#33, or There Can Be Only One.

And I'm not talking Rolling Rock here. I'm referring to the 33rd event of the World Series of Poker, the Main Event - the $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'Em that decides who is crowned the World Champion of Poker. Last year, the event drew a (then) record 839 entries; this year the number of contestants sky-rocketed to 2,576 players. The winner - the last man (or woman) standing will take home about $5 million in prize money, as well the traditional platinum winner's bracelet.

You can visit here to see some pretty good coverage of the Main Event, including a database with players and chip counts, as well as some pictures. That is, if you're into that sort of thing - if you want to know if Doyle Brunson is still in the running, or what Chris 'Jesus' Ferguson's chip count is - and lord knows I am. I wouldn't recognize Lindsay Lohan (she is a famous person, right?) if she emerged from a crowd to bite my barely existing skinny Irish ass, nor can I identify Justin the nSync guy unless he's in proper context*, but I can pick Annie Duke or Phil Hellmuth out of a crowd.

Ah well, it's a harmless obsession.

*right context=on stage somewhere="That nSync guy seems kinda android like"
*wrong context=picking his nose when he thinks the interviewer isn't looking="Gross. Who is that guy?"