6 storylines to watch this summer as World Series of Poker kicks off

Officials at the World Series of Poker recently held an online town hall meeting that allowed the general public to ask about the changes for this year’s event.

The queries ranged from how to register for the “Colossus II” tournament to whether the players in this year’s $10,000 buy-in No-limit Texas Hold ‘em World Championship will be referred to as the “October Nine,” since the Main Event final table will start Oct. 30 to accommodate the November election.

The question that wasn’t asked is: Will this be the last WSOP run by Caesars?

The Wall Street Journal and other news outlets reported this month that Caesars Entertainment is considering a sale of Caesars Interactive Entertainment Inc., which owns the World Series of Poker.

The potential deal reportedly involves the company’s mobile- and social-games business, not the WSOP brand. In an email, CIE spokesperson Seth Palansky declined to comment and wrote, “There’s nothing that has any impact on this WSOP.”

It is against that backdrop the 47th annual World Series of Poker officially opens its seven-week run at the Rio Convention Center on Tuesday. The $565 buy-in Casino Employees No-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament, the first of 69 bracelet events, starts Wednesday.

Here are five more storylines to watch this summer leading up to the Main Event, which begins July 9:

1. How big is too big?

The inaugural $565 buy-in “Colossus” No-limit Texas Hold ’em tournament was the largest live poker tournament in history with 22,374 entrants and also turned out to be a logistical nightmare.

Players faced long lines to register and collect their earnings, and when it was announced the first-place prize was only $638,880, another round of player complaints ensued.

Officials believe they have fixed the problems that plagued last year’s tournament. The winner now is guaranteed to earn at least $1 million, and the addition of several kiosks should aid in the registration process.

The Colossus II, featuring six starting flights over three days, opens Thursday and is expected to surpass last year’s record attendance.

“We can get 9,000, 10,000 players in a day,” tournament director Jack Effel said. “Thirty-thousand has been my number all along to be able to handle over the course of the three days and six flights.”

2. Will “The Professor” return?

Arguably the most hated man on the felt, Howard Lederer issued a statement May 19 accepting “full responsibility for Full Tilt (Poker)’s failure to protect player deposits leading up to Black Friday.”

The timing of Lederer’s mea culpa has led to speculation the two-time bracelet winner will return to the WSOP for the first time since 2010. If social media is any indicator, Lederer can expect an icy reception.

“I think Howard has some message that he wants to give to the poker community, and we’ll cross that bridge if and when we come to it,” WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said. “But I think there is a good chance that we could see Howard in tournaments in the future.”

3. Urbanovich chases hat trick

Dzmitry Urbanovich makes his long-anticipated debut at the WSOP this summer after turning 21 in May. The phenom from Poland by way of Belarus already has nearly $5 million in documented live tournament earnings, not to mention numerous online binks under the screen name “Colisea.”

Urbanovich made a high-profile prop bet with fellow professional poker player Vanessa Selbst, and if he wins three bracelets this summer, Urbanovich would collect $2 million.

4. Tag team, back again

The WSOP schedule features eight new events, with the highlight being the $1,000 buy-in Tag Team No-limit Hold ‘em tournament that starts July 6. Teams consist of two to four players that can rotate in as desired once everyone has played at least one round of blinds.

The potential partnerships only add to the excitement. Imagine a team consisting of feuding poker pros Jason Mercier and Doug Polk, or political adversaries Doyle Brunson and Daniel Negreanu. “At the end of the day, this is supposed to be fun poker,” Stewart said.

5. Star power

In 2014, Phil Ivey won his 10th career WSOP bracelet. Last year, Phil Hellmuth extended his own record with bracelet No. 14. Will a big-name pro manage the feat this summer?

It could be Negreanu, who nearly made the final table of last year’s Main Event but hasn’t won a WSOP bracelet outside of Asia or Europe since 2008. Or maybe popular online poker streamer Jason Somerville breaks through to the delight of his “Run It Up” warriors.

“We are keenly aware there has not been a lot of good news in poker over the last several years,” Stewart said. “… Trust me that we take really seriously, personally, the responsibility of doing something good in poker, something great for poker. We hope that this year we meet the challenge.”

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ