After Michael ‘The Grinder’ Mizrachi won an unprecedented third Poker Player’s Championship (PPC) back in June, the man who finished third in 2015, David Baker, sent his annual tweet to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) giving them advice on how to spruce up the event after only 87 people produced $50,000 worth of goods.
I’ve made this suggestion almost every yr. if @WSOP wants to make 50k PPC as special as it should be. Special start time, blocked off sections, food brought in, some incentive to start on time with a nice kickoff.
— David Baker (@audavidb) June 15, 2018
“I’ve made this suggestion almost every year. If @WSOP wants to make 50k PPC as special as it should be. Special start time, blocked off sections, food brought in, some incentive to start on time with a nice kickoff.” Tweeted Baker.
Following up on Baker’s tweet, PocketFives’ Lance Bradley, penned a piece on his home platform titled: 5 THINGS: The Poker Players Championship Deserves More Celebration, suggesting five actions the WSOP could take, to diminish the annual moan and groan from Baker.
Here is the article – https://www.pocketfives.com/articles/5-things-the-poker-players-championship-deserves-more-celebration-619630/
If you can’t be bothered reading it, here are the bullet points.
- Use the PPC Champs as part of the Main Event Opening Ceremony.
- Make the event more viewable for live attendees.
- Change the table felt.
- Improve the live streaming.
- Find a sponsor.
While these improvements could make the participants feel ‘special’ I doubt any of them will contribute to a significant increase in numbers.
High Rollers like to feel special, that’s a given. However, what makes any $25k+ event a ‘must play’game, is the addition of players whom the elite feel they have the edge over.
Before the WSOP bows down to Bradley and starts pimping up the PPC, may I suggest they figure out how to attract weaker players who are likely to flick in $50,000 in the same nonchalant way a pro approaches THE COLOSSUS.
And It’s Not Easy
Since the most iconic poker brand in the world cut a deal to partner with Leon Tsoukernik to host World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) and World Series of Poker Circuit (WSOPC) events at his gaff back in Rozvadov, the job of hosting high stakes tournaments seems to have fallen to the Czech entrepreneur.
Before a single card hit the muck in anger at this year’s festival, the WSOP released an ambitious schedule to host $25k and $50k High Roller events (Both NLHE & PLO) in the Rio-based King’s Lounge.
The events were supposed to run each weekend from June 1 to July 8, and unless I am mistaken, not a single one has taken place.
Why?
I reached out to a well-known figure in the high stakes community, who prefers to remain anonymous, who told me that none of the games have run because there are no recreational players.
“There is no incentive for the pros to start them. The rake is absurdly high, and they can’t run without Leon. He either needs to play or bring his friends, or they don’t run.” Said my source.
And it’s not only the King’s Lounge that has had difficulty finding people to take a seat in a big live tournament this summer. The ARIA has also suffered.
Here are the results for the most recent ARIA High Rollers:
Monday 11 June – $25k NLHE
30 entrants
- Adrian Mateos – $253,240
- Ben Tollerene – $241,760
- Cary Katz – $120,000
- Rainer Kempe – $75,000
- David Peters – $60,000
Tuesday 12 June – $25k NLHE
18 entrants
- Nick Petrangelo – $243,000
- Byron Kaverman – $135,000
- Rainer Kempe – $72,000
Thursday 14 June – $25k 8-Game High Roller
30 entrants
- Philip Sternheimer – $275,000
- Elior Sion – $220,000
- Isaac Haxton – $120,000
- Alexander Kostritsyn – $75,000
- Luke Schwartz – $60,000
Monday 18 June – $25k NLHE
23 entrants
- Ben Tollerene – $264,500
- Sergio Aido – $161,000
- Cary Katz $92,000
- Igor Kurganov – $57,500
Sunday 24 June – $25k NLHE
14 entrants
- Nick Petrangelo – $245,000
- Cary Katz – $105,000
Two wins for Petrangelo and three ITM finishes from Katz the standout stories in what is otherwise a damp squid of a narrative.
Catz’ success moves him on par with Jake Schindler as the most prolific ITM finisher in ARIA High Roller event history.
Here are the top five.
- Jake Schindler – 41
- Cary Katz – 41
- Tom Marchese – 27
- David Peters – 24
- Sam Soverel – 19
- Bryn Kenney – 19
The Answer?
I agree with both Baker and Bradley that the $50k PPC is a special event.
If the WSOP want to increase the numbers, as well as the prestige and specialness, then they need to leverage their relationship with Tsoukernik or network with other people within the poker community that have the clout to pull in a handful of wealthy amateurs.
If this happened, and word spread, then you would see more people priming the pump ready to compete in the $50,000 PPC, and who knows, this could also include strict NLHE players willing to learn Mixed Games because the value in the PPC is so good.