Storylines to Watch at the 2010 WSOP

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Among the final tables, bracelet ceremonies and grandiose Hellmuth entrances are likely to be several intriguing stories at this year’s WSOP. Here’s our list of the stories that should provide quality subplot fodder at the 2010 WSOP.

In 2009, the chatter focused on Phil Ivey, early and heavily. How many bracelets could he win? Did Ivey’s crushing of the WSOP represent a resurgence of the live pro? How much did he have riding on the WSOP in side bets, and with who?

Following his nearly-historic run in the WSOP Main Event, there will be no shortage of Ivey gossip and scuttlebutt in 2010. However, there’s not much more to say about Ivey that hasn’t been said, so expect the focus to shift quickly to other topics of conversation, such as …

Annette’s Debut / Year of the Woman

We can’t think of a more hotly anticipated debut than that of Annette Obrestad, who will be making her first appearance at the World Series of Poker in 2010. The online / live-where-she’s-old-enough-to-play phenom has been the subject of WSOP hype for several years now, an anticipation only fueled by her breakout performance at the inaugural WSOP Europe.

Annette would be a widely-watched story in any year, but expect the coverage to be ramped up as part of a larger focus on women in tournament poker that seems to be all the rage as of late. Driven largely by Vanessa Russo and Liv Boeree’s tournament wins, coverage of the fairer sex and their increasing prominence in major tournament results will provide a handy backdrop for Annette’s debut.

Expect serious coverage of every move Annette makes in what is sure to be a very heavy WSOP schedule for her, along with amplified coverage of any women who makes any sort of run in a significant event.

The Future of Online Poker

The question of online poker future will hang heavily over almost every aspect of the WSOP. Expect payment processing issues to take center stage, as hurdles thrown up by the US Government via the UIGEA reveal their power and scope post June 1st and the mass exodus of money offline due to the WSOP places even more stress on an already weakened system.

Also a likely conversation starter: the emerging conflict between online rooms and Harrah’s. 2010 will mark the first year that Harrah’s is sending players to the WSOP via their online poker room (not available to US players), and while the Harrah’s patches won’t even make a dent in a room dominated by Stars and FTP-sponsored entrants, it raises the question of how long the now-competing entities can co-exist, and on what terms.

Finally, expect more gossip, speculation and outright rumor-mongering regarding FTP grand jury indictments and other legal attacks on online poker as quasi-conspiracy-minded poker players gather together and conflate fact with conjecture to pass the time.

The Future of the WSOP

It’s looking more and more as if the 2010 WSOP will be a swan song for the Rio, with credible sources identifying the Rio as a property Harrah’s would like to relieve themselves of. It’s off the strip, it’s a bit out of line with Harrah’s overall strategy, and it isn’t necessarily the best place for the WSOP to be hosted – at least not since Harrah’s acquired Planet Hollywood.

The WSOP has been at the Rio since 2005 – a rather brief residency compared to its stay at original home Binion’s, which spanned four decades – but many speculate that 2010 will be the end of that run. Planet Hollywood is on the strip, has the facilities, and would benefit greatly from the intense promotional push that the WSOP provides.

For a new property on the strip, it’s hard to ask for a better introduction that the mainstream press exposure hosting the WSOP brings, and if Harrah’s finds a suitable buyer for the Rio, the days of the November Nine battling it out of the Main Event title in the Penn and Teller theater could be drawing to a close.

Follow all of the 2010 WSOP at our WSOP coverage page.

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