...is the biggest, baddest and best poker festival in the WORLD. It helps if you imagine Jeremy Clarkson saying that, in that deep gravelly voice and elongated WORLDDDDDD. The 2016 WSOP is in town - well it is if Las Vegas is your town - so first up, what is the World Series of Poker, or as it is more usually known, the WSOP?Its the poker equivalent of Wimbledon tennis, The Masters Golf, horse racings Royal Ascot or Cheltenham, snookers World Championship - all of which have a natural home. Same with the WSOP - it belongs in Las Vegas. There are mini-versions and copycat events which feed off the brand and take place in Europe and elsewhere, but they are simply not the real deal. Put simply, its the very pinnacle of poker, where the best meet the best. Its live poker, not online poker, and it takes place in Las Vegas every summer, and has done since way back in 1970.Initially, it was just one tournament, and it cost $10,000 to enter. In 1970, $10,000 was a lot of money. Come to think of it, that is a lot of money in 2016, too.Originally, there was just one tournament - the $10,000 biggie. These days, having expanded and grown over the years, it now comprises of 69 events, but the one that matters is the Main Event, or as it has become known, The Main.The 2016 WSOP commences on Wednesday 1st June, and by tradition, it starts in a very odd way - an event in which entry is restricted to casino employees. You may well wonder how that works, in the same way as we wonder how the snowplough driver gets to work after overnight snow, so youd perhaps be surprised to learn that last years renewal attracted a whopping 688 runners, and if recent trends are anything to go by, that will increase this year.Once that is out of the way, June 2nd sees the start of the well-named Colossus, which last year saw no less than 22,374 hopefuls all stumping up $565. Can you even begin to imagine the logistics of a 22,000 runner live poker event? For starters, how many chairs, tables, packs of cards, dealers and poker chips will they need?Lets look at that another way. When the dust settles, and one player remains, how many chips will he have in front of him or her? The answer is at least 110,000,000. To save you counting those noughts, thats 110 million chips. From there, it moves on, and every known format of poker has its own WSOP event, often several at different price points. You may think that poker is poker, but there is a bewildering array of formats these days. The daddy of them all, and far and away the most popular, is No Limit Holdem, aka Texas, or simply NLH. Add to that Limit Holdem, Omaha, Omaha 8 or better, Razz, 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball, Seven Card Stud, High Low Stud, Dealers Choice, H.O.R.S.E., Eight Game Mix, and a few others, and you get the idea. Then add events restricted to Ladies, Seniors, even Super Seniors, 9 handed, 8 handed, 6 handed, 4 handed, Heads Up (2 handed), and you get the picture. This is the business, where poker is defined, where we get to see the real champions.Its truly global, too - in 2015, 111 different nations were represented. Can you even name 111 different countries? In total, 103,512 players played the 2015 WSOP, and we can reasonably expect that number to increase again, as it does every year, in 2016.Quite the occasion then.Whilst the vast majority of players are regular guys like you and I, it also includes the pro players, and celebrities galore, with many stars of stage, screen and sports taking part.Historically, the big names associated with the WSOP are guys like Stu Ungar, Phil Hellmuth, Greg Raymer, Chris Moneymaker, and, fingers crossed, if his ailing health permits, the grand-daddy of them all, Doyle Brunson.Doyle is 82 now, and a little frail, as you may expect, but when he trundles into the Rio cardroom in his mobility scooter, the place erupts. Poker is not known for deference to elders, but Doyle, aka Texas Dolly, is recognized as the most influential man in poker, and the original author of pokers most influential textbook Super System. He has 10 WSOP bracelets to his name - rather oddly, WSOP winners get a bracelet of all things, in addition to a wheelbarrow full of cash. Even more remarkably, he won the WSOP Main in successive years with the same hand, which, arguably, is one of the worst hands in poker, 10-2. On both occasions, in 76 and 77, his 10-2 became a full house, one of the very best hands in poker.The WSOP originally took place in the wonderfully named Binions Gambling Hall, and later moved across to the Rio All-Suite Hotel. Binions is Downtown, on Fremont Street, and exists to this day. Its tired and rundown, almost a health hazard in fact, but if you ever get to Las Vegas, you have to go to Binions and play a little poker, the place reeks of poker tradition and history.So there it is, the WSOP in a nutshell.If any of that tickles your fancy, Ill be there, as always, and during the coming weeks, maybe Ill send back a story or two from what is, in the world of poker, the greatest event on Earth, bar none. So bookmark this page, and the WSOP tales of derring do, or, in my case, not so derring do, will follow. Vicarious Vegas is the next best thing to being there, but really, if you can get there, you should.Remember Clarksons voice, eh? The WSOP - the greatest poker event in the WORLDDDDDD. Rod Beck Red Sox Jersey . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Matt Barnes Red Sox Jersey . Marie rink got back in the win column at the Olympic mens curling tournament with a 7-4 win over the host Russian squad on Wednesday. https://www.cheapredsox.com/1731z-trevor...ey-red-sox.html. Jacob Jacques, Andrew Ryan and Jonathan Drouin also scored for Halifax (37-18-3), who outshot the Islanders 40-26. Kevin Darveau stopped 25 shots. Bradley Kennedy had the lone goal for Charlottetown (18-33-5), which has nine losses in its last 10 games. Marco Hernandez Jersey . The 28-year-old lefty made his MLB debut in 2013, making 10 starts and going 2-5 with 4.05 ERA and 1.18 WHIP. Albers was named the Twins organizations minor league pitcher of the year for 2013. J. D. Martinez Red Sox Jersey . "Last year we were in a ton of situations, late-game situations we couldnt pull out. Wed kind of fold under the pressure, get frustrated or let a big shot frustrate us," guard DeMar DeRozan said.If there were any worries Oregons highly-touted offence would take a step back this year, with Chip Kelly now working his craft in the NFL, Marcus Mariota has done a remarkable job the first seven weeks of the season putting them to bed. Not all the credit can be given to Mariota, Mark Helfrich has orchestrated a seamless transition from Kelly at head coach, but the redshirt sophomores performance has allowed the Ducks to pick up where they left off in torturing opposing defences on a weekly basis. And with Mariota, Helfrich might have something Kelly never did, a Heisman Trophy winner. Despite failing to surpass 50 points for the first time this season, Oregons 45-24 win over PAC-12 rival Washington was perhaps their strongest effort of the year, and Mariota was the catalyst. The Honolulu native threw for 366 yards and rushed for 88 more with four combined scores against the 16th-ranked Huskies defence. His numbers on the year rank among the best in the NCAA with his 25 combined touchdowns (17 passing) and zero interceptions really standing out. His 1,724 passing yards are 17th in the nation but fourth among Heisman candidates, and buooyed by his 426 yards on the ground this season.dddddddddddd Mariotas strong Week 7 propelled him into the Top 3 of the Heisman Watch while at the same time bumping down a former top contender, Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater. Bridgewater was only okay (21-31, 310 yards, 2 TDs to 1 INT) against Rutgers in a game the Cardinals relied more on their defence for the win. The other two sitting atop the Heisman Watch are of course Tajh Boyd and Johnny Manziel. Boyd was solid for Clemson in Week 7, throwing for 334 yards and scoring two TD combined against Boston College. His Heisman bid, along with the No. 3 Tigers season, could very well come down to next weeks matchup against Jameis Winston and the fifth-ranked Florida State Seminoles. Manziel meanwhile, shook off a serious enough looking knee injury to lead Texas A&M to a SEC win over Ole Miss. The defending Heisman winner was 31/39 for 346 yards and an interception, while adding 124 yards and two touchdowns on the ground against the formerly ranked Rebels. Fringe contenders this week include Alabama QB AJ McCarron, Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk, and UCLA QB Brett Hundley. ' ' '