Poker News

Gary Thompson

All right, so poker’s booming, and there’s no sign of a slowdown, but how high is up? Are there limits on the World Series of Poker’s potential for growth?

The question was put to new WSOP Director of Operations Gary Thompson, who seemed to roll it around in his mind, finally saying, in so many words, yeah probably, but we’re not there yet..

One year at a time . . . please, he urges, suggesting that what Harrah’s has is a work of art in continuing progress, because what is skillful marketing if it is not an art form?

World Series owner Harrah’s Entertainment has the utmost respect, he insists, for the WSOP brand it bought from the Binion family’s Horseshoe about 13 months ago and is studying measures that could have an impact on the Series for years to come.

But as the strategists associated with this, the oldest and best known of all casino promotions, figure their way through the challenges before them, they realize it is senseless to look too far ahead.

Next year’s limits, whatever they may be, depend in large part on what happens this year.

But if somewhere between four and six thousand entries in the championship event is a near certainty this year, is eight or perhaps ten thousand a possibility next year?

Makes for fascinating speculation, Thompson concedes, but, please . . . one year at a time.

This, year, for instance, Thompson does not see any way there can be more than 6,600 players in the main event. That is the absolute, can’t go any higher than that limit for the $10,000 buy-in no limit hold ‘em tournament that confers riches and recognition on the winner.

Will the number of entries go that high? Too early to tell, but as of mid- April there were already some 600 paid entries. A month before the start of last year’s main event the number was about 50. Thompson has heard from “literally hundreds of card rooms and groups” that want to sponsor an entry or hold satellites.

He urges these groups to pre-register with World Series officials to make certain Harrah’s does not run out of room before it runs out of players.

The number of poker tables available (200) and the oversight requirements mandated by state casino regulators make 6,600 look like a starting total without any wiggle room. As for next year ? Thompson’s not ready to look that far ahead yet. Besides, each year of the tournament over several decades invariably generates some new ideas and people saying, “Hey, what if . . . ?”

“There are a couple of things we need to do. First of all, we want to protect the value and integrity of the brand. Secondly, we want to grow the brand, introducing it to more players around the world. As this is happening we’ll be looking to bring in additional strategic partners whose customers have demographics that would make an association with the World Series attractive.”

Who might these partners be?

“I can’t talk about specifics yet because we do expect to have some announcements coming up in the next month or so . . . I think you can look for the extension of the World Series brand into the gaming device arena.”

Like perhaps a World Series of Poker video game? “Exactly. I think you can look for these types of things to be pursued.”

Can Thompson point to a specific moment in time when the current poker boom began to take off? “Yes, I believe it was with the advent of the lipstick cameras. Actually, I think there were two factors and the other was the growth of the on-line poker rooms. The cameras for the first time allowed people to learn something about the strategy that the great players in the game were using.The on-line game, of course gave people a non-intimidating way to develop poker skills in the privacy of their homes.”

Thinking about this for a moment Thompson continues, “Actually there were some other factors, things like the prize money that began to be available. For instance, last year the World Series handed out almost fifty million in prize money and we expect that figure will be close to a hundred million this year. Something like this is a big motivator for a lot of people.”

Thompson speculates that another factor making a difference to some people is the instant celebrity that is now associated with winning some of the World Series events, “particularly the main event.”

For instance, Chris Moneymaker was a Nashville accountant a bit more than two years ago when he parlayed a $39 investment in an on-line satellite tournament that led to a seat in the WSOP championship. He took home the gold bracelet and $2.5 million in first place cash.

But by way of underscoring Thompson’s point, Moneymaker now sells his own line of poker-related products and has bookings around the world.

Poker pros Doyle Brunson, AnnieDuke, Phil Hellmuth and Howard Lederer, to name just a few, have also been able to parlay success at the poker table into lucrative sidelines thanks to television exposure and the legions of poker buffs and card room action that has been spawned.

Brunson was a legend long before poker hit it big on television but unprecedented recent exposure has helped turn his newest book into a genuine best seller with more than 100,000 copies in print.

Thompson’s point is that no single event in the galaxy of poker action has any more credibility than the World Series of Poker.

That’s why Harrah’s Entertainment negotiators jumped at the opportunity thrust their way in January 2004 to buy rights to the World Series of Poker from the then-troubled Horseshoe Casino where the tournament had been based for more than 30 years. The casino had been forced to close and quick action was necessary to keep the casino and its assets such as the World Series from falling under control of the bankruptcy court.

Harrah’s had only about a month to market last year’s World Series after gaining regulatory approval to take over the Horseshoe. And still the 2,576 entries in the championship were more than threetimes the number who had played in 2003.

The roughly six weeks of this World Series will begin June 3, and conclude July 15, with the final hand of the no limit hold ‘em tournament. All events will be held at the Harrah’sowned Rio this year. The one exception is the last two days of the finale event which will shift back to the Horseshoe.

What’s new this year? Thompson says the Series is being expanded from 37 events to about 45 with a sizeable number of that total involving some variation on hold ‘em. The simple fact is, as Thompson explains, “This is a response to nothing other than player demand.”

Everyone wants to play hold ‘em. If constant television exposure of other games is going to result in a demand for more of (fill in the blank), it has not happened yet.

Television coverage promises to be one of the principal drivers of increasing value for the brand, Thompson says. “ESPN has been a tremendous partner. Their coverage of the World Series draws the highest ratings in the poker world and the third high ratings for any kind of sports coverage on ESPN.”

But business is business and although ESPN will be handling this year’s coverage, there’s no telling what changes the future may bring, what with the WSOP’s television contract now being negotiated.

Is a network change possible? “We have to take a lot of things into consideration,” Thompson says. “Obviously, one of the factors is the monetary value we can expect to receive, but it is NOT just the money . . . it’s the sum total of everything that ESPN or another potential partner might bring to the deal.”

He adds, “It possible some small cable company could come in and offer the biggest pile of money but not be able to reach the households ESPN does. That’s an example of a situation where we would probably be inclined to look beyond the money.”

Thompson joined Harrah’s in February of 2000 as its chief of public relations after years in the news business, including a stint as the managing editor of this publication. In the context of his new job, it should be pointed out that he had played a lot of poker. His start with Harrah’s was prior to poker becoming something of a wow factor that casinos tried to address as best they could. As poker grew and Harrah’s bought the rights to the World Series and its chief strategists sat back and considered how to maximize the value of the World Series as a marketing tool, it became apparent that Thompson was in the right place at the right time to play a big role.

He was asked to assume his new duties within the last couple of moments although he jokes that this was not without some mixed feelings. “It means I can’t play in the World Series any more.” As a Harrah’s employee, he actually became ineligible to participate after they bought the brand last year, but in years past he had played in two to eight different events, never winning any of the prize cash, but finishing one place out of the money on one occasion.

Thompson says the limit game - no pun intended - has its limitations when it comes to providing drama for television.

Take stud as an example. In the U.S. it’s normally played as a limit game, according to Thompson, whereas in Europe it is not uncommon to find no limit and pot limit stud games. It’s a fact that seems to open the door to some interesting possibilities for overhauling tradition at the World Series.

Are other games on the way out? Thompson says it’s logical to expect revisions, depending on the reaction to this year’s schedule, just as the 2005 schedule is a reaction to last year. For instance, there was only one razz tournament on this year’s schedule as of several weeks ago. It’s listed as a one-day event beginning at 2 p.m.

One of the most often asked questions about change involves the likelihood of boosting the championship’s buy-in to perhaps $25,000.

It’s a subject that continues to be the focus of discussion, but Thompson says, “We want to stay as close to tradition as possible. We want to keep an entry within the reach of as many people as possible. “

Harrah’s officials obviously like the prospect of some no-name buying in for a fist full of dollars and becoming an instant multimillionaire. It’s the kind of thing that fuels big dreams and, yes, creates Harrah’s customers.

Thompson would like to see each of the players at this year’s final table become an instant millionaire, assuming the number of entries support such big thinking.

But . . . and he says it again, let’s see what kind of hand the Series is dealt when the cards begin flying in June.

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