WSOP -- the seamy side
Talked with a lot of people. WSOP management just doesn't get it. They probably can't destroy the property and know it. At every turn there are problems; problems with easy solutions or caused by neglect.
There is nothing there short of a big paychecks and bracelets that are now getting to be a dime a dozen with the number of tournament in a single year.
They have a selfish solution to the 10# of doodoo in a 5# bag. They have run the tournament blinds and stacks so that you have to gamble early. The sole objective is to maximize the table throughput. The horse was a prime example: huge tournament, big buyin, massive fees, prestige event--bad sturcture and man eating session lengths. They screw the dealers. They kill the media unless they are from an outfit that ponied up. The floor makes bad decisions. The beancounters are in charge of card replacement. And the comps are a $10 meal voucher. The only thing they haven't done is pick the player's pockets on the way out.
The players obviously are disjointed. They have no clout and are in a better situation than they could have ever imagined. And, one of those bracelets seems like a path to personal management and outside offers galore. The online rooms pony up big time to a bracelet wearer.
There is one group that could make the WSOP toe the mark. The online rooms have populated the WSOP. They bring million upon million to the tables. If they said jump the WSOP could only ask, "How high?" but that seems a fool's dream. Why would one group that milks the players argue with another doing the same?
It is very unlikely that anything beyond cosmetic will change in the poker world. Vegas is predicated on fleecing the populace in general. Why should poker players get any special preference in the scheme of things?
There is nothing there short of a big paychecks and bracelets that are now getting to be a dime a dozen with the number of tournament in a single year.
They have a selfish solution to the 10# of doodoo in a 5# bag. They have run the tournament blinds and stacks so that you have to gamble early. The sole objective is to maximize the table throughput. The horse was a prime example: huge tournament, big buyin, massive fees, prestige event--bad sturcture and man eating session lengths. They screw the dealers. They kill the media unless they are from an outfit that ponied up. The floor makes bad decisions. The beancounters are in charge of card replacement. And the comps are a $10 meal voucher. The only thing they haven't done is pick the player's pockets on the way out.
The players obviously are disjointed. They have no clout and are in a better situation than they could have ever imagined. And, one of those bracelets seems like a path to personal management and outside offers galore. The online rooms pony up big time to a bracelet wearer.
There is one group that could make the WSOP toe the mark. The online rooms have populated the WSOP. They bring million upon million to the tables. If they said jump the WSOP could only ask, "How high?" but that seems a fool's dream. Why would one group that milks the players argue with another doing the same?
It is very unlikely that anything beyond cosmetic will change in the poker world. Vegas is predicated on fleecing the populace in general. Why should poker players get any special preference in the scheme of things?