankenberger, Game Action, high Stakes, Merson, Michael Mizrachi, Monnette, Odb, phil hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Poker Main Event, Twitter, Vanessa Selbst, World Series of Poker, World Series of Poker Main Event, WSOP Main Event

This entry was posted on Saturday, July 7th, 2012 at 8:36 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.