Let the games begin – The WSOP is off to their annual start and it looks like a promising tournament with some $10 million on offer to one player. This event has attracted thousands of players with a prize pool of an estimated $200 million up for grabs.

To start off the 65 event there is a $500 casino employees game which is pretty much a warm up game which ends at the start to the No-Limit Texas Holden main event.

An expected 80,000 players will start of the annual event this year. Last year, the World Series of Poker gave out $197 million in prize money, and this year they looking at a possible $20 million across the board. Other contests within the long event include a senior event for players age 50 and up, and a women-only game.

This year’s tournament includes a $1 million charity buy-in game held every other year. Capped at 56 players, the June 29 event typically attracts poker professionals and amateurs used to making high-stakes bets. 10 percent of the proceeds will benefit The One Drop Foundation, a non-profitable organisation dedicated to providing clean water to developing countries worldwide.

Attracting tourists to Las Vegas with the weather conditions warming up the series which draws players from more than 100 different countries will have a ripple effect on hotel, restaurant and entertainment business in the city.

The tournament has been boosted by the expansion of online poker, which gives players a less-intimidating space in which to learn and practice their game. Online play also moves faster than the in-person game, giving players more experience more quickly.

Winners of each event take home the signature WSOP gold bracelet. Last year’s top poker player, Michigan native Ryan Riess, outlasted 6,351 players to win his title and $8.4 million at the age of 23.