Economy a Factor for WSOP

The World Series of Poker underwent a boom around the time that the online poker rooms were getting their foothold on the imagination of the world's poker players. These rooms offered a chance to win a $10k seat into the WSOP that some players wouldn't otherwise have, and were responsible for pushing thousands of players into the WSOP in years past. Last year attendance dropped due to many of those rooms pulling back from US players. This year the economy in the States has a lot of players tightening their belts. With the kick off to the WSOP just about two weeks away, how much of an effect the economy will play on WSOP attendance remains to be seen.