Recent Poker News Dump

THE WEEKLY SHUFFLE, 2010-07-11, by Ozone

WSOP Main Event Increases in Attendance

For years, the number of participants in the WSOP Main Event has been viewed as something of a barometer for the health of the poker world. The news this year is pretty good. Poker's biggest tournament saw 7,319 turn out to participate last week at the Rio, the second largest amount ever. This is nearly a 13% increase from the 6,494 that played last year when Joe Cada set the record for youngest Main Event Champion at the age of 21.

While this seems like great news for poker, it is important to remember that several hundred players were denied during their attempts to register on the final starting day last year. So while a 13% increase is nice, there likely would have been a much smaller increase, or perhaps even a small decrease if everyone who attempted to register for last year's event had succeeded.

Phil Hellmuth Arrives at Main Event Dressed as MMA Fighter

Phil Hellmuth has been noted for making an extravagant arrival to the WSOP Main Event in recent years. This year was no exception. The 1989 World Champion arrived to this year's tournament as an MMA fighter. His entrance included a stage towed by a truck that featured go-go dancers and break dancers.

This was a bit of a disappointing year for the Hellmuth entrance. While it's certainly unfair to expect him to outdo himself every year, last year's arrival being carried on a bed while dressed as Julius Caesar scored much better in the Narcissism category which is what Hellmuth is known for.

Hellmuth was knocked out of this year's Main Event shortly after making his big entrance.

PokerStars Collusion Scandal

Last week, a collusion scandal at PokerStars came to light. It seems that a team of Chinese were colluding in the double-or-nothing sit-'n'-go's for over eight months with a great deal of success. This really compels one to ask: when did the Chinese start playing online poker?!

Peter Eastgate Retires from Poker, Skips Main Event

2008 World Champion Peter Eastgate announced last week that he is retiring from poker. He elected not to play the Main Event one last time and instead said that his financial independence has taken away his motivation for playing poker at a high level. The 24 year old who held the title of youngest Main Event champion for one year says he will take time to figure out what he wants to do with the rest of his life.

The Weekly Shuffle is our Sunday column with our observations and commentary on the poker world. Have an idea for an article? Leave a suggestion on the feedback page.