Harrah’s Screwing up the WSOP

As I have said on my other blogs, Harrah’s is a joke when it comes to management. This is just more proof of same.

WSOP final table to Nov 9 and 10 instead of July 16.

This is what happens when you let a Harvard Professor (Gary Loveman) run a business. He hires the Metro-sexual Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the World Series of Poker — what joke of a title — who screwed up NASCAR before he ran off for a bigger payday. Now he is moving the main event table 4 months into the future.

That means that those who are at the final table will have to return to Vegas in Nov. What happens if someone dies? What happens if there is an attack on the U.S. or Vegas? What happens if someone at the final table can’t afford to return? This is idiotic.

Harrah’s is covering it’s ass, on this one.

Obviously, the arguments have been vociferous in support and opposition of this plan and have ranged from the concern that players will have time to get tutored and watch tape for the tells of their opponents, to the positive ability of ESPN to hype up these play[er]s [sic] so they’re not just some group of unknowns, giving poker more exposure and these players more opportunity to secure lucrative final table deals from sponsors. Of course, ESPN will also get a chance to sell ad space due to what will surely be increased ratings, but that much is obvious.

No matter which side of the argument you may fall on, Harrah’s and the WSOP went through the due diligence [emphasis editor] of discussing the proposed change with all of the appropriate parties, including the WSOP Players Advisory Council (PAC), the commissioner-appointed committee of professional and amateur poker players who provide guidance and perspective to the WSOP leadership team.

In other words they told them how it was going to happen, and told them to sign on or STFU. Due diligence my ass, the commissioner who makes the appointments goes to them to get them to sign off on the proposal.

“This is a huge step forward for poker and more specifically poker on television because it will help create more buzz around the final table and that is good for all of us,” said Daniel Negara, a WSOP PAC member. “Not only will this innovative step create more buzz for the final table, the added time prior to the final table will help get poker mainstream media attention.”

Once again Daniel Negara shows how truly clueless he is; or is it that he is a giant suck-up?

ESPN and Harrah’s are trying to drum up drama — like Pollard did with the stupid NASCAR end of year stunt with the points. I have said it before, and I will say it again; he will be the death of poker as we know it. That is not a good thing.

This may be the beginning of the end for the WSOP. A classic example of why non-poker people should not run poker events. Even more proof that Gary Loveman is an idiot, and the Harvard types are useless at running companies.

• Gary Carson has a take on the possible fixing of the final table
• Random Shuffle thinks they are idiots — I agree

Tags: wsop, world series of poker, harrahs, jeffrey pollard, gary loveman