Everyone seems to be talking about the 2008 World Series of Poker right now (probably because it’s going on) so I figure that I’ll chime in on the world’s greatest poker event as well.  And what I’d like to shed some light on is some of the best moments that have happened so far in the WSOP.

One of my favorites was the first sign that interest in the WSOP isn’t even close to dying off yet as the second event attracted a record number of players (for event #2) in the 3,929 that entered it.  There were so many people in the event that one day took 18 hours just to be completed.  On top of the numbers thing, it was also nice to see underdog Grant Hinkle win a bracelet in just his first WSOP cash ever.  He was able to overcome a final table that included Chris Ferguson and Theo Tran to do it.

Another great moment in my opinion was when Matt Keikoan was able to capture the win in Event #7.  Keikoan has been a long-time pro who had to struggle to make it to where he is today.  Often taking small casino jobs in addition to his poker playing, Keikoan had a tough time making ends meet sometimes but he was able to half a million dollars in Event #7 and shouldn’t have to struggle too much now.

Another pretty cool story was when Anthony Rivera out-maneuvered a lot of established tournament players en route to picking up the bracelet in Event #8.  With people like Jeff Madsen, Sam Farha, and prodigy Tom Dwan sitting at the final table with him, Rivera was able to play through his lack of tournament experience and come up with the big victory.  And just like Hinkle, this was only Rivera’s first WSOP cash as well.

There’s sure to be many more great moments in the 2008 WSOP and I can’t wait to catch them.