Grounded on the turnout at the World Series of Poker Circuit events at the Horseshoe Casino in October, the poker boom is still increasing in the Chicagoland area.

The Horseshoe has become an yearly stay on the circuit since reopening in the previous year. Main Event 2009 experienced a 50% growth in players. Last year, 165 poker gamblers participated in the Main Event, while this year 248 gamblers are going to fight for the prize pool of about 1.2 million dollars. According to the words of Jason Newman, who is Horseshoe poker room manager, as it had reference to the Horseshoe, poker still exist and prosper.

The Main Event which will last three days starts on Friday afternoon, with gamblers paying the $5,200 entry fee. 27 gamblers made the money, and the field was down to the final 9 gamblers before 6 p.m. dinner break on Sunday. The final table take place deep into the night. The gambler who win first place gets 291,749 dollars.

Sunday's event resulted in a week-long series that contained 13 different competitions. The kick-off event with a 345 dollars buy-in that began last Friday held a record 1,412 visitors, the most for any WSOP Circuit Event ever held. Newman admitted that he was surprised at the growth in the number of guests for the first event.

The kickoff event in the previous year had 1,187 visitors, so Newman and managerial staff had to change the scheduling for the week because of the growth. Jason Newman noted that they have extended the breaks and have made accessible the poker room for more tables.

A lot of the week's competitions took place in The Venue (the entertainment hall at the Horseshoe). Sunday's final table was held on the performance stage in the face of an audience. The Horseshoe event kicks off a yearlong series of competitions all round the country that finishes next summer at the World Series of Poker at the Rio Hotel & Casino that is in Las Vegas. Newman added that having being the kickoff event was not where the pressure comes in. He believes that it was the audience, the growth of guests coming through the doors that they are proud of.

World Series Of Poker Circuit Event

At The Horseshoe Casino

Main Event entrants: 248

Prize pool: $1,190,800 (1st place - $291,749)

Remarkably: Last week's Event No. 1 held the record for visitors at a WSOP Circuit Event with 1,412.