WSOP Day 22 - Seniors Event Shatters Record and The Apocalypse Approaches

Day 22 of the 2010 World Series of Poker is underway and both the Pavilion and the Amazon Room are hopping today. The Seniors Event kicked off at noon and has pretty much overpowered both rooms. In addition, we had Day 2 of both the $5,000 NL Six-Handed and ½ PL Holdem ½ PL Omaha Event grinding away. The final two tables are working towards a bracelet and the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. is down to 18. They are also working to a bracelet. At 5 p.m., the $10,000 Heads-Up NL Championship begins and that promises to be a stacked field.

Seniors Event Draws Largest Single Day Crowd Ever

Today’s Seniors Event drew a crowd of 3,142 players. That is the largest World Series of Poker number of players in a single day in the history of the WSOP. It definitely feels like it. I have not seen the Rio this packed at any point during the WSOP. That is a good thing however.

At the beginning of the event, Oklahoma Johnny Hale was recognized for his poker accomplishments and unfortunately, they made the mistake of giving him the microphone to speak. The reason I say mistake is because Hale is rather long winded and the tournament ended up starting 20 minutes late. Of course, it was his time to be recognized so he can use his time as he wishes.

I will admit that it was a bit of a surprise to me that so many seniors turned out for this event. That does speak volumes about the appeal of poker to all age ranges.

Where are all the Protestors?

So, several men came out to the ladies events over the weekend with some “claiming” that they were protesting an event that discriminated based on gender. In today’s event, we do not see anyone under the age of 50 playing in the event to protest “age discrimination.”



Word has been going around that Harrah’s does have the authority to refuse entry to this event due to the fact that it is a recognized practice to single out seniors. You never see “Ladies discounts” or “Men only discounts” at stores. However, you see “Senior Citizen discounts” all the time. Of course, the Seniors Event is for those 50 and up and not 60 and up.

Chainsaw and Sugar Bear Saddling Up

Earlier in the WSOP, Allen Kessler made the final table of the $10,000 Stud 8 or Better World Championship. BJ Nemeth jokingly hinted that the apocalypse has now come with Kessler actually having a shot at a bracelet. Well guess what folks, this year’s WSOP has become an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Allen Kessler has a shot of making the final table of the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E., possibly bringing about the apocalypse.



Al “Sugar Bear” Barbieri is currently the chip leader at the time of my writing this and is in good shape to make the final table as well. There are still 15 players left in this event, so there is still along way to go until the final table of eight.

I will be back a little later with more from the Rio. The $10,000 Heads-Up Championship is now seating and should boast 256 strong players. Check back in later as we bring you more from the 2010 WSOP.