I've set up a "money pool" in PayPal called "WS2+2OP" for entries who pay with PayPal. However, we were waiting for a non-Canadian volunteer to send $20 so we can find out what the fees will be. If you volunteer to be the first to pay with PayPal then you need only send US$20. After that the cost will be US$20 plus fees.

Very early odds - just 2 quickpicks sold. Here are the odds for the 7 cities that were picked more than once:
1 Las Vegas NVUnited States 12.33/1
2 Tarzana CAUnited States 19.00/1
3 Stuttgart - Germany 19.00/1
4 New York NYUnited States 19.00/1
5 Portland ORUnited States 19.00/1
6 London - United Kingdom 19.00/1
7 Aurora COUnited States 19.00/1

Since we did not hear back from Smitty300 (or anyone else) we will treat PayPal the same as last year. Just send in US$20 via PayPal. We'll keep track of the fees that PayPal retains and then that amount will be deducted from the winners who entered via PayPal.

The pool is open folks! I realize that those who are making their own picks will wait til May but I was thinking that we'd have 10 or so "quick picks" by now. We have just 2!
I've run quick pick "place holders" for the other 48 guaranteed spots in the pool. Any of these that do not sell by May 29th will be purchased by me with any winnings going to charity (Doctors Without Borders).
Here is the list of payouts as it stands now with 100% quick picks:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Bt0...ew?usp=sharing
These payouts will change as the placeholders are replaced by actual entries.
The obvious anomaly from the list is that Las Vegas was picked way too often. This was caused by too many locals heading to the Rio to play The Colosus, The Giant, The Crazy8s etc. These players have no chance in our pool (must make a deep run in the Main Event and one other tournament). Some players were not picked at all due to their obscure hometown (Justin Bonomo, Adam Owen). Hopefully, the quick picks will begin to roll in now.

Yikes! Just for fun I ran a program to see who else besides Justin Bonomo and Adam Owen were not selected by the 50 quick picks currently in pace. The top of the list looks like a WhosWho of poker.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1RfE...ew?usp=sharing
This is great info for those making their own picks. Wait til you have more info on who will be playing a full schedule or those skipping the WSOP this year? Or grab these players right now before somebody else decides they're great value?
Also, look at how many were not picked. Remember, if the Main Event last longer is won by someone who was not picked, we next look to the PPC last longer. Anyone want to stock up on "mixed game" players? Stephen Chidwick? Robert Mizrachi?

Oh, this pool is so much fun! Just for fun I thought I'd go back through the ME to see which player would have won the last longer using our rules:

2018: Joe Cada (5th) Shelby Township, Michigan
Other Deep Run: 3 of them!
2017: Michael Krasienko (17th) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (does not qualify for 2019)
Other Deep Run: 17th in 25K PLO
2016: James Obst (13th) Adelaide, Australia
Other Deep Run: 10th in 10K PLO
2015: Daniel Negreanu (11th) Toronto, Canada
Other Deep Run: 3rd in 10K Stud8
2014: Martin Jacobson (1st) Stockholm, Sweden
Other Deep Run: 7th in 10K NLH 6-handed
2013: Dan Owen (32nd) Napa, California (does not qualify for 2019)
Other Deep Run: 3rd in 2 1/2K NLH
2012: Greg Merson (1st) Laurel, Maryland
Other Deep Run: 1st in 10K NLH 6-handed
2011: Ben Lamb (3rd) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Other Deep Run: 8th in 50K PPC

and just to prove how much time I have on my hands, here's the rest of the "would have been" winners back to 2003:

2010: Michael Mizrachi (5th) Miami, Florida
Other Deep Run: 3 deep runs
2009: Phil Ivey (7th) Riverside, California
Other Deep Run: 2 wins
2008: Chino Rheem (7th) West Palm Beach, Florida
Other deep Run: 5th in 5K mixed limit holdem
2007: Alex Kravchenko (4th) Arkhangelsk, Russia (not eligible for 2019)
Other Deep Run: 1st 1 1/2K Omaha8
2006: Allen Cunningham (4th) Riverside, California
Other Deep Run: 1st 1K NLH
2005: Minh Ly (19th) Temple City, California (not eligible for 2019)
Other Deep Run: 2nd 5K NLH 6 handed
2004: Marcel Luske (10th) Almere, Netherlands
Other Deep Run: 2nd 5K Stud
2003: Amir Vahedi (6th) Tehran, Iran (deceased)
Other Deep Run: 1st 1 1/2K NLH

Teams to Consider: TORONTO CANADA
Seems kind of obvious with the likes of Daniel Negreanu, Mike Leah and Ari Engel on board. However, the Toronto player with the most cashes in WSOP 2018 was this guy: Paul Sokoloff.

Teams To Consider: SOUTHAMPTON UK
Sure, you get Benny Glaser but as a bonus you get this guy who only cashed once last year, Toby Lewis.

Teams To Consider: RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA
Yes, this is the Phil Ivey team. How much will Phil Ivey play this year? That's the same question everyone asks every year. This year he has backup on Team Riverside including this guy: "It's Allen Cunningham!"

Teams To Consider: PHILADELPHIA PENNSYLVANIA
An obvious pick, right? Will the fact that John Hennigan hasn't cashed in the Main Event since 1999 get you to think twice?

Teams To Consider: PLOVDIV BULGARIA
A 7 player squad. All but one had 3 cashes or more at last year's WSOP. The one with only 2 cashes got his in a 10K and a 25K. The player with the most cashes was Stoyan Obreshkov with 7:

Teams NOT to consider: LAS VEGAS, NEVADA
Way too many cashes by recreational players means this city will be picked much too often by the "quick picks" thus driving the price down. Endless players on this team. Their best player last year was Thomas Lutz:

Team News: TORONTO CANADA
Daniel Negreanu has announced his 2019 WSOP plans. Good news, playing the full series. Bad news, will concentrate more on the small buyin/huge field events rather than the big buyin/small field events. He thinks he can get more POY points that way. However, those tournaments are tough if you're trying for tickets to the ME last longer. A small setback for Toronto.

Teams to Consider: TOLEDO OHIO
Only 6 players on this team but 2 are superstars Ben Yu and David Peters. A third player cashed 8 times last year: Zachary Smiley:

Teams NOT to consider: SAN DIEGO CALIFORNIA
See the comments for Las Vegas. Lots of quantity but not much quality. This is probably true of all towns/cities near Las Vegas: lots of players heading to Vegas for the weekend to play one of the donkaments. This will cause the price to drop because the quickpicks will be taking too many of these. San Diego's best player only had 5 cashes last year: Daniel Fuhs.

Teams To Consider: HONG KONG
Quality over quantity. 13 players. One has 11 cashes, three others have 8. Not a single "donkament only" among the 13. And here's the guy who is 5th in cashes with a mere 7: Yan Shing Tsang.

Teams to Consider: DEAL UK
Is any team with only one player worth an entry? If the player is Stephen Chidwick? Only cash in the Main Event was 2013. I'm sure he'll play it if he's in the running for Player Of The Year. Toss a coin on this one.

Teams To Consider: MILAN ITALY
A good selection? I don't think so. But remember, this pool is parimutuel. Not a good pick at $100, $200, $400 but what if it was $1000. Well........

Teams to Consider: TOKYO JAPAN
This is why everyone is waiting til May to enter. The value of Team Tokyo is dependent on whether Naoya Kihara is playing this year. He'll probably make that announcement in a month or so. Then we'll know whether we should be adding Tokyo to our recommended list.

Teams To Consider: EAST LANSING MICHIGAN
If Joe Cada could do it last year, why not another former ME champ from Michigan this year? Ryan Riess heads a 6 player group from East Lansing but he's far and away the best of the 6. For a big price only.

Teams To Consider: WEST PALM BEACH FLORIDA
The best known player on this 12 man squad would be Chino Rheem. Then there's Sam Soverel who would have earned a ticket to the ME last longer in each of the last 3 years. And then there's Maurice Hawkins who tears it up on the WSOP circuit (11 rings). Is 2019 his year to break thru in Vegas?

Teams To Consider: BENXI CHINA
Lead by Yueqi Zhu. Last year he cashed 10 times for over a million dollars. He won a bracelet. He finished 10th in the Main Event. The only drawback: He's the only player from Benxi.

Teams NOT to Consider: WINTER GARDEN FLORIDA
Winter Garden is the home of Jeffrey Trudeau. He finished 26th in last year's main event. And since the WSOP concluded last year, he's cashed 24 more times (including 3 at the PCA). One problem: he's the only player from Winter Garden. Another problem: he seems to only play NLH. It'll be tough getting a ticket to the ME last longer if you can't play the other games.

Teams To Consider: TEHRAN IRAN
Only 4 on this team but they all cashed in a 10K last year. A real mixed bag. For a big price only. This is the only one of the 4 with more than one 10K cash: Farzad Bonyadi