Six years ago, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) decided to cross the pond and put on the first ever World Series of Poker Europe. Last year, the event moved from London to Cannes. This year, we are back in action on France's Gold Coast. It is a fitting location considering this series will award seven gold bracelets in addition to millions of Euros in paydays.
The action begins on Friday with the first bracelet event, a €2,500 Six-Handed No Limit Hold'em event. Last year, this tournament was a sellout affair. Guillaume Humbert conquered the field of 360 players to claim the first bracelet of the 2011 WSOPE as well as a €215,999 payday. This year, a whole new crop of contenders will be in attendance at the Casino Barriere and Croisette Casino for an elusive gold bracelet.
For those playing, they should be aware that, though the Day 1 action takes place at Casino Barriere, they must buy-in and show identification down the street at the Croisette. More information about funds, wires, and registration can be found on our What You Need to Know page. The WSOP Europe home page also has information regarding this year's schedule, official rules, and this year's brand new €50,000 High Roller event, a non-bracelet event that will bring together some of the best players in the world.
For those watching the action from home, we will once again provide live updates from all of the bracelet events. This year there will also be livestreams with French and English commentaries of all of the final tables. David Tuchman will once again be manning the booth on the English stream, while Nicolas Chai will do the honors on the French stream. The Main Event final table will reach even more people as it plays out live with hole cards (on 15 minute delay) on ESPN3 in the United States, on Eurosport in Europe, and on WSOP.com across the rest of the world. Fans can also follow @WSOP on Twitter for frequent updates from the events.
Today is just the beginning of two weeks of poker action, culminating in the €10,000 Main Event. Last year's Main Event was a real record breaker with the largest field the tournament has ever seen at 593 players. American Elio Fox topped off a series dominated by American players. Will this year be the year the Europeans get their revenge? We'll find out starting today as the top European and American players convene for this year's WSOP Europe event, sure to be a memorable one.