World Series of Poker 2011 Event Schedule Announced

Here’s a riddle. What has 58 events, is spread out over six months, and can make grown men cry? It’s the 42nd annual World Series of Poker. Running this year from May 31 until July 19, 2011, with a brief hiatus until it officially wraps up on November 7, this is what poker players wait for each year. There is nothing as exciting as the anticipation of the start of the WSOP and nothing as sad as the day you are knocked out of the final event and you have to say, “Wait until next year.”

This is the largest number of events in WSOP history, with buy-ins ranging from $500 to $50,000. "Something for everyone is the best way to describe the 2011 World Series of Poker schedule," said WSOP Tournament Director Jack Effel. "It's staggering to think that last year alone the WSOP hosted nine of the 17 largest tournaments in poker history. We had 44 events produce more than a $1 million prize pool, so we can't wait to get at it again and offer players at all levels the best poker action on the planet."

As is the custom, the first event will be the $500 Casino Employees tournament held at noon on May 31. But the first open event will be a new one -- a $25,000 heads-up event. Limited to just 256 players, this is will be the most expensive heads-up tournament in WSOP history. But the most expensive, and most prestigious, event will be the $50,000 Poker Players' Championship, which was won last year by Michael “the Grinder” Mizrachi. Last year, it was scheduled for the beginning of the series and was stopped and started at odd times.  This year it's been given a better slot, near the end of the series, and the players won't have to wonder when they're due back in their seats!

Added to the schedule this year is a $2,500 10-game mix/six-handed event and a $5,000 pot-limit Omaha/six-handed event, while removed from the schedule is the $25,000 six-handed event.  In all, there will be twelve championship events before the main event, including the return of the sometimes controversial Ladies championship.  They also moved the start of the main event to July 7, so as to not interfere with Independence Day any more. 

Another big change from years past will do away with the sight of half-dead, zombie-like players trying to prop open at least one eye to see their cards as the morning sun begins its ascent. There is now a civilized 10-level rule which provides that for all bracelet events (except the main event), no more than 10 levels will be played in a day.  Also, registration for bracelet events will be open for twice as long as in previous years. The window will now close after four levels of play.


With a nod to the economy, and seeing how enormous the turnout was in the past, there will be a number of relatively low buy-in events offered again. This year, the WSOP has announced a "Weekend Warriors" program which will consist of a $1,500 event each Saturday in June and a $1,000 event every Sunday.  In all, there will be five $1,000 events (not counting the Seniors and Ladies tourneys) and twenty $1,500 events.

The granddaddy of them all, the $10,000 main event, will begin on July 7 with one of four Day 1s. After Days 2A and 2B, there will be a day off and then players will play six more days until the final table, the November Nine, is reached on Tuesday, July 19. The final nine players will return to Las Vegas and compete for the bracelet on Nov. 5-7.

I'll be on Lou Krieger's show Keep Flopping Aces on Rounder's Radio this Thursday, January 27, to discuss the changes and the upcoming series.

Below is the complete schedule for the 2011 WSOP. It is not too early to plan your trip to Las Vegas. Pre-registration is available on-site at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino or online at WSOP.com, beginning February 7. 

2011 World Series of Poker Schedule

Event  Date, Time Tournament Buy-in
1 May 31, noon Casino Employees Event no-limit hold 'em (two-day event) $500
2 May 31, 5 p.m. Heads-up no-limit hold 'em championship (four-day event) $25,000
3 June 1, noon Omaha high-low split eight-or-better (three-day event) $1,500
4 June 2, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $5,000
5 June 2, 5 p.m. Seven card stud (three-day event) $1,500
6 June 3, noon Limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
7 June 3, 5 p.m. Pot-limit hold 'em championship (three-day event) $10,000
8 June 4, noon No-limit hold 'em (two starting days, five-day event) $1,000
9 June 4, 5 p.m. 2-7 draw lowball no-limit (three-day event) $1,500
10 June 6, noon Six-handed no-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
11 June 6, 5 p.m. Omaha high-low split eight-or-better championship (three-day event) $10,000
12 June 7, noon. Triple chance no-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
13 June 8, noon No-limit hold 'em shootout (three-day event) $1,500
14 June 8, 5 p.m. Limit hold 'em (three-day event) $3,000
15 June 9, noon Pot-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
16 June 9, 5 p.m. 2-7 draw lowball championship (three-day event) $10,000
17 June 10, noon HORSE (three-day event) $1,500
18 June 11, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
19 June 11, 5 p.m. Six-handed limit hold 'em (three-day event) $2,500
20 June 12, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,000
21 June 12, 5 p.m. Seven card stud championship (three-day event) $10,000
22 June 13, noon Pot-limit Omaha (three-day event) $1,500
23 June 13, 5 p.m. Eight-game mix (limit hold 'em, Omaha high-low split, razz, seven card stud, seven card stud high-low, no-limit hold 'em, pot-limit Omaha, 2-7 triple draw; three-day event) $2,500
24 June 14, noon No-limit hold 'em shootout (three-day event) $5,000
25 June 14, 5 p.m. Seven card stud high-low (three-day event) $1,500
26 June 15, noon Six-handed no-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $2,500
27 June 15, 5 p.m. Limit hold 'em championship (three-day event) $10,000
28 June 16, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
29 June 16, 5 p.m. 10-game mix (no-limit hold 'em, razz, limit hold 'em, Badugi, seven card stud, 2-7 draw lowball, Omaha high-low split, pot-limit Omaha, 2-7 triple draw lowball and seven card stud high-low split eight-or-better; three-day event) $2,500
30 June 17, noon Seniors no-limit hold 'em championship (three-day event) $1,000
31 June 17, 5 p.m. Pot-limit Omaha (three-day event) $3,000
32 June 18, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
33 June 18, 5 p.m. Seven card stud high-low split eight-or-better championship (three-day event) $10,000
34 June 19, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,000
35 June 20, noon Six-handed pot-limit Omaha (three-day event) $5,000
36 June 21, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $2,500
37 June 21, 5 p.m. HORSE championship (three-day event) $10,000
38 June 22, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
39 June 22, 5 p.m. Pot-limit hold 'em/pot-limit Omaha (three-day event) $2,500
40 June 23, noon Six-handed no-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $5,000
41 June 24, noon Limit hold 'em shootout (three-day event) $1,500
42 June 24, 5 p.m. Pot-limit Omaha championship (three-day event) $10,000
43 June 25, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
44 June 25, 5 p.m. Razz (three-day event) $2,500
45 June 26, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,000
46 June 27, noon Six-handed no-limit hold 'em championship (three-day event) $10,000
47 June 27, 5 p.m. Omaha/Seven card stud high-low eight-or-better (four-day event) $2,500
48 June 28, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
49 June 28, 5 p.m. 2-7 triple draw lowball (limit; three-day event) $2,500
50 June 29, noon Triple Chance no-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $5,000
51 June 30, noon Pot-limit Omaha high-low split eight-or-better (three-day event) $1,500
52 June 30, 5 p.m. Mixed hold 'em (three-day event) $2,000
53 July 1, noon Ladies no-limit hold 'em championship (three-day event) $1,000
54 July 2, noon No-limit hold 'em (two starting days, five-day event) $1,000
55 July 2, 5 p.m. The Poker Players' Championship (five-day event) $50,000
56 July 2, noon No-limit hold 'em (three-day event) $1,500
57 July 5, 5 p.m. Pot-limit Omaha high-low split eight-or-better $5,000
58 July 7 - July 19 No-limit hold 'em main event $10,000

Jared Lee Loughner -- The Rapid Decline

I was startled when I saw the mugshot today of accused mass murderer Jared Lee Loughner.  I knew he was 22 at the time of the shooting and had only seen his high school yearbook picture:

 

as well as another, more recent photo:

Those photos were significant just in how ordinary they were.  The first image was of a curly-haired teenager, no different from any other kid you'd see bagging your groceries or hanging out in a skate park. The second, a normal, indistinguishable twenty-something. 

This is what Jared Loughner looked like today:

This is the face of someone accused of killing six people, including a child.  How he went from the youth above to the frighteningly crazy-eyed man in the bottom photo in just a few short years, will be a cautionary tale for all of us. Because the signs of his rapid and extreme change were all there.  From his dropping out of high school, to run-ins at junior college, to a failed attempt to enlist in the draft, to authoring nonsensical yet vitriolic rants, he was a ticking timebomb.  

Why he wasn't helped, how he slipped through our fingers, how he was allowed to plunge deeper into whatever strange thoughts possessed him is something we need to face. Immediately after the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and the more than a dozen others, all the attention turned to the heated speech in our current political discord as having incited this shooting.  But it seems much more likely that what motivated and propelled the shooter will be much more mundane and less newsworthy than a Sarah Palin target map or the ravings of Glenn Beck.  It should be noted that Loughner's interest in the Congresswoman goes back to at least 2007 when he first saw her at a constituent meet-and-greet, a year before most of us had heard of Sarah Palin.

This is not one of those instances where after a suspect is named, those who knew him say, I never thought this could happen or this doesn't sound like the person I knew.  No, this is, sadly, one of those cases where someone's alleged connection with a horrific shooting is met not with shock but with acceptance.  A former classmate's emails about Loughner from last summer were reproduced in today's Washington Post.

June 1, the first day of class:


'One day down and nineteen to go. We do have one student in the class who was disruptive today, I'm not certain yet if he was on drugs (as one person surmised) or disturbed. He scares me a bit. The teacher tried to throw him out and he refused to go, so I talked to the teacher afterward. Hopefully he will be out of class very soon, and not come back with an automatic weapon.'

From June 10:

'As for me, Thursday means the end to week two of algebra class. It seems to be going by quickly, but then I do have three weeks to go so we'll see how I feel by then. Class isn't dull as we have a seriously disturbed student in the class, and they are trying to figure out how to get rid of him before he does something bad, but on the other hand, until he does something bad, you can't do anything about him. Needless to say, I sit by the door.'

From June 14:

'We have a mentally unstable person in the class that scares the living cr** out of me. He is one of those whose picture you see on the news, after he has come into class with an automatic weapon. Everyone interviewed would say, Yeah, he was in my math class and he was really weird. I sit by the door with my purse handy. If you see it on the news one night, know that I got out fast...'

Unfortunately, her emails, while prescient, did nothing to actually get Loughner whatever help he needed or protect the public from him before it was too late.

If Loughner is indeed the shooter, we can look closer to home for clues -- to his backyard with the makeshift shrine and plastic skull, to his rambling, incoherent thoughts and beliefs, to his drug use and to his presently uncooperative parents.  What we will find, ultimately, is that there is not one, easy explanation for such a horrific act of violence.  We will peel away at the many aspects of his personality and experiences and discover that it took a perfect storm of things going wrong for him to pick up that gun and aim it at his fellow human beings.  What is tragic is that the signs he was heading in that direction were apparently there, but no one knew what to do with them.