Player of the Year Point System Re-vamped

It\’s why we like the WSOP … they\’re always fixin\’ shit they fix more shit than they break, instead of holding on to bad or outdated efforts in futile attempts to justify them.

Now, all \”open\” events count toward the WSOP Player of the Year.

Click below for official details, and here for a full breakdown of the new point system.

2009 World Series of Poker® “Player of the Year” Standings
Will Include All Open Gold Bracelet Events Including the Main Event

LAS VEGAS (June 1, 2009) – The World Series of Poker Player of the Year award is a cumulative measure of performance throughout the entire 40th Annual WSOP.

For the first time ever, the $10,000 buy-in Main Event will be counted in the standings making all open WSOP gold bracelet events eligible for Player of the Year points.

“We’re confident the inclusion of the Main Event to the Player of the Year race will add some drama and excitement to the conclusion of this year’s WSOP,” said WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart. “The race is wide open this year but, as the past winners confirm, the player who wins this award will clearly be one of the game’s best for years to come.”

Players must cash in an open gold bracelet event to receive points. The winner of the POY race will be awarded a special prize and be honored at a ceremony during Main Event Final Table festivities in November.

Hence, the only tournaments which are not counted towards POY points are the closed events: Event #1 (Casino Employee’s Championship); Event #17 (Ladies Event Championship) and Event #43 (Seniors Event Championship).

The standard event points model awards 5 points for cashing in an event, 10 points for making it to one of the final three tables of an event and 20 points for making it to the two final tables.

For those reaching the final table of a standard open bracelet event, the winner receives 100 points, second place gets 75 points, third place is awarded 60 points, and each place after that receives 5 less points through ninth place which receives 30 points. Shootout and heads up tournaments award points differently for those particular events. For complete details on the point system, please click here: http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/players/2009.asp?sort=poypts

Harrah’s Entertainment began awarding the Player of the Year honors when it acquired the WSOP in 2004. Previous winners of this prestigious title include:

2008 Erick Lindgren (1 Bracelet, 3 Final Tables, 5 Cashes)
2007 Tom Schneider (2 Bracelets, 3 Final Tables, 3 Cashes)
2006 Jeff Madsen (2 Bracelets, 4 Final Tables, 4 Cashes)
2005 Allen Cunningham (1 Bracelet, 4 Final Tables, 5 Cashes)
2004 Daniel Negreanu (1 Bracelet, 5 Final Tables, 6 Cashes)

The 40th annual WSOP started on May 26 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas and will continue until July 15. For the second consecutive year, the final nine players in the WSOP Main Event will halt play this summer and return back to Las Vegas in November to compete for the most coveted trophy in all of poker — the WSOP Main Event gold bracelet.