B-1 business visitor visa required to enter the U.S. for WSOP

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I understand that professional poker players from outside the U.S., including Germany, who intend to play the WSOP, will need a B-1 business visitor visa, as a minimum, in order to enter the U.S.

Otherwise, the immigration officer at the port of entry can (and had in the past) deny a player permission to enter the U.S. and deport the player (back to Germany).

http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany...itor_visa.html

A B-1 business visitor visa specifically allows a competitor to enter the U.S. for the specific purpose to compete in a tournament for prize money. The B-1 visa is only good for at most 6 months at a time.

I am checking with Harrah's Entertainment to see whether it will be willing to issue German players a "letter of evidence of eligibility" to participate in the WSOP, which a player will need to have, before the player go to a U.S. Consulate (Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Duesseldorf, Liepzig) or the U.S. Embassy in Berlin to apply for a B-1 visa.

http://germany.usembassy.gov/non-immigrant_visas.html

(Those players who already have a P-1 entertainment visa that was sponsored by the World Poker Tour are all set, as the P-1 visa, which is good for 5 years, will also work.)

I am aware of instances where players were able to enter the U.S. under the visa waiver program or with a tourist visa, but those players had to tell the immigration official at the port of entry that they are "on vacation" and they have occupations/jobs other than "professional poker player" or "professional gambler". I do NOT recommend a player take that course of action, as the player would then be lying to the immigration official, which is a serious crime with stiff penalties.

(Disclosure: I am a poker player agent based in the U.S. and I am currently working with a prospective client from Germany.)