The World Series of Poker has always been a tough event to play at since it commonly attracts many of the best poker players on the planet. The WSOP is also where the most prize money is at, and is the most glamorous event too. Seeing as how this is the case, there has always been great competition at the WSOP.
But that competition has only gotten better over the past couple of years due to the fact that tons of talented online players have been taking their game to the highest level. Since so many more good players are in Las Vegas during the summer, a lot of pros are saying it’s never been tougher to survive on the felt.
Phil Hellmuth, who holds the record for WSOP gold bracelets with 11, admitted that the Series is so much tougher these days. He stated, “I’ve never worked this hard and then my results aren’t what I want them to be. I was hoping for something great to happen this trip but it just hasn’t happened yet.”
A lot of people think that the passage of the UIGEA is still having huge effects on the poker world since most of the casual players dropped out of the game at that point. As Barry Greenstein said, “What the (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) has done has really taken a lot of the recreational players out of poker. What you’re left with is really just mostly people who are trying to make a living.”
Of course in America, the economy has taken a downturn which has also affected the number of casual players out there. Seeing as how there is less money to go around, not too many novice players are going to be booking their flight to Las Vegas anytime soon.