It was the second largest field in the World Series of Poker Main Event history. A total of 6,844 aspiring WSOP bracelet winners trooped to the Rio pumping up the total prize money to a staggering $9,119,517. Doomsday soothsayers beware. Top 666 of the players will get paid and the minimum cash-out will be $21,230.

Day 1D of the 2008 WSOP Championship saw former champions Phil Hellmuth, Chris Ferguson, Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Jerry Yang, Carlos Mortensen and Noel Furlong joining the fun. Poker stars Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Annie Duke, Phil Gordon, Allen Cunninghan and Men “The Master” Nguyen also joined the fray. Celebrity sightings include MLB pitcher David Wells and UFC fighter Chuck “The Iceman” Liddel.

Casualties are many. EPT Scandinavian Open winner Tim Vance lost when his opponent gambled with middle pair and hit a runner-runner flush to beat his straight on the flop. Poker pro David Williams was cruelly eliminated when his set of nines was beat by an opponent who hit a gutshot draw. Annie Duke busted out when her pocket tens ran into pocket queens. 2007 WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider’s dreams of a WSOP Main Event bracelet ended when his top pair couldn’t hold up against an open-ended straight flush draw.

6,844 Entrants for 2008 WSOP $10,000 NLHE Championship

Majority of players at the Las Vegas’ World Series of Poker are supportive of Barack Obama and his campaign for the White House.

A season poker player himself, Obama has expressed a desire to regulate and control online casinos, rather than outlaw online gambling. This move gained Obama the support of former WSOP champion Doyle Brunson.

“Poker players have to support Obama,” the former life-long Republican commented on his change in stance. “God help the internet gambling business if McCain does happen to win.”

“In poker you have to put yourself in the shoes of your opponents, get inside their heads and figure out what they’re thinking; what their actions mean; what they would think your actions mean; and reading people’s bluffs.”

Obama’s credentials as a poker player is a good indicator of his leadership skills. Obama was a regular at the low-stakes games — sometimes stud poker, sometimes draw — designed to break up the tedium of long legislative sessions. Poker, beer and cigars were staples; Democrats and Republicans, lawmakers and even the lobbyists who Obama sometimes rails against dealt the cards and placed their bets.

Poker players all-in with Obama’s campaign for the White House

The top prize at the main event of the World Series of Poker will be $9.12 million this year, and 666 players will get some piece of a $64.3 million prize pool, tournament officials said Sunday.

More than one-third of the tournament’s entrants entered the no-limit Texas Hold ‘em tournament Sunday, the last day players were able to register. The 2,461 players pushed the total field to 6,844 players.

There were nearly 500 more players than last year but far fewer than 2006, when a record 8,773 players entered and Jamie Gold won $12 million.

The top prize of $9,119,517 is the second largest in the main event’s history. Last year, California psychologist Jerry Yang emerged from a field of 6,358 players to win a top prize of $8.25 million.

Tournament spokesman Seth Palansky said the number of entrants was what tournament officials were expecting, about equal to the event’s average for the last five years.

Read more on World Series of Poker Main Event Top Prize

PokerStars officially launched an interactive video portal this week, the PokerStars.tv that features leading edge video-based poker clips and instructional offerings.

PokerStars.tv already boasts numerous clips from several Team PokerStars Pro members, who share their expertise in specific poker hand or poker scenario situations and possible poker strategies.

Now available on the site is an introductory video on the four World Series of Poker bracelet holder and two World Poker Tour Championship titles, Daniel Negreanu, with feature videos on some Team PokerStars Pro members, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, Bill Chen and Dario Minieri.

The site has an extensive search function, which allow users to focus in on such topics as specific hand holdings, to better understand situational plays.

Read more on PokerStars interactive video portal, PokerStars.tv, officially launched this week

Svetlana Gromenkova has entered the first dinner break tied for fourth in chips out of oh the enitre Day 1A field here at the WSOP Main Event. She has 90,000 as do Nate Eaton and Max Greenwood. First place is held by Miami poker pro David Rheem with 103,000 and Patrick Fortin is right on his heals with 100,000.

Gromenkova is coming off the momentum of winning the WSOP Ladies event this year and has that glint in her eye that is spelling trouble for opponents.

Svetlana Gromenkova aiming for 2nd WSOP bracelet

The 2008 WSOP HORSE Championship lived up to all the hype as being an all-star game for the world’s top poker pros. As most who follow poker know, HORSE (Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Stud and 8-or-better) is considered by many to be the true Main Event of the World Series of Poker because of the versatility required to play all five of the games involved.

The WSOP acknowledges this fact as well by giving the HORSE Championship the biggest buy-in at $50,000. This also helps trim the fat from the field and what is left is one hell of stacked tournament.

Michael DeMichele squared off against the “Prince of Poker,” Scotty Nguyen, with $2,000,000 and the most coveted bracelet in poker on the line.

Some may remember how Scotty Nguyen blew a huge chip lead coming up to the final table in last year’s WSOP, leaving him to bust out in 11th place.

2008 World Series of Poker HORSE Championship