The Main Event

The Main Event - the $10,000 entry fee tournament with the world's largest field and the richest first prize of all sporting events worldwide begins with four "Day One" starts.

Each "Day One" begins with about 1300 players and ends with about 600. Then, after a day's break for the Casino Employee's tournament there will be two "Day Twos" and finally with the field narrowed to about 600, they will play down to the final table which, courtesy of ESPN will be delayed until November. Everyone who makes the final table will collect over a million dollars. ESPN figures that they would have a much more compelling television show if it were live or nearly live rather than airing the final table six months after it occurred. It also should be noted that Poker is third in ESPN's viewership behind only Football and NASCAR. I think it will be interesting to see how it plays out on Tuesday nights beginning in late July.

What about my experience? The Main Event began with the UNLV Marching Band and Wayne Newton kicking things off but I missed all that. I was scheduled to arrive at 6 PM, well after the opening ceremonies completed. Will I be on TV? Maybe, but probably from the back. I know the ESPN cameras were on me a few times when I dealt tables containing Robert Varkoni (winner of the Main Event in 2002 ) and Billy "The Croc" Argyros and his crocodile hat and a few others but I haven't been chosen to deal at one of the ESPN featured tables. Any view of me will likely be of my bald spot and measured in seconds.

The view, however, is tremendous. There is just nothing comparable to sitting at the table with these players, seeing how they play and feeling the tension as decisions are made. The only way to get this kind of experience would be to actually play in the events. Television distorts the play by only showing the unique situations that develop and from the rail you just don't get a good enough view to have a sense of what is going on. As a dealer you are part of the action and intimately connected with the game. Without doubt, I am a much better dealer today than I was a month ago when I started, but I also think that I am a much better Poker player than I was simply by having seen so many hands played out.