Las Vegas Weekly

July 8, 2010 · 12:42 PM

Photos: Joe Cada and Phil Hellmuth at The Rio for World Series of Poker

By Robin Leach

2009 World Series of Poker champion Joe Cada at the 2010 WSOP at The Rio on May 29, 2010.

Photo: Brian Jones/Las Vegas News Bureau

It’s taken four days to get the playing field in order for the Main Event of this year’s World Series of Poker. Today at noon, Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith kicked off the final day of players with the shuffle up and deal. High attendance is expected for this final day of sign-ups, and tonight we’ll know the exact final number of competitors and the grand prize purse.

Yesterday, reigning WSOP champion Joe Cada, who was supposed to officiate today for the largest-attended heat, moved up his duties one day so he could help welcome Phil Hellmuth, one of the greatest players to ever play the game. The 11-time WSOP champion arrived in his signature outrageous style and for this year’s antics tried to deliver a knockout dressed in boxing gear complete with robe and gloves.

Thanks to contributing photographer Tom Donoghue and also to Richard Corey for his YouTube videos of UFC ring announcer Bruce Buffer making the introductions for Phil and his sexy models and Joe’s shuffle up and deal ceremony. Phil previously has arrived as Gen. George Patton and last year as Julius Caesar.

All the top names in poker are on hand at The Rio for the $10,000 buy-in to the largest poker event of the year and are competing for an expected $8 million first-place prize and WSOP gold bracelet.

ESPN is using Twitter for daily live coverage, and here’s a report from Day 1C when 2,300 players registered. I’ll use Twitter this evening from The Rio to report the grand prize $$$ and the final number of competitors.

Preliminary numbers indicate well over 2,000 players are expected today to join the 4,900 seated in the first three days, which could take it to more than 7,000 as the second-largest field ever.

Tomorrow and Saturday, the competitors play in Day 2A and 2B. Then Day 3 begins Monday and will run through then normally until Friday, when play is down to just 27 players. Then July 17, play is down to the Final Nine. In November, the nine return to Caesars Palace for the Final Table -- and a new world champion.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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