On Friday, it was revealed that Harrah’s Entertainment had formed Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment. The new entity will be charged with growing the World Series of Poker (WSOP) and other Harrah’s brands around the world.
The global expansion of the WSOP comes on the heels of one of the most successful tournament series ever held. Last year, 124 nations were represented on the WSOP felts in Las Vegas. To put the growth in perspective, the number of countries sending players to Sin City to compete on poker’s biggest stage five years ago was just 24. Nearly 60,000 total entries were recorded during the 55 events that comprised the 2008 WSOP, up from just 13,000 in 2004. In 2007, the WSOP brand hopped “The Pond” to London, where the first ever WSOP Europe Main Event was won by online poker sensation Annette “Annette_15” Obrestad, the youngest bracelet holder ever and current member of Team Betfair.
The 2008 WSOP Europe Main Event marked the first ever bracelet win on the continent by an American, as Full Tilt Poker front man John Juanda defeated Russian poker player Stanislav Alekhin heads-up. Taking third in that event was Ivan Demidov, another Russian. Demidov was the runner up in the Las Vegas WSOP Main Event in November, falling to Danish poker pro Peter Eastgate. The international contingent at the WSOP has now led to the formation of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment.
The new organization will be headed by Mitch Garber, the former CEO of Party Gaming, the parent company of Party Poker. One month ago, Garber signed on with Harrah’s, although his role was not immediately known. WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, who will conduct daily bracelet presentations during the upcoming seven week-long festivities, will also become President of Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment. Pollack will remain in his WSOP Commissioner role and is now less than one week out from the 2009 installment of the event. Harrah’s Entertainment Chairman, President, and CEO Gary Loveman commented in a press release, “As the world’s largest gaming company, Harrah’s is taking a proactive approach toward international and interactive expansion. It is important we position ourselves to explore new markets as well as new technologies with our best in class brands.”
Harrah’s Interactive Entertainment will also transplant brands that fall under the heading of “interactive gaming technologies;” Total Rewards was labeled as a possible target. The hiring of Garber led to speculation that Harrah’s may expand into the online poker space, although this has not been announced either. The WSOP will be beamed into households worldwide through ESPN.com and BluffMagazine.com. ESPN’s television coverage, which is primarily limited to the United States, kicks off in July with the airing of the $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP.
The 2009 WSOP Europe festivities will kick off on September 18th with the first of two starting days in a £1,060 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament. On September 21st, action will get underway in a £2,650 buy-in Half Pot Limit Hold’em, Half Pot Limit Omaha event. On September 23rd, all eyes will be squarely focused on a £5,250 buy-in Pot Limit Omaha contest. Last year, Theo Jorgensen defeated Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi in the finals of that tournament, with Max Pescatori, Chris Ferguson, and European Poker Tour (EPT) High Roller Champion Jason Mercier all appearing at the final table. On September 26th, the £10,350 buy-in Main Event will kick off.
The 2009 WSOP Main Event at the Rio will begin on July 3rd with the first of four starting days. It will play down to its final table on July 15th and resume in November. The tournament will air on ESPN beginning on August 18th; its finale will be beamed into homes on November 10th.
