The latest WSOP poker champ is the latest poker players from Russia to hit the big time. In the last few years  it seems at least one Russian poker player turns poker pro at the WSOP. This time it was Viacheslav Zhukov, the winner the $10,000 buy-in Omaha high-low split eight-or-better world championship of Event 10 at the WSOP 2011.The 22-year-old earned $465,216 after outlasting the 202 players. This is the first WSOP win for this player, who now joins the ranks of Russian WSOP champs like  Vladimir Shchemelev and Vitaly Lunkin

On the ninth day of the 2011 WSOP one of the cheaper events has found its winner. Most WSOP events have a buy in greater than a thousand dollars, but there are plenty of those as well. In the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em event, final table poker players were eliminated until just Sadan Turker and Sean Getzwiller were left in a heads up battle. In the end it was Getzwiller who won the World Series of Poker bracelet and $611,185 in prize money, his first such victory in his poker career.

With all the attention on the US vs online poker some are surprised to find that the WSOP attendance numbers are up this year. With players not able to win seats at online poker rooms experts thought it would signify a downturn in WSOP numbers. Compared to 2010, however, the 2011 World Series of Poker has so far drawn in more poker players than last year. Six out of the nine events so far have shown higher numbers, while three have shown lower.

In a bid to push the poker envelope even higher next year's WSOP will boast a $1 Million Buy-in Event. The event will be called The Big One for One Drop. This will be a partnered event with One Drop, which is a charity from Montreal that works on granting access to water in 3rd World countries. The event will play starting next year on July 1. This $1 million entry fee will be one of the biggest, if not the biggest buy in of its kind, and certainly the biggest every held as part of the World Series of Poker.

One of the biggest poker pros in the world has decided not to attend the biggest poker tournament in the world. Phil Ivey has boycotted the WSOP. He will not attend the World Series of Poker because, he says, the online poker room Full Tilt Poker has not paid back players and if as a result they can't play, then he won't, either. Ivey is a shareholder in Tiltware, the company that owns Full Tilt Poker. Some says that his stance makes no sense, and that he is positioning himself away from the company to avoid trouble with the US government, which has targeted the online poker room.

The latest WSOP winner is one Allen Bari. The poker pro defeated fellow pro Maria Ho in heads up to cinch the victory. He won the $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em event in Las Vegas, the latest of the string of World Series of Poker events being held in Sin City. With the victory comes a coveted WSOP bracelet and $874,116, bringing Bari up to $1.7 million in earnings in live poker tournaments, an occupation he has been applying himself at since 2004. Bari has been successful at live tournament poker, but this is his first WSOP win.

The winner of the third WSOP event is Francesco Barbaro, also known as “Cheech.” The WSOP 2011 continues to hold a strong showing despite the current anti- online poker atmosphere in the US. The 3rd World Series of Poker event was a Omaha Hi-Lo tournament, and in fact was the largest in WSOP history with 925 players. Cheech , a 37 year old former bartender, took home $262,283 and his first bracelet with his victory. Humberto Brenes was at the final table and finished in 6ht place.

In a fan friendly event dreamed up by the WSOP organizers, poker legends Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth faced off in a grudge match. The World Series of Poker Grudge Match pits heads up players against their famous rivals. Chan was the winner of back to back WSOP events in 1987 and 1988. Hellmuth defeated him in 1999, breaking what would have been a three-streak record in the process. Now in 2011 the rematch gave Chan his chance at revenge, and he took it, defeating Hellmuth for a $25k win.

The first events of the 2011 World Series of Poker got underway on Tuesday. The WSOP is being held once again at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The first event was the $500 Employee Event. To participate in this event the poker players had to work at a casino. Also kicking off on the first day of the World Series of Poker was Event #2,the $25,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. It is worth noting that the most expensive event started the same day as the cheapest.

Sam Barnhart has been named the WSOPC National Champion. Barnhard won the poker event at Caesars Palace and $300,000 as a first place prize. This event was the end of the World Series of Poker Circuit season for 2010 and 2011. Barnhart has made nearly half a million dollars in prize money in the last four months. The WSOPC is the extended series that builds off of the WSOP, which will begin next week in Las Vegas. Sam Barnhart is a 50 year old software analyst that may also be considered a poker pro.