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•  The 2008 WSOP Favorites to win the Bracelet

The top pro poker players in the world have begun to flex their muscles for the biggest poker tournament of the year.

Yes, the 2008 World Series of Poker is set at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas , Nevada . This year's WSOP schedule includes 55 events plus a $10,000 championship event that has been increased to 7 in addition to the Main Event. The popular $50,000 HORSE event is also back for the third time.

So with all the money and glamor focused on the 2008 WSOP poker championships, here are the favorites to win the coveted WSOP Bracelet in the biggest poker tournament of the year.

First of is ‘'the Poker Brat'' Phil Hellmuth, this man has now tallied 11 bracelets, which he got last year, pulling ahead of both Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson. In 1989 he stopped Chan from winning three ME championships in a row by picking up his first ME title. Since then he also managed to make the ME final table in 2001 as well. Phil ‘'the Poker Brat'' Hellmuth believes the player who wins the most bracelets should go down as one of the greatest if not the greatest poker player in history.

Next is Erik Seidel. Over the last 10 years, Erik Seidel has managed to win 5 WSOP bracelets, giving him a total of eight. This year, Erik Seidel has finished 2nd place in the Aussie Millions $10k tourney and 1st place at the WPT Foxwoods Classic. Erik Seidel was immortalized with a clip of him losing heads-up against Johnny Chan in 1988 WSOP ME, but since then, he has quietly racked up one of the best poker careers ever.

Perhaps the most dominating poker player around today is Phil Ivey. Ivey has continued his string of tournament success by capturing his first WPT title. Ivey is strong in several forms of poker, and best seen when has two WSOP bracelets in PLO, one in 7 card stud, one in 7 card stud hi/lo, and one in S.H.O.E..

Daniel Negreanu, on the other hand, has managed to win three bracelets with one of them being in PLH and a mixed event. Daniel is also strong in all forms of stud, hold'em, and Omaha , making him a threat in almost any tournament he enters. Negreanu said he is completely focused for this year's WSOP and feels his game is at the level it needs to be to win bracelet number 3.

Lastly, we have Gus Hansen. He has always been a force to be reckoned with especially when he has a deep chip stack, so with the WSOP now doubling the starting stacks, there is no reason to believe Gus will not break out of his WSOP bracelet slump.

•  Waiting to see who'll win the WSOP Bracelet

The WSOP has announced a change that will make poker players wet their lips with anticipation. The last nine players of the $10,000 buy-in main event at the WSOP will face off on November 9-10 instead of July 16 as originally scheduled.

This change is expected to bring poker closer to home for poker aficionados all over the world. Well, they're hoping anyway. So what in the hell were these guys thinking? Read on.

‘'Our intent is to provide an even bigger stage for our players,'' WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said. ‘'Now fans and viewers will ask ‘who will win' our coveted championship bracelet instead of ‘who won.' The excitement and interest surrounding our final nine players will be unprecedented.''

The 39th annual World Series of Poker takes place from May 30 to July 14 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas . The main event will begin on July 3 and the final table will be determined on July 14.

On November 9, the final nine players will return to the Rio before the remaining two players will play heads up on November 10 to determine who takes home poker's biggest prize. How's that to prolong something as far as humanly possible eh?

All other 2008 WSOP tournaments will remain as scheduled.

‘'This is a huge step forward for poker and more specifically poker on television because it will help create more buzz around the final table and that is good for all of us,'' three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu said.

‘'Not only will this innovative step create more buzz for the final table, the added time prior to the final table will help get poker mainstream media attention.''

Which of these ‘'Celebrity'' poker players will win the most money in the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event? Bodog Sportsbook has the odds.