2009 WSOP Storylines to Watch

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With the final table of the World Series of Poker now only weeks (as opposed to months) away, there are a few key storylines that will likely be getting a lot of attention as the big day draws near. Below we’ve picked out our favorite few that should make for entertaining fodder for casual and hardcore fans of the game alike.

Where In The World Is Phil Ivey?
More than any WSOP in recent memory, 2009 has been the year of the pro, with bracelets largely ending up in the hands of established players, both live and online. That trend continued in a big way when one of the biggest names in poker – Phil Ivey – made the final table of the Main Event.

Early chatter was that Phil’s presence among the November Nine would result in a marketing bonanza, even a new wave of interest in poker similar to the Moneymaker effect that drove the online poker boom in the earlier part of the decade. While the final table will certainly attract more attention with Phil on it than without Phil, he’s been essentially MIA since play concluded in July.

Given his low-key persona and apparent distaste for self-marketing, it’s no surprise that Ivey has stayed below the radar, but it will be interesting to see if pressure from Harrah’s and Full Tilt Poker forces him out into the spotlight as the final table approaches, and also interesting to see how Ivey responds to that pressure.

…And How Much Will He Win?
Ivey sidebets on the WSOP are quickly becoming the stuff of legend, and we’d expect speculation on the GDP-of-a-small-country-esque totals of his side action to heat up as November approaches.

What’s confirmed is a side bet with Dwan worth a million if Ivey wins and another side bet with Andy Bloch worth two million if Ivey wins. That’s on top of the bonus he’d likely receive from FTP if he wins. All in all, a Main Event win could easily be worth over $20 million to Ivey – and it will be interesting to track action rumors that will undoubtedly pop up in the weeks to come.

WWJSD?
What will Jeff Shulman do? That’s the question on a lot of minds following Jeff’s fairly public outbursts back in July. It’s no secret that the CardPlayer editor has little love for Harrah’s and the WSOP, an attitude stemming from an assortment of grievances regarding how Harrah’s treats both the players and the media, but even those with first-hand knowledge of Jeff’s antipathy were still surprised when he announced his plans for the Main Even bracelet should he win:

“If by renounce it you mean throw it in the garbage, then yes.”

While there hasn’t been much from Jeff on the issue as of late, there’s not much reason to believe his attitude has changed. Expect him to use the WSOP as a bully pulpit to advocate his views on how the tournament should be run, and expect him to become even more vociferous if Harrah’s tries to tamp him down.

The Man Who Can’t Be Bought
With the new rule for 2009 that limited sponsors to three players max at the final table, everyone thought the question would be how high the bidding war for chipleader Darvin Moon would go.

Moon ended the suspense pretty early on by saying that he’d never played a hand of poker online and didn’t intend to rep for a room. Stars and FTP got the message and snapped up three other player apiece (complete WSOP sponsorship breakdown here), but in the sponsor-driven world of tournament poker, Moon’s choice stands out and will make for an interesting and oft-repeated narrative point as the tournament approaches.

Of course, every time someone mentions that Moon didn’t sign with an online poker room like Stars or Full Tilt, those rooms will be getting some exposure for not getting exposure, so congratulations to them on the backdoor sponsorship. It will also be interesting to see if a mainstream sponsor can twist Moon’s arm into shilling for them at the final table and, if so, what the price for his patch will be.

For all of our WSOP coverage, visit our WSOP home page here.

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