Mike Sexton on Turning Players Away From the WSOP Main Event

For the first time in the history of the World Series of Poker (WSOP), players were turned away from entering the Main Event.  It was unfortunate for those players, the WSOP, and the people at Harrah’s.  Here’s what happened.

Four starting days (1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D) from July 3rd to 6th were provided for players to enter the WSOP championship event.  Players could choose their starting day and registration to enter was opened in March.  The first three days, the number of entries was lower than expected (1,100, 800, and 1,700), but on Day 4 (1D), it was a sellout.  Every seat of the 295 tables was sold hours before registration for the event was supposed to be closed.  And all of the players (500 or so) who tried to sign up afterwards were told the event was a sellout and, unfortunately, they couldn’t play.

Naturally, players who were shut out were upset.  I happened to be down the hallway in the “Mike Sexton Suite” (a room available for the PartyPoker qualifiers) when the ruckus in the hallway was taking place.  Although I had played on Day 1A (and got through with average chips), I wandered down there to check things out.  As I got close to the registration area, numerous players suddenly came running up to me and said, “Mike, they’ve shut us out of the Main Event.  They won’t listen to us.  You’ve got to do something!”  I told them that I’m not affiliated with Harrah’s or the WSOP – I’m just a player, but that I did feel their pain and sincerely wished there was a way they could play.  A larger group now surrounded me pleading for me to try and help them.

“Captain” Tom Franklin was one of the players shut out on Day 1D and said he would be a spokesperson for the group as well.  They agreed.  We both told the group (which was now growing rapidly) that the only possible way anything might get accomplished was by taking a calm, reasonable approach to solve the problem.  If players were going to holler or create a mob scene, everyone understood that was not going to do anything but bring on security to escort everyone off the property.  And to everyone’s credit, calm was restored.  We discussed some possibilities as to what we felt the WSOP might do to accommodate those players who were shut out.  There were three options: play ten-handed (all tables were currently nine-handed), take alternates, or create a Day 1E and figure out how that could logistically take place.

We were told that Jack Eiffel (the WSOP’s Tournament Director) was going to come out and address the players.  A short while later, Jack sent word out that he was not coming out, but that Tom and I could come in and see him.  Everyone was pretty happy that the staff was at least willing to discuss things with us.

Tom and I were escorted into the area where the feature TV table was located and we started talking with Jack.  He told us all options were considered early that morning, but to maintain the integrity of the event, they had decided not to go to ten-handed tables and that they were sorry, but registration was closed.  After a short while with Jack, his phone rang and he told us to go with him to meet Jeffrey Pollack (WSOP Commissioner) about this.  We then went out to the back hallway and met with Pollack and at least four other “suits” from the Rio (all Vice Presidents and above).  Nolan Dalla was there as well.  And all of them were distressed and upset that they had to turn away players.

We presented our case: players had never been shut out of the Main Event, no one (including the WSOP staff) had thought they couldn’t register Monday morning for Day 1D, people had flown in from around the world to play and now couldn’t, and we had several options that could accommodate players.  They said they had explored all of the options and to preserve the integrity of the event, they decided to close registration after all seats had been sold.  And their reasons were logical.

They felt it wouldn’t be fair to those who pre-registered in advance for Day 1D to play ten-handed, as the players who entered the first three days played nine-handed.  They hadn’t taken any alternates for any event the entire month (and seven events were sold out) and couldn’t do it now because there wouldn’t be seats available for players on Day 2B.  The only possibility then was to create a Day 1E, which would start later that night (say 6:00pm), play four levels (like players did on Days 1A and 1B), and allow the players that got through to join Day 2A.  This was the only option they felt was a possible solution.  Their biggest concern was that because they had sent players home in the morning telling them it was a sellout, they thought it would create a bigger black eye for them to re-open registration and create a Day 1E (to start later that night).  This was perhaps the most serious issue for them.  They appreciated our input and, to his credit, Pollack said he would be out in a short while to address the players with their decision.

And as you know by now, Pollack came out and addressed the players and Harrah’s decision was to stand pat with their original choice: the event was a sellout and registration was closed.

Both parties have to absorb some blame.  If it was at all possible for them, players should have registered sooner.  But I do think the WSOP staff should have recognized the possibility of a Day 1D sellout, especially since it was 4th of July weekend.  They should have been saying for a week or so prior to the Main Event, “We are only taking 2,800 players on Day 1D, so if you don’t want to get shut out, you should register as soon as possible.”  This would have solved much of the problem.  They should have also recognized that many players would want to spend the 4th of July weekend with their families and would choose Day 1D to play.  And finally, they should have known that starting players with 30,000 in chips would mean more would get through on Days 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D – thus creating larger fields for Days 2A and 2B.  And just to be safe, why not create an “Open Day” after Days 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D where you can create a Day 1E just in case you have an overflow of players.

Players must realize that Harrah’s and the WSOP did not want to shut anyone out.  I was with them and I know they didn’t want to shut players out of their championship event.  Had they re-opened registration, they would have surpassed last year’s attendance and added another $4 million to $5 million to the prize pool.  Why wouldn’t they want that?  Why would they want players who dream all year about playing in the WSOP championship event to go home with a bad taste in their mouth?  Their problems were logistical and they simply wanted to protect the integrity of the event.  One thing’s for sure: in the long run, this might be a good thing for the WSOP.  I guarantee you they will never have problems with late registration again – ever!