My first reply was hastily written, and I apologise if that offended, but regardless of how the stars were made, they're stars now with all that involves and in my view should be compensated for the legitimacy they bring to the tournaments they play in.

- I wasn't suggesting the players don't benefit from the exposure. I was suggesting they aren't being compensated by WPT for their services. Apparently, some of them agree.

- I fully understand the relationship between players and WPT. The players are brands used by WPT to sell their product. My point is that I'm surprised the top talent has allowed this relationship to remain untouched.

- You're absolutely right that poker's structure is different from that of the big organized team sports, but if you think the viewer doesn't care if a Jesus Ferguson stands by a product, you're sorely mistaken. As with organized athletics, the viewer at home wants to see the best at what they do doing what they do. Or have you been watching the CFL, state golf championships and B-movies exclusively because talent is irrelevent?

- "The bottom line is, and this is what 99% of the population fails to understand: tv makes poker players. poker players don't make tv."

Actually, you're wrong. The poker community was well-established when TV came calling and TV focused on them in part because they had great stories to tell. Most of the public will choose to watch a WPT or WSOP broadcast over other shows because they feature the best and brightest in the game, and the familliarity with those characters makes them easier to relate to. If nothing else, this is a chicken-egg relationship.

- While there's definately more dead money, I'm pretty sure the median calibre of major fields has increased as a whole from pre-WPT days.

- My understanding is that poker's ratings have far surpassed hockey's and now rival the big three. This can be accounted for by the popularity of re-runs. Initial airings are not level with the big three.

That all said, this was an innocent message board post, and you took it far too personally. Instead of attacking the newb, try de-caf.

Gary