Let the Games Begin: 2022 WSOP is Officially Underway

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May 31, 2022 2 min read

Reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump's "Shuffle Up and Deal" announcement at the start of the Casino Employees event Tuesday morning kickstarted the 2022 World Series of Poker, the first ever on the Las Vegas Strip.

Event #1: $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em began with over 460 players in the spacious convention center space inside Paris Las Vegas, one of two venues used for the 2022 WSOP. Bally's, a connecting hotel, will host Day 2's and final tables during the upcoming series.

Vanderpump Takes a Seat

Moments after Vanderpump got the party started, she made her way to her seat in the Casino Employees event. Photographers gathered around the table to snap photos of the reality TV personality.

Vanderpump has appeared on shows such as The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Dogs. She even arrived at the poker table with her dog by her side as she took her seat.

The celebrity is also a successful restaurateur who owns 36 restaurants including the lavish new Vanderpump a Paris at the WSOP host site, which opened last month. Hence, why she was a perfect fit to announce "Shuffle Up and Deal."

PokerNews Editor Hits Quads Early

Some of the participants in the first World Series of Poker event of 2022 happen to work for PokerNews. One of our own, Connor Richards, had the deck smack him in the face right off the bat.

Richards opened to 300 from early position with J♥J♣ and was three-bet to 1,000 by the next player to act. The PokerNews editor made the call and they both saw a flop of J♦2♣5♥ and then it was checked to the turn of 5♦. This time, Richards bet out 1,000 and received a call.

The river was the J♠, giving Richards quads. He bet out 3,000 and again earned a call, and shipped a decent early pot with a monster hand.

First High Roller Starts Today

The first open event of 2022 — Event #2: $100,000 High Roller Bounty — begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday from inside the Paris convention center. Some of the game's best players will take a shot at an early bracelet, and potentially millions of dollars.

Each bounty in the tournament will be worth $25,000. The event is scheduled to last through June 2 with the final table to be played inside Bally's and live-streamed on PokerGO.

On Wednesday, the WSOP will fire up two more bracelet events — $2,500 Freezeout No-Limit Hold'em at 11 a.m. and $1,500 Dealers Choice 6-Handed at 3 p.m. The first final table of 2022 — Casino Employees — will take place tomorrow.

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