It’s officially springtime and you know what that means … WSOP is just around the corner. In roughly two months the brouhaha at the Rio will begin and the ballroom which accommodates thousands of poker players from all over the world will swell with an energy that may be more addictive than dragging a big pot (chips not contraband). While I’m bathed in excitement, there are some nagging thoughts looming in the corner of my mind.

Apprehensions – Will I consume enough Red Bull, vitamin b, ginkgo biloba or ginseng to withstand the long hours? Will my nerves be steadier now that I’m a repeat customer? Am I ever going to find a sponsor? Is Tom Schneider? Will I remember to get a booster vaccine for Hepatitis A in time? I need to re-read some of my favorite books, ugh, which one first? Should I be posting my thoughts and fears on a poker blog? Should I stay the whole series thru or commute?

Bleakness- The new online gaming laws have resulted in less online satellites which causes concern for smaller fields. This means less money for first place (someone please notify the AP reporter). While some sites are pumping the opportunity of a main event entry, we know third party buy-ins are a no-no which means 10k online seat winners may dump their cash elsewhere. Please let me know where you will be dumping. Not to mention we have lost PartyPoker, which was the biggest poker site in the U.S. Furthermore, we will have less American sponsorships and I’m not really sure if we will have those plush suites of last year.

Captivating – The World Series of Poker is the Mecca in which the goal is to be crowned King or in my case Queen. The room at the Rio has a buzz so electric, fascinating and enticing that it becomes quite difficult to leave the table if eliminated. While thousands of people will simultaneously play poker in the same room you will hear shouts of anger, see jumps for joy and cries of despair. Additionally, you get to catch up with all of your poker friends & make new friends under one very large roof in the fabulous city of Las Vegas. Even if you are one of the poor souls that will not make it to the dessert this summer there is still plenty of excitement to be read online. Whether it’s live updates, crayon buffets or gay bloggers mistakenly busting out the wrong woman.

So ladies and gentleman around the world…preparations are in order!