Excitement builds for return of in-person WSOP at Rio

Busted poker players won’t have to trudge to their cars under a blazing sun, and they might be sweating their football bets as much as their flush draws.

But the World Series of Poker — live and in person at the Rio — is back.

The WSOP begins Thursday and runs through Nov. 23 with 88 bracelet events, including the Main Event, the $10,000 No-limit Hold’em World Championship that made household names out of Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Phil Hellmuth and Chris Moneymaker.

With buy-ins ranging from $400 to $250,000, the WSOP attracts poker players of all levels, from low-stakes dreamers to the best high-stakes players in the world, all chasing the biggest score of their lives and the trophy bracelets that go to event winners.

“All my friends are coming to town,” poker player and broadcaster Jamie Kerstetter said. “We’re getting to have our summer camp, just a little bit delayed.”

The WSOP normally takes place in June and July. It was canceled last year and was delayed until the fall this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“It feels great to be back. After 26 months, it’s been too long,” WSOP executive director Ty Stewart said via email. “We love this event. Watching the TV cameras roll in, the banners hung from the rafters, unboxing the gold bracelets — it’s the best feeling of déjà vu.”

The pandemic still will be felt at the WSOP. Players, spectators and vendors must be vaccinated to attend, a requirement that has roiled a segment of the poker community.

Daniel Negreanu, a six-time WSOP bracelet winner, said the WSOP made the only decision it could to maintain the integrity of the tournaments.

With no vaccine mandate, even asymptomatic people could have been forced into quarantine (and be disqualified from the event) if they were in close contact — at a poker table, for example — with someone who tested positive, potentially costing them hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.

With a vaccine mandate, asymptomatic players won’t have to quarantine after a close contact.

“You’re trying to avoid a debacle,” Negreanu said. “… It’s really aside from the whole debate about vaccines. The WSOP is not taking a political position.”

Stewart said: “As bad as it was seeing mean tweets about our decision, it would have been worse to kick any player out of the event.”

Under the mandate, play at the tables will appear close to normal. Masks are optional for players, though they must put them on when in the hallways and other common areas. There are no plexiglass dividers or limits on the number of players per table.

The vaccine mandate does not apply to staff or dealers, based on health protocols from the Rio and Caesars Entertainment, Stewart said. Employees will have to wear masks at all times regardless of vaccination status, and the WSOP is offering incentives for employees to become vaccinated, he said.

Participation from international players will be down because of travel restrictions, but Stewart said he is hopeful that loosened rules will allow more players to arrive in time for the Main Event, which starts Nov. 4.

Negreanu said he’s looking forward to avoiding the heat with the WSOP in the fall, joking that he might even have to run the heat in his trailer during tournament breaks instead of the air conditioning. And he said he’s interested to see whether having football and hockey going on serves as a distraction during the WSOP as poker players sweat their bets.

Negreanu is also offering a way for players to win alongside him during the WSOP, selling up to 25 percent of his action in WSOP events each day on PocketFives.com. Players can purchase a piece of Negreanu for as little as $3, with a $600 cap on each event, he said.

Kerstetter will be playing events, as well as serving as a color commentator alongside Lon McEachern and Norman Chad for WSOP broadcasts, which are moving from ESPN to CBS Sports Network this year. A total of 26 events also will be livestreamed on the subscription video service PokerGO.

“My favorite part of the World Series is sweating my friends,” Kerstetter said. “A lot of people completely change their lives at the World Series. It’s fun.”

Contact Jim Barnes at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0277. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.