WSOP Ratings are Poker Vote of Confidence

Despite the US authorities doing their best to spoil the party in the aftermath of Black Friday, poker is alive in the US - as shown by the record-setting attendance at the World Series of Poker so far.

Entrants rise again

Attendance at the 42nd annual version of the poker world's biggest event was up 11.7 percent at the halfway market of the multi-week series, putting it on pace to smash the previous record. With 30 of the 58 events already finished by Wednesday night Las Vegas time, total prize money from player buy-ins had risen 8.6% to almost $56 million.

WSOP also broke a record on Friday, when 5,946 players were seated at the various tournaments - which it said was the most players entered on a single day in live casino poker history.

And things should get even better is that the big drawcard hasn't even begun. The WSOP Main Event, which attracts the participation of thousands at a buy-in of $10,000 per head, is set to begin on July 7, at the close of this year's series.

Good news for online poker

The popularity of this year's tournament amidst all the doomsday predictions shows that both land-based and online poker are continuing to flourish, despite all the hardships faced by the US poker community of late.

The events of April 15, also known as Black Friday - in which US prosecutors in New York indicted individuals associated with three Internet poker companies operating in the country, PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker - still loom large.

But the games must go on!