Is it worth accepting the Poker Stars WSOP ME Sponsorship?

Pros: Receive 1k online money, receive possible payouts for FT and TV table appearance

Cons: Required to wear all the Poker Stars gear all the time, miss out on other sponsorship opportunities if you hit the FT, (if you win, you receive no addition compensation for the year, but must continue to work for Stars, do commercials etc.)

From an equity perspective, should this deal be accepted?

http://www.pokerstars.com/wsop/faq/

FT Compensation:

1. 1st place: $1,000,000*
2. 2nd place: $400,000*
3. 3rd place: $300,000*
4. 4th-5th place: $200,000*
5. 6th-9th place: $100,000*

TV Table payouts:
<table><tr><th>Days</th><th>Bronze</th><th>Silver</th><th>Gold</th><th>Platinum</th><th>Supernova & Elite</th></tr><tr><td>Day 1 (4)</td><td>$5,000.00</td><td>$6,000.00</td><td>$7,000.00</td><td>$8,000.00</td><td>$9,000.00</td></tr><tr><td>Day 2 (2)</td><td>$6,000.00</td><td>$7,000.00</td><td>$8,000.00</td><td>$9,000.00</td><td>$10,000.00</td></tr><tr><td>Day 3</td><td>$6,000.00</td><td>$7,000.00</td><td>$8,000.00</td><td>$9,000.00</td><td>$10,000.00</td></tr><tr><td>Day 4</td><td>$10,000.00</td><td>$11,000.00</td><td>$12,000.00</td><td>$13,000.00</td><td>$14,000.00</td></tr><tr><td>Day 5</td><td>$12,000.00</td><td>$14,000.00</td><td>$16,000.00</td><td>$18,000.00</td><td>$20,000.00</td></tr><tr><td>Day 6</td><td>$15,000.00</td><td>$17,000.00</td><td>$19,000.00</td><td>$21,000.00</td><td>$23,000.00</td></tr><tr><td>Day 7</td><td>$20,000.00</td><td>$25,000.00</td><td>$30,000.00</td><td>$35,000.00</td><td>$50,000.00</td></tr></table>

Lengthy discussion about this last month here

It wasn't a very lengthy discussion, but yes, I was too lazy to use the search feature.

how much better? other than tuan lam, rahme, khan and i suppose jerry yang to a very small extent, what players that final tabled cashed in because of being there? basically they all signed with stars or nobody, so why not just sign with stars in the first place and get paid for sitting in the background while moneymaker busts out on day 1?

if you end up making the final table, youre gonna get signed by stars anyways if you accept it and youll be financially secure for a long time. i'd much rather sign with stars, than any other site

ok true, i forgot about the 3 month wait. but do you think many companies will jump at the opportunity of being associated with something thats borderline illegal in their country?

Are nazis really synonymous with being wealthy? i thought they were more into the whole being hateful thing.

heh, its from the simpsons

<SPAN class=mw-headline>Marketing</SPAN>

Like any event or sports league, the WSOP also has corporate sponsors and licensed products which pay fees to market themselves as an official sponsor and/or licensee and exclusively use the WSOP insignia and cross-promote with their events. Besides the Harrah's properties and ESPN, major sponsors have included Miller Brewing's "Milwaukee's Best" brand of beers, Pepsi's SoBe Adrenaline Rush energy drink (sponsors of the 2005 TOC), Helene Curtis' Degree brand of anti-perspirant/deodorant, United States Playing Card's Bicycle Pro Cards, Bluff magazine, GlaxoSmithKline/Bayer's Levitra erectile dysfunction medicine, and The Hershey Company. Licensees include Glu Mobile, Activision (video games for different platforms such as Nintendo's GameCube, Microsoft's Xbox, Sony's PlayStation 2 and PC featuring computer generated versions of stars like Ferguson among others), and products made by different companies ranging from chip sets, playing cards, hand held games and clothing like caps and shirts. The fees and licenses bring in more than a million dollars to Harrah's.

also, i'd imagine final table players given 3 months could get some good deal out of a clothing company too (adidas/nike or loads of others).

don't be bitter cause you were wrong.

Mathclub,

With the exception of the video game you listed, as I am sure they paid Jesus and the other poker players for their likeness, all of those companies PAY ESPN, NOT THE PLAYERS, FOR ADVERTISING DURING THE WSOP. There is no way those players at the final table are going to be getting any cut from sponsors paying ESPN to advertise during the WSOP.

also, i'd imagine final table players given 3 months could get some good deal out of a clothing company too (adidas/nike or loads of others).

Phil Ivey is young, a successful poker player, and black (this is not a racist comment. If you dont think black people arent responsible for a ton of Nike's sales then you nuts) and I don't see him wearing any Nike clothing.

You are absolutely delusion if you think companies such has nike/adidas would sign a poker player to an edorsement deal.

Perfect example is Phil Hellmuth. Dude gets as much if not more tv exposure than any other poker player. He is widely known in the poker industry and has 11 wsop bracelets. Every time I see him on tv, he is decked out in UB gear. I dont see any other company logo's on his clothes.

I watch ESPN a ton and outside of poker advertisements, I don't see Phil on any commercials.

So let's throw out a hypothetical here Mathclub. Let's say the field has been whittled down to the final table of the WSOP ME and immediately you got reps from pokerstars and FTP there offering you a contract worth $1 million, and in their contract, they state that you are only allowed to wear their logo while playing. Are you honestly going to tell me you would pass up that offer and tell them you would prefer to wait to see if there is better endorsement deals in the next 3 months?

Do you think, a person such as yourself who isnt widely known as say Hellmuth or Ivey is going to be able to call up Nike and say, "hey, I am at the final table of the WSOP ME which happens to be airing in 3 months and was wondering if Nike would be interested in signing me to a sponsorship deal?" Ain't going to happen!

A person would have to have an agent (which is expensive as hell to have) to get in touch with all of these companies and since the WSOP ME is a one time event per year, it would be a waste of money to sign anyone to a sponsorship deal.

Bottom line is, the prudent thing would be to take any offers FTP or Stars offers as its guaranteed money for you and to turn them down because you think or hope you can land a bigger sponsorship deal with a company outside of the poker industry would be flat out dumb!