The 2009 World Series of Poker was the 40th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). Held in Las Vegas at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the 2009 series began on May 27 and featured 57 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold 'em Main Event, the most prestigious of the WSOP events, ended by July 15. The final table of the Main Event, known as the November Nine, was suspended until November, to allow for better television coverage. Following the WSOP custom since 1976, each of the event winners received a championship bracelet in addition to that event's prize money, which this year ranged from US$87,778 for the $500 Casino Employees No-Limit Hold'em to US$8,546,435 for the Main Event. WSOP game variants Most of the tournaments played at the WSOP are variants of Texas Hold 'em. Hold 'em is a community card game where each player may use any combination of the five community cards and the player's own two hole cards to make a poker hand, in contrast to poker variants such as stud or draw in which each player holds a separate individual hand. Between 2000 and 2009, hold'em surpassed seven-card stud as the most common game in U.S. casinos. Seven-card stud is a poker variant wherein each player is dealt two hole cards and one face-up to start the hand, followed by three more face-up cards one at a time, and then another hidden card, with betting after each round. Another poker variant played is Omaha, a game in which each player is dealt four hole cards and must use exactly two of them in conjunction with three community cards to make the best possible five-card hand. Other games played at the 2008 tournament included Razz, HORSE, and Deuce-to-Seven. Within each of these poker variants a myriad of options exist. For example, depending on the betting structure, a tournament might be described as no limit, limit or pot-limit. Games may also include other variations on the rules governing the execution of the specific game such as shootout, eight or better, or heads up. 2009 highlights There were 57 events, two more than in 2008. The main event had 6,494 buy-ins, 350 fewer than the previous year. Other changes for 2009 include the elimination of rebuy events and the introduction of triple starting chips. In recognition that