A Simple Solution to the crowded WSOP

[TimTimSalabim]

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not enough bathrooms at the Rio....

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You'd think a guy named bigjohn would have realized that.

[hotdog da 2rd]

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not enough bathrooms at the Rio....

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From Dave Scharf's blog at Canadianpoker.com:

2000 guys ... 5 urinals ... 3 stalls. Ugh.


Kevin...

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that's when a wig and a dress comes in handy.

[wiggs73]

I think a better solution would be up increase the buy-ins by a substantial amount. By all means, keep some cheaper ones and let the 'public' play. But I think at least a few 6-digit buy-ins would be great.

[Timer]

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I think a better solution would be up increase the buy-ins by a substantial amount. By all means, keep some cheaper ones and let the 'public' play. But I think at least a few 6-digit buy-ins would be great.

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The best solution of all is proper planning. There is no excuse for not having all of your ducks in a row for such a prestegious event. The last time Harrah's had a major poker tournament it was a horrible bust. The Rio should be different. Obviously, they didn't properly plan. This planning should have been going on for months and months in advance.

I'm staying away for the first two weeks and possibly the whole thing for precisely this reason. If you thought the Horseshoe was a zoo it looks like you haven't seen anything yet.

The handwriting was on the wall.

[LargeCents]

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I think a better solution would be up increase the buy-ins by a substantial amount. By all means, keep some cheaper ones and let the 'public' play. But I think at least a few 6-digit buy-ins would be great.



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I agree. I think this is the next step. If the WSOP doesn't do it, another casino/event will create some type of $100,000+ buy-in super-event.

That's how the WSOP started, as the super-tournament of elite poker. Now, it's an anyman's tournament. I'd love to see the stakes raised to the point that only a few dozen of the biggest pro's, and maybe a few dozen of the biggest fish really battle it out. Make it back into an elite tournament.

There are too many playing the WSOP main event who don't really care if they lose $10k, it's just entertainment for them. The WSOP is no longer a battle of elite poker skill, but rather a fish fest, where the luckiest "fisherman" will build the biggest stack and win. Make it mean something. WSOP isn't about skill as much as it is about prolonged luck and "sufficient" skill.

[Dynasty]

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I'd love to see the stakes raised to the point that only a few dozen of the biggest pro's, and maybe a few dozen of the biggest fish really battle it out. Make it back into an elite tournament.


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That won't make it an elite tournament. That would make it a tournament hardly anybody would care about and even less would pay attention to.

[MicroBob]

welcome back timer.


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The best solution of all is proper planning. There is no excuse for not having all of your ducks in a row for such a prestegious event.

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without a freaking doubt.
these clowns seem to have not thought about virtually ANY of this.
It's like they're saying, "okay...here's our schedule. golly that's a lot of tournaments" and then they are surprised when demand is as high as everyone knew it was going to be.


The stories of the disorganization, long-lines, impossible bath-rool waits, etc REALLY bug me.
This is my first WSOP trip.
I am in the main-event already and will likely buy-in to the $3k event on July 1 via my W$ from pokerstars...and I am already concerned with whether or not it is going to be just freaking miserable due to ultra-crowded conditions and inability to take a whiz.


I have hopes that they'll somehow get some of these problems fixed by the time I arrive in Vegas in a few weeks...but I know that is pretty unrealistic.


good post timer.

[A_C_Slater]

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I'd love to see the stakes raised to the point that only a few dozen of the biggest pro's, and maybe a few dozen of the biggest fish really battle it out. Make it back into an elite tournament.


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That won't make it an elite tournament. That would make it a tournament hardly anybody would care about and even less would pay attention to.

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Is it not true that the structure of tournaments what make them considered to be elite and not the buy in? Afterall what if you have a $1,000,000,000,000 buy in, but the blinds go up every 30 seconds and you start with 10000 in chips and the blinds at 100-200 and the blinds double every level increase? Likewise, you could have a 1 cent buy in with 10000 in starting chips and the blinds going up every 2 hours. I think whoever won the penny buy in would need more skill than the trillion dollar buy in winner.

[MicroBob]

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There are too many playing the WSOP main event who don't really care if they lose $10k, it's just entertainment for them.

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You could have EVERY SINGLE PLAYER there be of this type and it still wouldn't be too many for me.

The Phil Hellmuth's and Annie Duke's can complain all they like about the suck-outs suffered to the 'internet-fish who don't even know how to play the game' but I will welcome them to my table ANY time.


For 'elite' type tournaments we already have the $25k WPT championship...and other stuff like the NBC HOC, ESPN's tournament of champions, the PPT, PSI and PSI2 (with it's ridiculous blind format).
All of these tournaments are heavy on the 'name' and 'elite' players and much lighter (if any at all) on the no-name online-qualifiers.

The public has already spoken on these...and they have repeatedly shown that they just don't care as much about these more 'elite' events.



I'm one of a few thousand 'newbie' online-qualifiers who will be playing in his first ever WSOP this year and I'm obviously thrilled.
I just hope it's not SO many people that the Rio can't handle it...and from all reports thus far it appears those concerned are quite justified.

For the 'elite' players....I don't think it's asking too much that they prove that they can grind their way through this mine-field. Many will get unlucky and will bow-out well before making the money. It happens.
But that's what happens with the BIGGEST event in poker history.



Total aside:
I still can't help but think about where we were just 2 years ago.
PokerStars sent 39 qualifiers....Moneymaker was one of them and made his way through a supposedly HUGE field of 850 players to win the whole thing.

This year Stars will send around 1000 players....and the total field will be 6000+ all of whom are in for $10k each (in one way or another).

The whole 'boom' still boggles my mind.

[Jax_Grinder]

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it has become hard for skilled players to navigate their way through such a big field without hitting a "landmine".

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reduce the fields to a more reasonable number so that the tournaments don't become complete lotteries

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This are ubiquitous thoughts that are repeated ad naseum this time of year.

Let's see if we can employ some qualitative debunking of this sentiment...

Final table for Event #2, 2005 WSOP.

Seat 1 - Richard Boutwell: No reported prize money;
Seat 2 - Scott Fischman: $866,938 since Sep. '02 (2 Bracelets);
Seat 3 - Devilfish: $2,732,946 since '93 (1 Bracelet);
Seat 4 - Allen Cunningman: $1,482,037 since '98 (1 Bracelet);
Seat 5 - Charlie Huff: No reported prize money;
Seat 6 - Randy Edmonson: $14,700 since '91 (O Bracelets);
Seat 7 - Can Kim Hua: $1,259,224 since Sep. '02 (0 Bracelets);
Seat 8 - Liz Lieu: No reported prize money;
Seat 9 - An Tran: $880,918 since '89 (1 Bracelet, 19 final tables).

In sum: 5 Bracelets, $7,000,000+ in tournament prize money, and 6 people who have cashed at prior WSOP events. Of the 3 players with no reported tournament cashes (per the Hendon Mob), we have NO IDEA what their poker background/skills are like so any suppositions on that issue lack credibility.

This in field of 2300+ at the lowest buy-in (and therefore likely the fishiest) NL Hold 'em event at the Series.

Seems to me that the cream has risen to the top. Maybe you aren't familiar with the names or accomplishments, but that doesn't make them unworthy of being there (which is precisely what terms like "crapshoot" and "lottery", etc. imply).

Of course, why should I think that anybody on this board will give props where they are due. After all, we would all have Bracelets by the boatload if some donkey hadn't sucked out on us, right?