Poker Interviews

"In charge of managing the W.S.O.P"

Where are you from?

New York.

Where do you live now?

Las Vegas.

Are you a poker player?

No, my passion for poker is from an administrator's perspective.

What are your job responsibilities?

[I] oversee the race and sportsbook operations, keno and poker departments at Harrah's Las Vegas and the Rio. I am also responsible for the operations of the World Series of Poker tournament. I am charged with preparing, staffing, and the overall success of the tournament. I am also involved with our corporate partners exploring how to leverage the WSOP brand.

What has been the greatest challenge of managing the WSOP?

The logistics of the operations... Everything from the signage that's visible, to making the registration process more streamlined, to how the tables are laid out, to the hiring process for staff, to the cashiering of payouts, to how are you going to feed the help, how are you going to feed the public. All of it. It's so overwhelming.

Last year was really an observation year. We weren't sure what we had. It was a learning period for us. We hired the same staff that they had the previous year, and we observed. We just took some of the stuff that we learned last year... and we were able to really digest that and say okay, this year, we can put together a plan rather than just react.

How many players do you expect for the WSOP main event?

4000? 5000? 6600 Will be our max.

What sort of prizes can we expect?

For 6600 players in the main event, we expect top prize to be about $7.4 million. We had three goals in mind when we discussed the payouts and estimated field size for the main event:

1. Pay the last money finishers at least $15,000 as a reward for five days of effort.
2. Make every final table player a millionaire. No other sporting event in history has ever approached [prize money of that magnitude].
3. Pay 10% of the field, as this is a standard payout scale, and players are content with that.

As big buy-in poker tournaments become increasingly ubiquitous, how will the WSOP retain its heritage as poker's most prestigious tournament?

The WSOP has 35 years of tradition and has always been known as everyman's tournament. Meaning, anyone can enter. It will continue to attract the top players because of its huge prize pools and competitive spirit. The WSOP is more than a poker tournament. It is a place where professional players and amateurs share in the camaraderie of the event itself. It is our highest priority to execute flawlessly a well run tournament and event that will create lasting memories and possible life-changing dreams for all those who participate.

Will the Main Event continue to be the flagship of the WSOP brand, or will it be superseded by the Tournament of Champions?

The Main Event is the biggest, richest, most prestigious tournament in all of gaming, and [it] will always be the flagship of the brand. It's an event anyone can enter, anyone can win, and anyone can enjoy whether they win or not.

Would you consider raising the buy-in for the Main Event, or taking other steps to restrict the field size?

We would consider that. We also would consider finding a bigger venue, or perhaps holding it in multiple locations to accommodate larger fields.

When will the WSOP be televised?

ESPN plans on telecasting the Circuit Events starting July 19, 2005, with a two hour premiere show. Circuit Events will then be broadcasted weekly through Auguest 16, 2005, and then the 2005 WSOP events will start. 2005 WSOP programs are currently scheduled to be broadcasted weekly from August 23 [through] November 15, 2005.

Is poker's integrity compromised by deal-making, swapping, backing, and other forms of interest sharing between tournament players?

Anything that raises questions about the integrity of the game is of paramount concern to us. We're aware that in the past, players have "done deals", especially when there are huge disparities between first place and other places. One of the reasons we implemented the prize structure I outlined above is to take away the incentive for players to do deals.

But does Harrah's have an official stance against deal-making?

No, I wouldn't call it an official stance... We want the tournament to be played in the spirit of the game.

So, are you saying that shared interests are bad for the game, against the spirit of the game?

They are if they're done under the table and not up front. What happens is, the media... want this thing to be played down to the end. And that's basically what's gonna happen, is that everything is played down to the end because there's gotta be a winner at the end. And with a deal, there are really no winners.

But even if these agreements are made out in the open, it could create situations where some players are put at a disadvantage.

Yeah. True, true. And that's why we really support playing the game in the spirit in which it's intended... It's something that we haven't talked about, and it's something that maybe we should, but I don't have any comment on it right now... It's something I haven't really given much thought to. It's something I'll probably pick some other peoples' brains about. It's a point of discussion.

There is a lot of excitement within the poker industry about the potential for legitimizing poker as a professional sport. Would poker benefit from a centralized management organization, similar to the PGA or MLB, to manage corporate sponsorship, marketing, players' unions, TV contracts, tournament scheduling, etc.?

We're studying all those issues.

The tournament circuit is essentially divided between the two major televised superpowers: the World Poker Tour (WPT), and the WSOP and WSOP Circuit Events. These two tours are in direct competition, meaning players must often choose to attend one or the other. Was this a deliberate decision by the planners of the WSOP Circuit Events? Would all parties benefit from a WSOP/WPT merger, similar to the merger of the ABA and NBA, creating a unified, coordinated circuit?

The decision to launch World Series Circuit Events was based on our desire to introduce the World Series brand to customers at our properties outside Las Vegas. We plan to extend the schedule next year, and perhaps host at least one event overseas. As for mergers, our policy is not to comment on rumors or speculation.

Is it important for the poker industry to promote recognizable, marketable, "name" players?

Sports history provides many examples of how name players can promote a league or tour. The NBA hasn't been as popular recently as it was when Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan were playing. Tiger Woods draws huge crowds to PGA events. And poker professionals have helped build the game's popularity. But the important thing that differentiates poker from any other sport is that you don't have to be a super athlete to win. Poker's popularity derives from the fact that it's open to everyone, not from the fame of any individual players.

Presently, the legality of internet poker is being debated by lawmakers. How will Harrah's be affected by the outcome of that debate?

Well, I think it's obvious that Harrah's is well-positioned, holding the WSOP brand. If internet wagering was looked upon favorably and was legal, and we got the green light to go, you would see obviously a WSOP internet site, you know, a play on the internet site.

Can the present explosive popularity of poker be sustained?

I think yeah, with new markets here in the United States, and with television right now, it's going to continue to grow new customers. The ratings are going up on the television, and we know that the online sites are having record numbers of people playing online as well. That'll be sustained. I think what we're seeing also is that there are new markets, there are emerging markets as well. The European markets, the Asian markets... So, I think the explosive popularity of poker will be sustained. Maybe, it obviously will slow down at some point here in the United States, but it will still continue to grow world-wide.

And the people who are presently discovering the game, will they continue to play it?

I think so. It's a very social game. Part of it is not just... I'm not gonna say it's not just the money and the pools, but it's a fraternal type of game as well. It's going and playing with people, and sharing common interests. It's banter at the table, and camaraderie as well.

WSOP Information Page