I’m playing today, in the first of the opening heats. I’m excited and feel that I’m playing at the top of my game.

It’s an overwhelming event – I just heard that there may be 10,000 players in total. But I can’t worry about that. All I can do is take it one table at a time, 10 players at a time. You really can’t worry about what’s happening at the other tables and who has the chip lead. You need to focus on the players around you.

I think we’re starting playing 11-handed, so I’ll need to play pretty tight. With 11-handed tables, there’s probably going to be a big hand out there, so you need to be pretty tight, especially in early position.

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The Main Event of the WSOP will start later today, and soon after that the tournament directors will announce a record number of entrants and a prize pool that is surreally large. This is an annual rite now; for three years running we’ve shaken our heads in wonder at the breathtaking scale this event has achieved.

For me, though, it’s not the size of the tournament that makes this event so special and unique. I’m not even that impressed by the other aspects of the event that people cite when they say it’s extraordinary. Sure, it’s great that a home-game novice can compete head-to-head with a world-class pro. And it’s wonderful that in two weeks the world will have a couple of new celebrities and a few very wealthy men and women.

But what I really love about the Main Event – and what separates it from all other poker tournaments or contests of any sort – is that anyone who has any relation with the game will have participated in this event’s formation. Even if you’re not playing in the Main Event, there is no doubt that some money you once held is in the prize pool.

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The story at the WSOP right now is the frenzy that’s descended upon the place. There are masses of people here. Hundreds of hopefuls enter the super satellites that start several times a day. With everyone in town, this is the time when the companies who are capitalizing on the poker boom can reach out to their consumers. In many cases, they’re doing it very well.

Last night was the Full Tilt party at Pure, the nightclub in Caesar’s Palace. There was plenty of top-shelf booze (Tanqueary for me, please!) and a bevy of B-list celebrities. Jose Canseco and Shannon Elizabeth were there, looking huge and beautiful, respectively. One of the cast members from Mad TV was there, falling over drunk.

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In the couple of events I played in, I finally felt like I was starting to concentrate. I’ve been very busy with Full Tilt, and for much of the time during the early events, I had a hard time fully focusing on the game. And, of course, if you’rethinking about other things, it’s going to be very hard to gather all the information that’s available to you.

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Full Tilt Poker announced today that another member has been added to the team – none of then the Great Dane, Gus Hansen.

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I leave tomorrow. Perfect timing as far as I am concerned, as what seems like the entire world has set up camp inside the Rio. For the last three weeks the media room has been a ghost town. It now more closely resembles present-day Beirut. The diehard poker writers who have been following this year’s Series since it kicked off in late June are about to get kicked aside in favor of bigger names from bigger news outlets. I expect to see Bill Simmons (who I believe is entering the main event with the intention of using the experience as fodder for his Sports Guy column with ESPN) any second and after him Rick Reilly, and when I do I will know with absolute certainty that it’s time to hit the road.

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I spotted a friend in the hallway yesterday, and he told me about his adventures in a recent tournament. He outlasted over 2,000 players for a top 20 finish. “Great work,” I offered, as I realized what an accomplishment it is to make it through a field of that size. I asked about his payday: just over $8,000.

“Oh, God,” I said, “that’s awful.”

“Yeah,” was all he could manage.

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It’s Satellite Day at the World Series, which means the dreamers have descended upon the Rio in full force, hoping to scratch and claw their way into the main event. This is the first day since the Series began that there hasn’t been a Day One of a bracelet event, and there is a noticeable sense of relief permeating the halls of the Convention Center: we’ve almost made it.

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Every single poker player inside the Amazon Room today is playing for something. Most are chasing dreams of a big-money score, others are hoping to snag a coveted gold bracelet, but only one is playing to snag a piece of history. Phil Hellmuth, Jr. has a chance to capture his tenth World Series bracelet, which would tie him with Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson for the all-time lead. Pretty heady stuff for a guy who suffered from an extreme insecurity complex in his youth.

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Annie Duke has once again shocked the world. First, she won the Tournament of Champions two years ago. Now she has added an even more illustrious title to her resume: World Series of Rochambeau Champion.

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