Expecting Huge Numbers in Hammond

Welcome back to Indiana, but this time to Hammond as it's time for another stop on the World Series of Poker Circuit tour!

The numbers for the event are expected to be huge. The first two Circuit events both saw massive increases in field size from last season to this season and the Hammond event will follow suit. One thing about the Hammond event is that it's numbers from last season rivaled that of the first two events on this season's schedule and it was previously a $5,000 buy-in. With the buy-in lowered to $1,500, more players can afford it and will come out to play.

Another reason why the Main Event will increase in size is the Regional Championship that looms right around the corner. Many big name players decided to play the Regional Championship and have come out a few days early to play the Main Event. The $10,000 Regional Championship is something that both Council Bluffs and Southern Indiana did not have on their schedule to draw a larger, more elite crowd.

Lastly, we're in Hammond and history tells us that these fields are ridiculously large for every event every year. The opening event here in Hammond, a $350 buy-in No-Limit Hold'em event, smashed last year's record of 1,412 for largest-ever WSOP Circuit tournament. How big was it? How about 1,611 entrants! All of the other preliminary events have seen very large field sizes as well.

You can expect that we'll be seeing a lot of familiar names on the felt for this one along with plenty of the players who have performed well in the past two Circuit stops this season. Plenty of players have earned themselves some points for the National Championship race and you can check out the leader board to see where everyone stands.

The tournament kicks off today at 12:00 p.m. local time here in Hammond, Indiana and PokerNews will be there from the floor to bring you all the coverage. We'll see you in a bit!