Heading into next Monday’s $5,150 buy-in World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Championship in Tunica, Mississippi, media interest in the event is ramping up. The area was hit hard by winter weather last weekend, but despite Mother Nature, mammoth crowds have turned out. Poker News Daily sat down with Harrah’s Alan Fowler to discuss the media landscape at the WSOP Circuit stop.
Poker News Daily: Thanks for joining us. Talk about the media interest in the WSOP Circuit Event in Tunica.
Alan Fowler: So far, we’ve gotten a few media requests. Over the weekend, a man from CNN.com was interested in doing a novelty story about the ladies event. His mom was playing in the event and he’s a photographer for the website. The standard media we get includes Poker Player Newspaper, Casino Times, and some of the websites and forums. The exposure has been the same as it was last year, but we’ve been putting a lot of effort into giving exposure to the Circuit Events on WSOP.com and highlighting their stories more. We’re currently working to create portals so that each Circuit Event has its own portal.
PND: You had a 67% increase in attendance for the Seniors Event this year. In addition, one of the events held so far attracted 800 players. Tell us about the series.
Alan Fowler: It’s been a great series. The first few events were phenomenal. We caught a bit of bad weather and it affected our numbers tremendously over the weekend, however. The end of the World Poker Tour (WPT) tournament at the Beau Rivage picked up the attendance a bit, but the storm hit us hard last weekend.
PND: What are your expectations for the Tunica Championship Event?
Alan Fowler: If I were asked to give an estimate, I’m hoping for around 200 runners. I’m thinking a lot of big internet and higher stakes players are holding out for the event instead of being here throughout the duration. In Atlantic City, players stay through the whole event. I’m thinking that Tunica is one of those events where people want to come in and come out, especially with the Biloxi event having just ended.
PND: Has there been any thought to changing the timing of the Tunica Circuit Event given the WPT Southern Poker Championship in Biloxi?
Alan Fowler: No. For the last five years, January has been the month for folks to come to Tunica. The landscape is changing with new events and tournaments around the United States, but we hope to keep the same tradition we’ve had since 2005. We feel that the Circuit Events are special and the structures here are awesome. I’ve never heard so many compliments and a lot of players said that it’s the best structure they’ve ever played. I don’t think it’ll be moving anytime soon.
PND: How do you prepare for the Main Event from a media perspective?
Alan Fowler: We’re starting to get credential requests to fill. We have a few bloggers coming in to report on it and there’s a lot of exposure through major poker media outlets. We’ll put out a press release before the event and get ready to go. We’ll also keep track of any storylines that might develop.
PND: Talk about the new facilities at Harrah’s Tunica, which was formerly the Grand Casino.
Alan Fowler: It’s a beautiful place. The new Paula Dean buffet – I recommend it. It’s awesome. I’ve never seen a casino market its buffet as much as I have here. It’s incredible. Her face is plastered on everything. Replays Sports Bar is closed down, but they have the buffet and a new food court. They’ve ramped up to the younger crowd, which they haven’t done before. The Terrace and Veranda hotels have been revamped as well. The only complaint I hear about is people having to take shuttles back and forth from those hotels in the cold, but everything else has been great so far.
