2013 WSOP: Goals And Thoughts From The Poker Pros

The 44th World Series of Poker got underway yesterday at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas with a total of 62 bracelets up for grabs over the series’ 48 day run. Winning even a single event and the gold bracelet which goes with it is considered a crowning glory in any poker player’s career, while for players such as Phil Hellmuth (13), Phil Ivey (9), and Daniel Negreanu (5), the goal is to win more than their peers and thus secure for themselves a place in WSOP history.
With poker’s showpiece series gathering pace, here are the thoughts and goals of some of its participants from various sources, including twitter and PokerNews reporting:
Phil Hellmuth: “Working out everyday has my energy level a ton higher than its bn in yrs! Hoping it translates in2 gr8 poker play ovr nxt 7 weeks at WSOP..I need to work on my time management during WSOP…Played until 10 AM! Luckily it will not hurt me today as I can sleep until 8:30 PM…”
Jason Mercier: “Looking for action at 3 to 1 on winning a bracelet this summer.  Also willing to bet on myself vs almost anyone and lay small odds…”
Antonio Esfandiari: “I will play in all no-limit events and maybe dabble in others. But for sure, I want to win bracelets and punish people.”
John Juanda: “Guys, don’t spend too many pts on me in WSOP fantasy bcos I only plan on playing 1/2 as many events as usual.”
Dutch Boyd: “Scheduled to play 27 events this year, if anybody has the chance to pick me up cheap in a fantasy draft. #wsop”
Justin Bonomo: “My first year since I turned 21 not being at WSOP on day 1. #WorldSeriesOfLineWaiting makes me not regret it. I’ll be there Saturday.”
Michael Phelps: “I just want to have fun. This is my first WSOP event ever, and so I’m just hanging out and enjoying it.”
Brian Rast: “I hope to play my best and not take any breaks. I expect and want to play a lot of poker this summer. I would like to win a bracelet, but that is not an expectation. I will definitely play in the $111K for One Drop and the Poker Players Championship, and of course the Main Event. Probably the $10K Pot-Limit Omaha and other than that, just see how the series goes. Aside from tournaments, I’ll get involved in the cash games and go from there.”
Jake Cody: “I’m being optimistic and hoping the turnout will be as good as last year, if not better. I just looked at the schedule recently and am hoping to be in as many events as possible. There are 62 on the list, but obviously I can’t do them all. The ones I do partake in, hopefully you’ll see me on the final table of them all.”
Matt Salsberg: “I’m excited to play a full schedule because I’ve never played a full schedule before this. I plan on just playing in the no-limit events, but either way I just want to play good poker and hopefully go deep in a lot of events. As far as the turnout, I expect it to be slightly smaller playing fields, but it will still be good because everyone just gets excited about the WSOP.”