Five storylines as the World Series of Poker hits the halfway point



Canadians have won 25 percent of tournaments despite accounting for 5 percent of entries

Many card players say time flies during the annual World Series of Poker.

The world's best poker minds wait all year for the 62-event, 48-day series  only to feel like it ends right after the first "shuffle up and deal"  command.

This summer's WSOP is no different, running as fast as an electronic shuffle  machine through three-and-a-half weeks. More than half of the championship  bracelets have already been handed out, and today marks the official midway  point with 24 sessions officially completed.

Three-and-a-half short weeks from now, a new Main Event final table of nine  players will be the talk of the poker world. There's still plenty to figure out  before then, and a lot is already settled, at the Rio.

Read below for the five biggest takeaways so far at the World  Series of Poker.

O Canada

Anyone who's spent their whole summer playing tournaments at the World Series  of Poker could probably hum along to Canada's national anthem intrinsically by  now.

Our northern neighbors' song is in as heavy a rotation over the PA system in  the Rio's Pavilion Room as a Taylor Swift ballad on top-40 radio airwaves.  Canadian players just keep earning bracelet ceremonies by winning events.

Canada already has set a record for most WSOP tournaments won in a single  year by a country outside of the United States. The WSOP has awarded seven  bracelets to Canadians, which snaps the record of six in 2010.

Canadians have won 25 percent of the tournaments staged despite accounting  for only 5 percent of total entries.

Included in the champions club are close friends from Montreal Charles  Sylvestre and Jason Duval, who scored a combined prize $1,022,562 for a total  buy-in of $2,500. Millionaire Maker titlist Benny Chen, from Prince Edward  Island, is the  biggest single winner of the summer with a $1,199,104 payout.

Canada's most famous professional, Daniel Negreanu, continues to lead the  Player of the Year race stemming from his WSOP Asia Pacific Main Event victory  earlier this year.

This a reprint from lasvegassun.com. To view the original, click here.


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