The Seniors Event at the World Series of Poker was a booming success and something that everyone involved in putting on tournaments should take a hard look at. It’s a glimpse into what a healthy and vibrant poker economy looks like. On the other hand, the $75/$150 Omaha 8 game running at the Rio during the WSOP is the exact opposite. I’ll get to that down the road, but for now, I want to focus on the Seniors Event and what was right about it.

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A few of my friends played in it and a lot of people I know were around while it was going on. Every report I heard had similar quotes. “It was packed.” “People were everywhere.” “I had a great time.” “I was talking to a guy at my table and it turns out we went to college together.” Everyone had stories they couldn’t wait to relay to others. And their stories had little to do with poker hands, bad beats, or bustouts. Or if they did, the poker part was context for what Paul Harvey called “the rest of the story.”

They had fun. That was the story. In all of the different forms it can take, over 4,000 people put up $1,000 each and made their way to Las Vegas to participate in an event that they enjoyed. It wasn’t a grind. It wasn’t work. It was entertainment, and it was top-notch entertainment.

It was a win-win. The WSOP got to have a great event while bringing in a great demographic for the bottom line. The poker pros in the tournament got to compete against a field where they should have had a significant edge. The recreational players got to be a part of something and enjoy themselves, and most importantly left there to go back to their part of the world and be the best marketing tools anyone could ever dream of for next year’s event.

In his blog, Brad Willis wrote about the opposite experience he had recently at another tournament, an experience that is becoming all too common. It shouldn’t take a novelty event that excludes the majority of the player base from entering for an event to get back to being fun.

Who would ever say that a group of 50+ year olds is more fun than a group of 23 year olds? Well, in the poker world that is absolutely the case. And it doesn’t take a ton of bad apples to spoil the bunch. A few players have the unique ability to make any table fun and entertaining (Gavin Smith immediately comes to mind). Most are more chameleon-like and if the table is generally talkative and fun, they jump in and are the same, but if it is quiet and sullen, they can play that role too, almost inevitably leaving all but a few of the big winners with a less-than-positive experience.

There aren’t too many winners in poker and everyone can’t win all the time, but poker can be fun almost all the time. And while I am generally down on the overall environment around poker right now, there is hope coming from the new generation of players. Eric Baldwin (pictured), Shannon Shorr, and Ryan Welch all make their money at the tables and are top-shelf players. They also see the bigger picture and do their part to make the game fun for those around them. They are part of what I hope is a growing movement to pressure their peers to do the same.

I’m lucky enough to spend a vast majority of my time playing poker with a group that is there to have fun. It is the exception, not the rule, if the game is a bit of a dud. And it infuriates me when I go to an event like the WSOP and have the opposite experience, which seems to be the case pretty regularly these days.

Next week, I’ll detail an experience I had playing cash games at the Rio, and how the regs do all they can to kill their game of choice and destroy any chance they have at building a vibrant and lucrative environment that poker could and should be.

Court Harrington has worked on the business side of the poker industry in roles including tournament reporting for PocketFives, radio hosting for PokerRoad Radio, coaching for the WSOP Academy and privately, and a variety of behind-the-scenes responsibilities for poker media businesses. He also plays in cash games and tournaments. Harrington is currently doing consulting work and exploring business opportunities outside of the poker industry. You can contact him at Court@CourtHarrington.com.

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