Pure gossip: WSOP being moved to Stratosphere?

There was a discussion today at the Mirage about the WSOP being bought by "some guy" so he could run it at the Stratosphere starting in 2003.


Any credibility to this?


Any other rumors about the WSOP being bought and moved to anohter location?

I saw a rumor over on RGP that Binion's was looking to sell the rights to the WSOP to someone else. They mentioned Adelson. This should also go into the category of rumor, innuendo, and hearsay. It would make sense though. I think a big operator like Adelson or MGM-Mirage could do a fantastic job. I don't know that they're interested. Binions is struggling by all accounts and this WSOP could be a disaster. I don't see how dealers are going to get any tips at all. 6% vig with nothing going to the toke pool and only 65% of the toke pool going to the dealers. I can't imagine anybody will toke very much, if any. If there are no tokes the first couple of events, will there be any dealers? Maybe I'm just a pessimist and the event will be bigger than last year, as it always seems to be.

I have said this many times in 2+2, they need to license out the WSOP (or sell it) and then rotate it around much like the Super Bowl or Final Four. Sites would bid on the event offering to pay money to the pool (and dealers) to get the prestige and advertising value having the WSOP can provide. Not to mention this would get it out into many places that some players would never go. Las Vegas poker is nothing like what it used to be so the loss of having it here would just be a natural progression and a clear statement that the torch has passed. Ten years ago this idea might have been worthless, but with all the hotels being added to casinos in CA, the emergence of AC on the poker map along with CT as well, the growth of internation players...it all adds up to a great opporunity to get some more excitement, get more money involved in the games, get more exposure. What isn't there to like about the idea? I think getting it out of Vegas would be the best thing to happen to it and to the poker world in general.


The Horseshoe isn't in trouble at all. They make plenty of money. Its just that they have been taken over by the management of squeezing pennies out of dollars. You do that by reducing advertising, cutting corners, reducing the value you offer and all these things are what hurt something like the WSOP. Its not intended to be a big money maker, its intended to be a good advertising vehicle. Horseshoe doesn't want or need advertising so its value is better off somewhere else.