I’ve been reading some good comments here, on other blogs, and in the 2+2 thread about the final table delay that I mentioned yesterday. I want to clear up a few things, clarify my own opinion a bit, and share some of the better discussions I’ve seen elsewhere.
First, a couple important details. My understanding is that everyone at the final table will be paid 9th place money in July. The rest of the prize pool will be kept in a CD, and the interest will be added to the payouts. Harrah’s has tried to make it sound like this is akin to adding bonus money to the prize pool, but really it’s the least they could do and possibly even their legal obligation.
Furthermore, according to the official press release,
“Each of the players who make it to the WSOP Main Event Final Table will receive ninth place prize money on July 14, when the finalists are determined. Harrah’s will then provide each of those players with an all expense paid trip for two for their return to Las Vegas in November to play the final portion of the tournament.
From July 14 to November 9, a span of 117 days, players will have an opportunity to line up sponsorships, coaches, review the play of all their competitors, participate in other tournaments, and take advantage of the new publicity and promotional opportunities that will be available.”
I still think this is kind of tacky and crassly commercial, but I do like the idea of the WSOP gaining popularity as a world-class sporting event. Suspense about the outcome should increase the excitement of earlier WSOP broadcasts, and if Harrah’s/ESPN do a good job of publicizing the final table contestants, they could be minor celebrities by November. Obviously the player themselves will have mixed feelings about that, but it will probably be good for poker in general. I found Daniel Negreanu’s analogy on this point compelling:
The way the WSOP main event airs now, the public is usually already aware of who won. The final episode plays out more like a documentary, a la, this is “how they won.” That will now change. Everyone will know who is at the final table, but for three months, the question will change to “who will win” which I think is more exciting.
On the other hand, the delay greatly increases the likelihood that players will make a deal and/or sell off their equity, which could actually decrease the excitement of the final table. Harrah’s understandably refuses to assist players in deal-making, and in past years there’s been very little time for players to bargain amongst themselves. But four months raises all sorts of possibilities, including the involvement of lawyers, insurance firms, and other professional deal-makers. The players may well end up playing for five rather than seven figures when the dust settles.
More troubling is the risk of collusion. It would not be difficult at all for two or more of the final tablists to become friends over the course of four months and reach an informal agreement to softplay each other. Of course, more large scale cheating is a possibility as well. Several members of the media who were on a conference call with WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack found his response to these concerns lacking. He basically said there would be a new code of conduct and that punishments would be “severe” (no elaboration) in the event of collusion.
Overall, I appreciate the potential benefits, though I’m a bit skeptical since the higher-ups seem not to have given ample consideration to the drawbacks. Most troubling, though, is that such a drastic decision was made primarily for the interests of ESPN rather than the players. If the WSOP is going to be run for ESPN, as this and previous decisions have suggested it is, then the players should not be paying for it. The full $10,000 entry should go into the prize pool, and ESPN, Milwaukee’s Best Light, and the other sponsors should be the ones paying for staff, space, etc.
But I suppose it could be worse. If the WPT were doing this, they’d probably claim exclusive rights to market the final tablists themselves the way American Idol does.