At the 2007 World Series of Poker, there were fifty-five official events. Of those, only five didn’t count towards Player of the Year standings. Four you probably know; the $10,000 world championship, the $50,000 HORSE, the ladies event and the seniors event. The one you may not know? The employees event.
Along with the seniors and the ladies, the employees event is one of three events held all series long without open registration, the rules stating it may only be attended by casino employees. Born of the need to alleviate the desire to play and to recognize the contributions of the entrants, had the honor of being recognized as event number two. It’s also the lowest buy-in event, at just $500.
The placing in the sequence of events was an unusual one, in that the event had become the traditional first of the Series, but with the problems with satellite line-ups and the sub-standard card face chosen for the official decks, any slight that may have been perceived as was quickly forgotten. In all, the event was a rousing success, with 1039 players putting up the money to play.
Emerging as the winner was twenty-four year old rapper Frederick Narciso. Narciso, who’s finished twenty-seventh in the 2006 rendition of the event, won $104,701 for his trouble, defeating Charles Fisher in the final. He qualified through a $90 satellite.
Unfortunately, due to its ceremonial nature, the coverage of event two was more than a little sparse. To date, I haven’t seen the final hand published anywhere, meaning today’s hand of the day is without a hand.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
