McEvoy/WSOP/Editorial

As most of you probably know, Tom McEvoy is not the poker room manager any more at The Horseshoe here in Las Vegas. Why this is the case I don't know. Furthermore, it seems that they have already hired a replacement.


In addition, as some of you may also be aware of, I am not an admirer of McEvoy and was not surprised that he didn't last very long. However, in this business, that is the poker/casino manager business many job holders don't stay in their positions very long. Over the years I have seen a lot of poker room managers come and go. So this does not necessarily mean that McEvoy did a bad job. It more likely means that the match of him to the Horseshoe was not as good of a fit as the appropriate parties thought.


But there is another aspect of this that I wish to bring up. It is that I did think given all the problems that The Horseshoe had with their tournament this year that McEvoy was an important commodity in bringing people back next year because it is obvious to me that the WSOP was a very important part of his life.


This of course brings us to the real question. Will the WSOP be able to survive all its problems? I suspect it can, but it will require a strong committment from the new Horseshoe Poker Manager and the Horseshoe ownership. Unfortunately, downtown Las Vegas has deteriorated in prestige the last few years and it (in my opinion) needs this tournament. But needing this tournament and making the proper commitments for it are not necessarily the same thing.


All comments are welcome.

What is there not to like?


At the table he is thoughtful, polite and even tempered. He is a gentleman. He gives back to the game.


Poker is a game where top players have strong personalities and independant, self centered natures. Tom is a model citizen in this environment.

The only thing worse than working for a family owned business is working for your own family. I feel the WSOP will continue for a very short time if at all. I think the handwriting is on the wall for all tournaments. Unless we can control the cheats and deadbeats and excessive juice we have a classic situation of diminishing returns. I myself have already begun to play live. I would like to express best wishes to one and all.

Chico:


I agree and disagree with you. The tournaments have a surprisingly good reputation in terms of being honest, even though that is starting to be questioned by many people.


But your other two points about deadbeats and juice are well taken, especially the juice. Many tournaments are not such a good deal anymore. They have become satellite factories and the fees associated with all events have increased dramatically in recent years, not to mention the 3 percent. I believe that eventually many of the customers will say enough.


Whoever runs the WSOP will have to deal with these issues whether he wants to or not. If he can deal effectively with themthe tournament will probably be successful, perhaps an even greater success than in the past. If he can't, there will probably be problems.

"What is there not to like?"


Well from my point of view there are things not to like. But you completely miss my point. Speaking hypothetically, it is one thing when your supporters say that you are probably the right man for the job. In fact that could mean very little. But when your critics also concede that you appearr to be a good choice, which I am doing in this case, I think that makes the situation even stronger.


Do you now understand where I am coming from and why I view this as bad news for the WSOP.

Just go ahead and sell the rights to the WSOP to the Miarge, the Orleans or the Bike??


She clearly doent like poker or poker players and tradition means nothing to her... she sold the million bucks display...


The casinos I mention would run a great tournament, not a shambles like the event became this year at the Shoe.


Just my opinion,


Keith

in my post on the tournamnet forum, I recently said something like this---


rumor has it that this is not the best of times for the Horseshoe. The WSOP can be their salvation IF they realize the potental value and act accordingly


if NOT then wsop may die a slow death, but I believe it will take more than three years.


I consider wsop to be very important to the poker world and hope it is not allowed to crumble. One alternative would be for some other casino to "buy" the wsop and move it.

Move the tournament to the TAJ in AC. That way, I can play in many satellites and events. What a way to kick off the summer season in gorgeous New Jersey. You may not believe this, but NJ is absolutely splendid. I'm not being sacrastic either. The europeans won't have to travel as far either.


that is all,


dannyboy :o)

I played in the WSOP this year for the first time. I felt the management of the tourney, was nothing short of horrible. I've never seen a major tourney so badly managed. They are squandering away all their golden opportunities for publicity and prestige, and eating their seed corn.


Binion's Horshoe is against the ropes and won't survive. Particularly with Becky's shennanigans putting the final nail in the coffin.


The WSOP ought to be moved to Bellagio. Or Mirage. Or ANYWHERE else!

Interesting post. I know you have been quite negative on tournaments in general and I sort of assumed you didn't even play in the major ones. This is the first commentary from you on tournaments I have seen that has a somewhat "proprietory" tone and it makes me wonder if in fact you do play in WSOP events, etc.?


For my part, if these events didn't exist I would not have taken up the game to any serious extent (which I have done over the past several months). What intrigued me, and what I believe makes the WSOP somewhat unique in the anals of games, is that someone with the natural ability and determination can become competitve on the world poker stage in a modest amount of time. Contrast this with games such as golf or chess (forget about sports that have any real physical element)where someone who takes it up after age 20 even will never be competitive at the highest levels. Why this is so about poker, I'm not entirely sure (the luck factor in tournaments, the different types of logic required for success, lack of a formal schooling infrastructure, structure of zero sum economic incentives, who knows?)


In any case, if a venue such as the WSOP were to cease to exist, I would no longer seriously pursue the game. I wonder if others share my outlook, or if I am the lone weirdo here(entirely possible based upon the thrust of most of the more intelligent posts in these forums).

I have played a small number of WSOP events. The last one I played was the opening limit hold 'em in 1999. I lasted 10 hours but didn't make the money.


I agree with you that the WSOP is unique among poker tournaments because of the publicity that it brings to poker in general.

To those who are predicting the demise of the WSOP should note they had record numbers this year and I think it will be higher next year. People who wouldn't spend $1,000 for a tournament in California, will spend $10,000 to play in the main event of the WSOP.


To those who say Becky should sell the rights to the WSOP, if she did that, then she might as well close the poker room.......which wouldn't surprise me either.


About Tom. I've played several tournaments on the same table with him. Recently at BARGE and a few times in California. He has always been very nice and pleasant to everybody. He seems to have a quiet sense of humor. In one tournament he busted me....in another I busted him. He was very nice and respectful in both cases.


But having said that, the manager of a card room, or anything else for that matter, needs to be a leader of people and a good administrator. I get the feeling he is neither. I don't know why he is no longer there, but his leaving does not surprise me as much as his being hired did.


JohnnyD

"What intrigued me, and what I believe makes the WSOP somewhat unique in the anals of games, is that someone with the natural ability and determination can become competitve on the world poker stage in a modest amount of time"


I couldn't agree more. I'm not sure you even need any natural ability :-).


Andy.


PS I'm not normally one to pick up on typos but are you sure you meant "anals of games" ...

I am not a world class poker player and probably will never become one. Thus, it is unlikely that I will ever win a WSOP. Nevertheless, it is one of my goals to play in a WSOP event .... just as soon as I win enough in a tournament to pay for the entry fee. I am closing in on achieving that goal so I hope the WSOP does not go away. In my view, it represents the upper level of professionalism that distinguishes poker from a craps game. There really is some skill involved.


It is notable that the WSOP is probably the only poker event that non-poker-players ever hear about. It may also be the only event that has potential for the elusive corporate sponsorship that some folks think is important. I personally don't think poker is a good candidate for that kind of support because it plays poorly on the media, particularly TV.


Watching the typical final table in a tournament is only slightly more exciting than watching a funeral. Not to mention that the casual dress gives the same visual impression as a gang of thieves dividing the loot. One has to see the cards and understand the game to really feel the underlying tension and gamesmanship that goes on. If this could be done on national TV it would be the salvation of the WSOP and poker in general.


Meantime, the WSOP might benefit from a bidding process between casinos for hosting the thing. Not unlike the process for selecting a site for the Olympic Games.

Unfortunately...most casinos probably don't want the Series. Takes up room that people could be playing slots at. There aren't many major casinos looking to add poker to their gaming selection.