I think the WSOP may actually be shedding some excess and concentrating on poker, as it should. It’s no secret that the Las Vegas economy has been one of the hardest hit in the American (and global) downturn; the WSOP is reflecting its host city’s hardships.
Now, I don’t consider this a bad thing. The World Series of Poker is supposed to be about (!) poker. For a while, poker was so faddish that “they” (the media, anybody who had a dollar to make from it) attempted to make it all things to all people. For instance, in recent years there was a “Poker Lifestyle” show at the WSOP. “Poker Lifestyle” – surely you’re kidding, right? I mean, poker is a game, not a lifestyle.
But there it was, although last year it began looking frayed around the edges. There were fewer booths and you’d be hard-pressed to find a relationship to poker at many of them. Perhaps with a bit of foreshadowing, one of the larger booths was that of Sports Legends Challenge. They proposed bringing retired sports heroes and poker players together at a tropical resort. They sold (or awarded in satellites) dozens of prize packages and then the whole thing collapsed in a cloud of scandal and lies.
Maybe this was yet another sign that there are limits to what poker should try to be. Whatever – the lifestyle show is gone. The room that used to hold it is now the main tournament area, full of poker players.
Gone this year are the energy drinks (although the beef jerky is still everywhere). The side halls don’t have the ancillary vendors that have been there in recent years. There’s less pomp and glitz and for that reason you can see the poker better. Player fields are down a bit, but have no fear, there’s more poker – at the Rio and elsewhere – than you can shake a stick at.
Tournament of Champions
I had the opportunity to participate in the ESPN webcast of the first two days of the Tournament of Champions. As you’re probably aware, this was a 27-player tournament (a three-table sit-and-go if you will) consisting of many of the top players in the world. Twenty of them were chosen by a poll of the fans. By and large, I think the fans did exceptionally well at picking (although I was disappointed that Chris Moneymaker didn’t make the cut).
The match has an extremely generous structure and this, combined with the solid play of the participants, produced the departure of only nine players after two days of play. As I pointed out during the webcast, these pros didn’t suffer from the over-eagerness that often affects players more used to shorter-stack online events. As an example, Greg Raymer ran into a set-under-set situation and a couple of other nasty second-best hand scenarios, yet managed to survive quite a while beyond them.
Having watched this event closely for two days, I’m 100% sold on the idea of bringing together a relatively small group of top players to battle it out. If nothing else, the stories they tell and the poker lessons they give by example are well worth it.
One parting comment on the TOC: Phil Hellmuth showed up over two hours late on the first day – a day in which they were only going to play four levels (four hours). I know that a fashionably late appearance is his standard M.O., but I (and others) consider his tardiness for this event unconscionable. Being voted into the TOC by the poker community was, or should have been, an honor for anybody selected. Showing up late indicates a lack of respect for the other players in the tournament, the game, and the community at large. That last sentence is largely a paraphrase of what Mike Matusow said right to Phil’s face; good for Mike.
Note to the poker community: When you get ready to vote for TOC participants next year, don’t forget that slight.
Poker is Everywhere
As I said before, there’s poker everywhere. I played in a donkament at the Venetian last night; the poker “room” has spread out into the casino like kudzu on steroids. There were tournaments, sit and gos, and satellites. There were cash games, including $8-16 Limit Hold’em, $1-2 PLO, and dozens of No Limit Hold’em games. Away from the media and the beef jerky, it’s just pure uncut poker and it was beautiful to be part of it.
Resort Fees
Who thought this abomination up? Hotels all over Las Vegas are now adding a “resort fee” to the cost of the room. They don’t advertise it as part of the room price, but you have no more choice in paying it than you do the state room tax. It’s supposed to cover things like the weight room, swimming pool, and internet. But a lot of things that it’s supposed to cover used to be part of the room cost anyway.
I understand the Las Vegas economy is hurting and the hotels are trying to make an extra buck. But this approach of tacking on a nearly hidden charge (many resellers don’t mention the fee in their ads) is cynical and disingenuous.
Note: If you’re shopping for Las Vegas hotels, be sure to ask about “resort fees.”
The People
As always, the real joy of attending the WSOP is encountering friends I see once a year or so. Players, bloggers, media people, former colleagues, WSOP staff, all of them. Las Vegas can be a cold impersonal town, but when you’re having a post-cash-session dinner with old friends from across “The Pond,” it feels warm and intimate.
Note: Don’t come out here by yourself, unless you know people here. Meet friends from home, make contacts over the forums, do whatever is necessary. As lonely as it can be here by yourself, it’s one of the best places in the world to hang with friends.
Lee Jones is the Card Room manager of Cake Poker and has been in the online poker business for over six years. He is also the author of “Winning Low Limit Hold’em,” which has been in publication for over 15 years.
