AUTHOR: Jerry "Jet" Whittaker
TITLE: Poker World Series could draw10,000 
DATE: 10:10 AM
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BODY:
The World Series of Poker is preparing for a record number of entrants even<br>though the government is cracking down on online gambling sites that have<br>boosted the tournament&#39;s popularity. Organizers have said they are planning<br>for 10,000 players, a 14 percent increase over last year&#39;s record of 8,773<br>players. Half of the 2006 participants were estimated to have won their<br>seats in online qualifier events. &quot;It is not either a target, a goal or a<br>prediction,&#39;&#39; tournament commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said during a<br>conference call with reporters. &quot;But again, you&#39;ve got to plan for<br>something. We&#39;re planning for a top level of 10,000, but if there are more,<br>we will figure it out.&#39;&#39; The tournament plans to build a structure beside<br>the host Rio casino-hotel in Las Vegas and increase the number of tables to<br>258, Pollack said. That would be enough to allow more than 3,000 players to<br>play in each of the first three days of the main event. A higher number of<br>entrants would mean the grand prize for the world&#39;s richest poker game would<br>exceed last year&#39;s $12 million. The tournament also said it was distancing<br>itself from online poker sites that accept bets from U.S. players, in line<br>with the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act. The measure was signed<br>by President Bush as part of a port security bill in October. Groups<br>associated with dot-com poker sites that take U.S. wagers will no longer be<br>allowed to set up VIP booths and displays, Pollack said. The tournament,<br>owned by Harrah&#39;s Entertainment Inc., also is warning sites that improperly<br>use trademarked material, such as the tournament name, to stop. That could<br>affect poker Web sites such as FullTiltPoker.com and Bodog.com, which are<br>holding satellite tournaments that award World Series of Poker seats worth<br>$10,000 apiece. Pollack said players would not be able to sport logos from<br>sites that continue to violate its trademark rights by the time the first<br>events of the 47-day tournament begins June 1. The trademark warnings could<br>crimp registrations, said Internet gambling expert and lawyer Anthony Cabot.<br>&quot;I think they&#39;re in a difficult position,&#39;&#39; Cabot said. &quot;They&#39;re a licensed<br>entity and therefore have to be cognizant of the new laws and the potential<br>impact those new laws could have on them as a company. At the same time,<br>implementation of those policies will have a negative economic impact on the<br>tournament.&#39;&#39;
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