Right now is the best time of the year to be a poker fan since the 2012 WSOP has officially begun. And as always, it promises to be yet another amazing event filled with big winners and memorable stories. But a few stories will no doubt stand out above the rest, and here are some tales that we think will be the most prominent.

Phil Hellmuth hunting for his 12th Bracelet

Once again, Hellmuth going after his elusive and record-extending twelfth WSOP gold bracelet will no doubt be a hot topic of discussion. Just the fact that the Poker Brat finished 61st in Event #2 was already a big story, so imagine how much he’ll dominate the poker headlines by making a deeper run.

$1 Million Buy-in Tournament

We’ve already heard a ton of talk about the Big One for One Drop since its $1 million buy-in is a record. Another record will also fall when the winner is crowned because the top prize is expected to be worth between $15-$18 million (depending on the number of entrants). Jamie Gold currently holds the record for the largest poker tournament payout ($12 million), but don’t expect this mark to be standing in early July.

Viktor Blom playing in First WSOP

We’ve seen a lot of Viktor “Isildur1” Blom over the last few years since he’s such a successful online cash game player. However, this is the first look that we’ll have of the 21-year-old in the WSOP. Blom has had some tourney success already (PokerStars Caribbean Adventure High Roller title), and it will be interesting to see if he can expand on this.

Phil Ivey is Back

Ivey was sorely missed at the 2011 WSOP – as he supposedly sat out to protest Full Tilt Poker’s poor management before and after Black Friday. But he won’t be skipping the world’s largest poker event this year since he’s already competed in a couple of tournaments. You can bet that people will be watching with great interest to see how the world’s best all-around poker player performs this year.