FRIDAY’S 2006 WSOP ACTION PHOTOS

A stroll through the World Series of Poker provided plenty of action in event #31, $2,000 buy-in No-limit Hold’em. The crowds are building in anticipation of the $10,000 Main Event scheduled to begin in a week. This year’s record setting will be remembered as the first year of the “Corporate World Series of Poker” with major deals and decisions based entirely on the bottow line. No longer run by poker people, the big poker show has become the symbol of elusiveness and frustration for the media with everchanging rules and the already restrictive access that disappears entirely when 150 or less players remain in an event. Rumors persist that next year the WSOP will have unlisted phone numbers and key card access in their continuing efforts to eliminate the unwanted pesky poker media and most players. It’s not about poker, it’s about profit.

Today’s batch of photos from the floor of the Amazon Room at the Rio below.