The World Series of Poker is Spreading the Wealth
The 2007 World Series of Poker is quickly approaching, and for many PocketFivers that means one thing – shelling out some cash and heading to Las Vegas in search of millions of dollars. Last year, over 500 members of the site played in the Main Event and with the bevy of satellites available across the major online poker sites, that number should be similar this year.
One of the monumental changes the WSOP has made thus far is altering the distribution of prize money by flattening the payout structure in each of its events. Last year, Jamie Gold took home a whopping $12 million in winnings in the Main Event for first and every player at the final table was a new millionaire. Under the new distribution method, Gold would have received just over $10 million. A WSOP press release highlights the differences: “The 2006 Main Event would have paid $22,266 for 873rd through 775th places, up from $14,605 or $15,512. Places 82 through 73 would have paid $126,173, up from $66,010. First place would have paid $10,028,715, down from $12 million, while second place would have been worth $5,442,769, compared with $6,105,900.” The complete payout structure as a function of the number of players can be found here.
Thompson explains, “We have a Players’ Advisory Council that includes Barry Greenstein, Howard Lederer, and others. They suggested we consider flattening our payout structure. We recognize that a lot of money is taken out of the poker community and paid back to the 10% of players who cash. In the past, it was pretty top-heavy and we want to give more money back.” This means that players who grind away for hours could potentially see a much larger return on their investment. However, it also means that first prize could, in theory, be lower than it was in 2006, a public relations blow, but still considered a necessary risk: “I think there is an expectation that a certain group of people want to see the top prize rise from year to year, but the reality is that we have a responsibility to the players and we believe this is the fairest thing to do. Whether or not the top prize increases from year to year isn’t important. What is important is catering to our players.”
A considerable amount of research went into the Players’ Advisory Committee’s recommendation to spread the prize pool out more evenly: “There’s a great deal of research and literature and things I learned about during this process. There’s a lot of mathematics involved in this. I know [Harrah’s Director of Poker Operations] Jack Effel enlisted one of his college instructors to develop something similar to this and I know a number of math experts have done the same thing. Lederer and Greenstein are a lot sharper than I am, so I’ll have to defer to them. It was basically a case of listening to people who understand tournament structure and tournament dynamics. There are different philosophies out there and they presented a compelling case.”
Also, for the second straight year, the 258 poker tables at the Rio will don logos from PartyPoker.net and Milwaukee’s Best Light, the presenting sponsor. Advertising, in general, this year is only open to online poker sites that do not solicit U.S. customers. According to Thompson, “We are not allowed to enter into business arrangements with organizations that cater to U.S. residents.” WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack said the following: “We’re pleased to announce that PartyPoker.net has renewed its product-placement deal. It is one of a fantastic group of commercial companies we welcome back to the team.”
The entire playing structure of the Main Event has been changed since 2006 and can be found by clicking here. All players will begin with 20,000 chips and the blinds will start at 50/100. Levels will last two hours and there are only three Day Ones this year with an option to pick up a fourth if needed. Play will be expanded to other rooms at the Rio besides the Amazon Room to accommodate more poker players each day. The Main Event starts on July 6th and wraps up 11 days later.
The 2007 WSOP is shaping up to be a memorable one. We look forward to great success from PocketFivers in the 55 events that comprise it. Check out the full schedule of events.
