This year’s WSOP Main Event final table broadcast was sponsored by UltimateBet and as a result, most of the commentators on the program had either a tie to UB or to the players on the broadcast. David Chicotsky was in many cased the lead announcer and did a good job for the most part. My main gripe for a lot of the coverage was that the team did not focus on the poker as much as they should have. That changed when Phil Hellmuth jumped on board and joined the group.

This past Friday, ESPN the Magazine put out a "Body Issue" that featured athletes from all sports playing their sport in the nude. Poker was included in this. Whether or not poker is a sport is a debatable topic, but some of their choices are scary. The four that were chosen were Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, Daniel Negreanu, and.

In sports, there are records that seem unbreakable. Lou Gehrig's streak of consecutive games played was a record that was supposed to stand for all time until Cal Ripken, Jr broke it. Roger Maris' 61 homers was another that was supposed to be next to unbreakable. However, Mark McGuire, Sammy Sosa, and Barry Bonds have all hit more in a single season than Maris.

" I’ve always liked Phil Helmuth and have defended his tantrums because that is Phil being Phil, but these grand entrances he makes are too much! He came to my table dressed as Julius Caesar along with trumpets and scantily clad girls. It embarrassed me just being there. I would have liked to applied for the role of Brutus. I am a poker purist and stuff like that detracts too much from what a great game poker is.

The announcement was made this week that Jeff Shulman has hired Phil Hellmuth as his poker coach for the final table of the World Series of Poker in November. When, I first hear this, the first thing I thought was "I thought you wanted to throw the bracelet in the trash. " But it appears he has changed his mind and is touting this as a big deal. It makes sense that Shulman would pick Hellmuth to coach him.

With the Main Event winding down, I though it would be a good time to go back and look at my predictions that I made prior to the WSOP and see how they went: Prediction 1: Phil Hellmuth will get his 12th bracelet. To quote on of my friend’s younger sister, “Epic Fail!” Hellmuth did not even make a final table. While he did cash five times, including the Main Event, he just could not put it together late to make the final table. Prediction 2: Scotty Nguyen will not win $4 Million but he will win another bracelet.

The count for the number of players for Day 1c is in. 1,697 players turned out for Day 1c of the WSOP Main Event. Last year 1,928 players turned out. That’s yet another net loss of 231 players.

Day 1a is history at the World Series of Poker Main Event. A number that seemed to surprise many was the drop in attendance from Day 1a last year. Last year, Day 1a drew 1,297 players. This year, just 1,116 players entered the event.

Jack Link’s Beef Jerky is now the official sponsor of the World Series of Poker. According to Jack Lefever, the Marketing Director for Jack Links, "The game of poker is all about sharing good times with great friends. Jack Link's enthusiasts and poker fans are cut from the same cloth - they are fun-seeking, adventurous spirits. The World Series of Poker Presented by Jack Link's Beef Jerky is the most esteemed gaming event in the world, and poker's untamed spirit truly embodies the Jack Link's brand.