The World Series of poker (WSOP) takes place every year in Las Vegas and brings together three groups of people: the top poker players in the world, people who won other poker tournaments to get into this tournament, and anyone else who wants to pay the $10,000 entry fee.

In the first picture, some of the favorites sit at a table that is going to be featured when the tournament is broadcast on television. The guy in the green cap is Dan Harrington, who ended up finishing fourth out of over 2500 people who entered the competition. Dan won the WSOP in 1995.

One might not know it, but the second picture is an exciting moment in the tournament. A big pot is on the table. Two guys have stayed in the hand until the last call. One guy stares down the other, studying his opponent, trying to figure out if he is bluffing. A hundred other players in the room suddenly don't matter as one's tournament life is at stake.

A great feature of the World Series of Pokers is it's accessibility. Just walking around, I exchanged hellos with last years second place finisher, Sammy Farha. I spoke with the cousin of Howard "the professor" Lederer about how Howard got ousted from the tournament by Doyle Brunson (who literally "wrote the book" on playing power poker). In the third picture, I am shaking hands with Chris Ferguson, another favorite character in the poker scene who won the World Series of Poker in 2000.