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I wonder what fraction of people who were able to take 1 week off this year for their ME seat won't be able to take off 10-15 days next year. Any guesses?

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Let me preface this by saying I have a rather nice job, with very friendly and understanding people. However:

When I went to get the time off for this year's WSOP ME, it was quite the strange experience when I went into my boss's office to let him know I was taking off for a week to go play poker; while he was okay with it, it certainly wasn't the most comfortable experience of my life. And I get along with him rather well; honestly, I'd have been better off saying I was going to spend a week at the beach than I was saying I was heading off to play a card game. My boss isn't quite attuned to popular culture (which probably describes many in managerial positions) had no clue what the hell the WSOP is, and why in the world I was skipping out of work for a week to go play in it.

Not sure how in the world I could ever take two weeks off with the reason being poker (I do however, get two weeks of vacation time every year - which bring me to my next point):

For those of us with wives (even without children), the situation is even stickier. I don't know many wives who are okay with their husbands taking off for two weeks; nor do I know many wives who want their husbands using all their vacation time to play poker, rather than take a family vacation. My wife is fully supportive of my poker hobby, but certainly doesn't enjoy being left home alone for a week. Not having children, I have the luxury of being able to bring my wife with me (provided she can get the time off, which she was able to this year, although again, it meant the hassel of her reorganizing some projects at work). I can only imagine the difficult decisions that must be made for people with children.

Factor in the costs the poker sites incur to reserve hotels for two weeks (a cost that will most likely be passed onto the players, probably in the form of a decreased ratio of seats per player in the sats.) - and the balancing act that is the WSOP ME becomes rather difficult for many of us non-professionals, particularly if booking hotels for an unknown number of nights (anywhere from 2 to 15) is now involved. I assume we might not see many 2006 WSOP ME Stars' packages with hotel included, given the expense of a hotel room at the Mirage or TI for two weeks; perhaps I'm wrong on that count, though.

This post is merely just meant to echo shaniac's point that the logistics of a two-week WSOP ME are difficult to manage for many amateur players.

Having said all that, should I be fortunate enough to qualify again - I'd do my best to work out the logitical issues in any way possible. I don't think I'd jeopardize my career or my marriage, but anything short of that is fair game. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

So to answer your question: "I wonder what fraction of people who were able to take 1 week off this year for their ME seat won't be able to take off 10-15 days next year. Any guesses?" - my guess is that, while being a much bigger pain in the ass, it won't deter too many people who would have played had the WSOP ME remained only a week long. But I certainly think it could be a factor.