The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the 2008 series began on May 30 and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold 'em Main Event, the most prestigious of the WSOP events, ended by July 15. The final table, known as the November Nine, of the Main Event was suspended until November, to allow for better television coverage.[1] As a WSOP custom since 1976, each of the event winners received a championship bracelet in addition to that event's prize money ranging from US$87,929 for the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em to US$9,119,517 for the Main Event.
Most of the tournaments played at the WSOP are variants of Texas Hold 'em. Hold 'em is a community card game where each player may use any combination of the five community cards and the player's own two hole cards to make a poker hand, in contrast to poker variants such as stud or draw in which each player holds a separate individual hand. Between 2000 and 2009, hold'em has surpassed seven-card stud as the most common game in U.S. casinos, almost totally eclipsing the once popular game.[2] Seven-card stud is a poker variant wherein each player is dealt two hole card, followed by four face up cards, and then another hidden card, with betting after each round. Another poker variant played is Omaha. Omaha is a version of poker wherein each player is dealt four hole cards and must use two of them in conjunction with three community cards to make the best possible five card hand. Other games played at the 2008 tournament included Razz, HORSE, and Deuce-to-Seven.
Within each of these poker variants a myriad of options exist. For example, depending on the betting structure, a tournament might be described as no limit, limit or pot-limit. Games may also include other variations on the rules governing the execution of the specific game such as shootout, eight or better, or heads up.
Highlights of the 2008 series include the selection of Erick Lindgren as the Player of the Year. Before the 2008 WSOP, Lindgren, who won a bracelet and made three final tables, was widely considered to be the "best player to never win a WSOP bracelet”.[3] Phil Hellmuth, a Poker Hall of Famer, set new records for the most WSOP career cashes (68) and most WSOP career final tables (41).[4] Nikolay Evdakov led all players with a record 10 money finishes.[5] The Main Event, which began with 6,844 participants (a level exceeded only by the number of participants at the 2006 event), was suspended once the event was down to the nine players needed for the final table; the Main Event was resumed on November 9 and concluded with the heads-up final between Peter Eastgate and Ivan Demidov the next day. This year was the first in which the Main Event was suspended in this fashion, a change introduced at ESPN's request to allow the television network to do a same-day Main Event broadcast.[6]