Events #1 and #2 of the 2013 WSOP off to a roaring start

The Casino Employee tournament has been a staple at the World Series of Poker since it first landed on the World Series of Poker schedule in 2000, and has opened the WSOP every year with the exception of 2008 when the tournament was moved to the backend of the WSOP schedule for some reason. As the opening event at the WSOP a lot of people look to the Casino Employee tournament as a barometer of sorts, to see what type of attendance numbers it draws and the overall buzz around the tournament.

Since 2009 the Casino Employee tournament has seen attendance ebb and flow in a completely random fashion, and the tournament has done little to signify what other WSOP tournaments can expect in the way of attendance. Still, when the WSOP has had good years the attendance for the Casino Employee tournament has been up, so this year’s turnout of 860 entrants is an excellent sign for the WSOP moving forward.

By the end of the Day the tournament (which uses a faster structure than most WSOP events) was down to just 55 players. One of the remaining players, sitting in third-place on the leader-board, is PokerNews.com’s Chad Holloway.

Here is a look at the WSOP Casino Employee Tournament’s attendance over the years:

• 2012 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 732 entrants
• 2011 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 850 entrants
• 2010 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 721 entrants
• 2009 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 866 entrants
• 2008 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 930 entrants (last event of the WSOP)
• 2007 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 1,039 entrants
• 2006 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 1,232 entrants
• 2005 WSOP Casino Employee Tournament: 662 entrants

Event #2: $5,000 8-Max NLHE

Event #2 is one of the new tournaments on the WSOP schedule, and the event started with a bang as 481 players registered for the $5,000 buy-in tournament. By the end of the night the field was basically cut in half, with 232 players moving on to Day 2. Leading the way is 2010 Card Player Magazine Player of the Year Tom Marchese who bagged-up just over 150k chips, with Doc Sands and Antonio Esfandiari also landing in the Top 10 by the end of the night.

Here is a look at the Top 10 chip counts heading into Day 2:

1. Tom Marchese — 153,975
2. Scott Baumstein — 111,100
3. David Sands — 110,825
4. Stephen Bokor — 95,325
5. Darryll Fish — 93,000
6. Jamie Armstrong — 87,850
7. Bryan Piccioli — 85,900
8. Takashi Ogura — 81,650
9. Antonio Esfandiari — 80,650
10. John Riordan — 78,275

Here is a look at the final table payouts for the tournament, which produced a $2.2 million prize-pool:

• 1^st place: $553,906
• 2^nd place: $342,450
• 3^rd place: $215,286
• 4^th place: $154,518
• 5^th place: $112,695
• 6^th place: $83,532
• 7^th place: $62,915
• 8^th place: $48,130

*Resources: www.wsop.com, www.wikipedia.org