Pseudo or legit as a "sports" event, the 39th World Series of Poker gets started tomorrow at the Rio casino in Las Vegas. (To avoid the debate, we'll try to just call it a game).

Actually, the WSOP calendar begins today but the card game is a "mega-satellite," meaning it's a qualifying tournament for the Main Event that doesn't even start until early July.

To clarify, the World Series of Poker is literally a series of tournaments -- 55 of them this year that stretch out over 6 1/2 weeks -- and not just the famous $10,000 No-limit Texas Hold 'em Championship, aka the Main Event, that's replayed on ESPN over and over. Included are various styles of poker and a range of buy-in amounts.

Each of the 55 events on the WSOP schedule produces a champion and a bracelet is awarded, just like in the Main Event. And the Main Event isn't even the most expensive buy-in at the World Series of Poker. One tournament, the H.O.R.S.E. Championship, requires a $50,000 buy-in.  Players in that one -- most of them top professionals -- have to play a rotation of five styles of Poker -- Hold 'em, Omaha, Razz, Stud (seven-card) and Eight-or-better (a stud game that's high-low).

While the poker boom overall has cooled a bit -- in part, due to a federal law passed in 2006 that makes it more difficult to transfer money in and out of Internet poker accounts --  the World Series continued to grow last year and break records for participation despite the fact that it's pretty pricey to play in. In addition to the Main Event, seven other tournaments require $10,000 buy-ins and eight more require a $5,000 ante. About the cheapest ride you can take in the open events is for $1,500 and some of those tournaments attracted nearly 3,000 players last year. Event No. 1 tomorrow is a big one, a $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Hold'em.

As a spectator event, the WSOP hits its peak for the start of the Main Event, which begins July 3, continues until there's just nine players left at a "Final Table" on July 14 and then suspends play until November 9-10 for a television finale on ESPN. But for fans, the big splash is the first four opening days of the Main Event (July 3-6). So many players are entered (more than 6,300 last year), the first round is held over four days. That's when spectators can see the famous poker pros, Hollywood and sports celebrities and just average Joes and Janes start out on a quest for the richest single prize in the world of "games." There's a poker exhibition that goes on in a nearby pavilion room concurrently with the start of the tournament so those first four days have a real carnival feel.

The WSOP has plans to help make spectating easier and more enjoyable this year and as the event gets closer, we'll pass along more details.