With the start of the 47th Annual World Series of Poker at the end of this month, officials with the WSOP have announced a host of innovations that will hopefully improve a player’s – and the fan’s – experiences when dealing with the preeminent organization in the world of poker.
With more players being paid out in the 69 tournaments that will be played at the Rio All Suites Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas – instead of the normal 10% of fields earning a cash, 15% of the field at this year’s WSOP will be taking home some green – the potential for logjams at the cashier’s cage is a possibility. The WSOP is taking this into account by introducing their eQueue Payout Process.
Instead of standing in lengthy lines to pick up a cash out, a player can put their name on a list that has been previously cleared with the appropriate financial information. If that player cashes in an event at the WSOP, they will be notified when their payout is ready via text message and return at a predetermined time to pick up said monies. With hope, the new eQueue Payout Process will reduce the traffic at the cage, which can be hectic when several events are in action.
A rules change has taken place for this year’s WSOP that should be a pleasant change of pace for the players. In previous years, once the money bubble had been popped, the players had to remove all headphones in theory to give full concentration to the business at hand. Players have consistently complained about this, however, and the WSOP finally listened; in 2016, players will be allowed to keep their headsets on until the final table. Of course, it is still imperative that players pay attention and be mindful of the action on their patch of felt, even if they are wearing headphones.
Another innovation that the WSOP honchos have come up with is the WSOP ChipIn application. Instead of friends and family depending on reports from news sources, Twitter or other social media outlets as to how their favorites are doing, a player can now add their chip counts directly to the official WSOP chip count list at WSOP.com from their smartphone or tablet. This will alleviate some of the pressures on the media (who are looking to cover a tremendous amount of activity in a large area) and get the information to people almost immediately.
As to the action on the felt, the WSOP will provide final table streaming in 2016. Live at the WSOP will feature the broadcast partnership of David Tuchman and Tatjana Pasalic, the experience will not necessarily dwell completely on final table action on any particular day at the WSOP, but will try to encompass all of the activities going on around the Rio. When it does come down to the final table action, however, one event will be chosen and streamed over the web.
Finally, the WSOP is centralizing its social media output, picking a gentleman who doesn’t need an introduction. Noted poker information expert Kevin ‘Kevmath’ Mathers has been hired to the position of “Twitter Czar,” basically putting him in charge of the WSOP and WSOP.com Twitter accounts and assisting other prominent personnel of the WSOP, such as Executive Tournament Director Jack Effel, with his social media efforts. This streamlining will allow players a ready information point as Mathers will have complete knowledge of what is occurring around the WSOP.
The innovations by the WSOP can only enhance the experience, not only for the players at the greatest spectacle in poker but also for the fans who can’t make it to the rails. There surely will be more to come as the WSOP begins its preparations for the biggest poker tournament in the world.
