Gaining Fame through World Championship Poker
The 36th edition of the world series of Poker season formally began with the creation of the World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit at the Harrah's. This world championship poker event aims to transform the WSOP into a year long event.
The WSOP Tournament Circuit is a series of poker tournaments stopping at various casinos that will bring together players aiming for high quality poker action. At stake during the circuit is an opportunity to become eligible to compete in the Tournament of Champions. This will depend on how they fare in the circuit as well as in the World Series of Poker.
The Tournament of Champions is a freeroll event which means that there is no need for the participants to establish a bankroll in order to play. The number of entries who will make it to the Tournament of Champions will be determined by Harrah's based on the results of each tournament circuit.
Due to the extreme popularity of poker, Harrah's conducted five legs of the circuit which is open to any player who want to participate regardless of their level of expertise. Competitions commenced in January and ended in May in five different venues namely Atlantic City, San Diego, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, and New Orleans, in that order. The five legs will be taped and will be televised on ESPN.
The winner of each leg was awarded with a gold ring from the WSOP on top of the prize money which is at six-figures in the championship rounds. The buy-in fee for each leg was in the region of a few hundred dollars to $10,000 per player for taking part in the Main Event played at each leg. The poker game played for each leg was Texas No Limit Hold'em.
The response was great from the poker players as it the WSOP Circuit attracted popular poker luminaries such as Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson, Phil Ivey, to name just a few. Likewise, it showcased the skills of the top poker players from various regions of the United States.
Since it acquired the copyright to the World Series of Poker in 2004, Harrah's has been trying to expand the franchise into new ventures including the circuit. At present, the rake that Harrah's gets from the prize pool is at 6% which is used for paying dealers and other costs. With the magnitude of hosting world championship poker events, it is unlikely that they will still earn an income.
So if you are dreaming of making it big in the world of poker, bank on Harrah's to fulfill your dreams for you.