2008 WSOP Running Smoothly, Thank You Very Much

The pigeons in the Amazon Room are the biggest problem so far at the 2008 WSOP. (Bodog Beat Image)"]

Harken back to the 2007 WSOP and by this time we were writing about the "Black Curtain of Sequestration" at the televised final tables, the misery of those unfortunate enough to get stuck playing for thousands, nee millions, of dollars out in the hot, musty Poker Tent, the stench of greasy, fried food wafting through the hallways from the indoor Poker Kitchen, the absurdly long lines for donkament registration and the plight of the alternates, the failed experiment with the "Poker Peek" cards and a number of other smaller things that gave us plenty of material.

This year? Practically nothing. WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack and chief Tournament Director Jack Effel have got to be giving themselves, or each other, huge pats on the back. Everything seems to be running smoothly, thank you very much. There was a minor registration line issue a couple of days ago for one event and something about players not reading the rules about their stacks being blinded off if they pre-registered and didn't show up on time to an event, but these issues were really nothing and resolved quickly.

The biggest problem we've got at the moment are the pigeons that somehow managed to find their way into the Amazon Room and strut around the place every morning before play begins. It's not that we want something to go wrong just to have controversy to report on, but this is a little boring to be honest. So, thanks Pollack and Effel, now we're stuck at the Rio AND bored.

The biggest gamble this year is the 117 day delay before the WSOP Main Event final table and we won't know whether that one paid off until mid-November.

Hey, by the way, there's another $1,500 No Limit Holdem event going on today. Yay. LOL donkaments.