There are different experiences for each main event players. And that’s not about whether you make it to November or not.

As regular visitors to these pages will know, there are three rooms in which the main event takes place – the Amazon, Brasilia and Pavilion. Each has its own unique feel, a different atmosphere for the players who occupy them.

The room most associated with the WSOP is the Amazon Room. It’s here that the entire main event used to take place, a vast conference area turned over to poker tables for six weeks. As recent as five or six years ago there would even be a cash game section within the Amazon as the main event played on.

Life in the Amazon Room

These days there simply isn’t the room, with the main television stage taking up almost half of the space, like in-laws, leaving the other half to the players. This will be the last stop for whoever makes it to November. All roads end here.

Before that your day is more likely to start in either of the other rooms.

There’s something about the Pavilion which makes it seem more ordinary. Perhaps it’s the lighting – much brighter than the Amazon Room – or maybe it’s just by virtue of having different games taking place at the same time. It makes for a backstage feel that doesn’t come close to its neighbour a short walk down the hall.

The Pavilion Room

Across the corridor is the Brasilia, the smallest of the three, but which still accommodates hundreds. It’s closer to the Amazon in terms of atmosphere, and its aisles are usually packed with spectators, but it is still just a waiting area for those with serious ambitions.

Regardless, all of them share common traits. They all echo to the sound of riffled chips, and buzz with expectation. Each is also littered with the detritus of a travelling poker community, with bags of complimentary ruffles as far as the eye can see.

Stephen Bartley is a PokerStars Blog reporter. Pictures courtesy of Poker Photo Archive.

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