I just got back late last night from attending my first World Series of Poker. I only attended the first few days so far, but it was definitely worth the trip.

Although I only attended the first few days and didn’t play in any events so far I have to say that if you’re a poker player the WSOP is a must see for anyone who follows the game.

My trip to Las Vegas was a last minute trip that mainly focused on helping my friend Dan find a house as he plans to make the move out there sometime in July. The fact that the WSOP was starting just around the same time was simply an added bonus.

For many years now I’ve stated that “next year I’m definitely going to the WSOP”, but year after year it just hasn’t worked out. Either I didn’t save up enough money or I was busy working on other projects and just couldn’t make it happen. This year was no exception until I received a call from my friend Dan asking if I’d join him in Vegas for a week to look at houses. I then jumped on to WorldSeriesofPoker.com to check the schedule and noticed we’d be there for the first 5 days of this incredible poker marathon which goes from June 1st through the middle of July and hosts over 55 events.

While this was my first WSOP it wasn’t my first time attending a big poker tournament as I played for years in Tunica, MS where I have attended the World Poker Open which is a World Poker Tour event. I’ve even sat and played cash games with some top pros and held my own. However, nothing prepares you for the WSOP.

Our first day there we spotted Daniel Negreanu driving in front of us as we pulled up to the Rio and as we walked in we got a chance to chat a bit with him while he scarfed down some type of “veggie” sandwich and hurried off to his event.

Once we got inside the Rio it was a who’s who of the poker world. Over the next few days we spotted virtually every major poker player in the world and what’s really cool about the WSOP is how accessible the players are for pictures, questions or just a quick chat.

However, one player stood out from the rest. 2004 WSOP Main Event Champion Greg Raymer. Although I didn’t personally talk to him, he was by far the most accessible, gracious and nicest player we came across. It was never too much for him to stop and chat with fans, take a picture or two or even just chat about how his tournament was going. While Greg may not be the flashiest player or the most written about he is a class act and I hope he doesn’t change.

Besides Greg Raymer we ran into a number of other top pros. Too many to really list them all, but here are a few off the top of my head… Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Barry Greenstein, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow, Gus Hansen, Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Layne Flack, David Chiu, Men “The Master” Nguyen, Chip Reese, Mike Sexton, Humberto Brenes, Gavin Smith, John Juanda, Erik Seidel, David Williams, Allen Cunningham, Phil Ivey (who by far had the biggest crowds around him) and Shannon Elizabeth.

Another aspect of the World Series is that when players aren’t playing in tournaments most of them are playing is side games for big time cash. The WSOP at the Rio has tables as low as $4-8 limit holdem all the way up to $100-200 no limit and higher.

While these stakes sure sound like a lot. They dwarf in comparison to the the stakes played in the “Big Game” which is played in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio poker room.

The first night we were in town we had a chance to meet up with a friend named Jason who’s a fellow poker pro and play some cash games at the Bellagio. I was seated at a 2-5 no limit game right in front of Bobby’s Room and only feet away from the likes of Johnny Chan, Jennifer Harman, Eli Elezra, Phil Hellmuth and a few other young guys I wasn’t familiar with. From what I understand they were playing a mixed game with $4000-8000 blinds. I can’t imagine what the average buy in is, but I do know that Hellmuth was walking around throwing a tantrum like he usually does. At least we know the world is in order. The day Hellmuth is gracious and doesn’t act like a douche bag is the day we know the end is near.

I plan on being back in Vegas sometime next week and will then be playing in some of the smaller buy in events along with playing in some other tournaments going on throughout Vegas. There are literally hundreds of tournaments going on right now and I plan on taking advantage of that not only for me personally, but also for our new business venture which I’ll be announcing at the World Series of Poker right before the Main Event in July. It’s something completely new to the industry and something that has been much needed in the industry for quite a while now.

On a personal note… Although I mentioned I didn’t play in any WSOP events the first week I did play a few cash games and also played in a tournament one night at Caesars Palace and finished 4th out of 102 players. It wasn’t WSOP 4th place cash, but it sure helped pay for an expensive week in Vegas.

Look for more updates and pics next week and I’ll also try to post a few video interviews with some top pros.

Here are some pics I took at the 2007 WSOP.

This one is of Dan and Humberto Brenes. (See Dan holding Humberto’s little all-in shark) He tried to take it, but Humberto said Noooooooooo!

These are of me and Dan dreaming a little bit….