/ Matthew Pitt / 10 February 2011 / Leave a comment
By now you should have all heard the news that the World Series of Poker Europe will no longer be held in London, instead it will move approximately 650 miles south into Cannes on the French Riviera. Opinions on the move seem to be split at the moment with the posts and comments I have seen being half for and half against the move, I am in the against it camp.
Some will say that I am not entitled to have an opinion on the matter as I do not take part in any of the events, which is true but as a poker fan and someone who works within the industry I have the right to speak my mind. The move itself will probably generate some work for me as a tournament reporter as the PokerNews team will also be covering EPT London and WPT London around the same time and they cannot be everywhere at one, but my own financial gain is not the topic here.
Although I embrace change I do not agree with altering anything just for the sake of doing so, or worse still, because someone offers you bags of cash to do so, which I believe to be the case here. Why else would Harrah's Entertainment join a partnership with Lucien Barriere Hotels and Casino and the French-only poker site that is part of the same group? Why would they hand over the WSOPE to a country that goes against European Union laws of free trade and ring-fences its residents just so they can charge them an exorbitant amount of rake? Speaking of the rake, the new owners, for want of a better word, of the WSOPE have already admitted they will be taking at least 4% of the prizepool for government costs, this on top of the rake they are already charging to enter each of the seven bracelet events on offer. Add this to the fact all cash games are raked regardless of you seeing a flop or not, and a typical €5/€10 game will see each player have to pay €35 per hour table fees then it all adds up to this being a money spinner for the new owners and the French government.
One of the selling point Jack Effel, the WSOP Tournament Director, tried to put across to his Twitter followers was the fact the Casino Barriere de Cannes Croisette has 75 poker tables, more than double the amount of the Casino at the Empire and that players would no longer "be tucked away behind staircases." Whilst this is true and I suppose if you are paying £10,000 to play in poker tournament you want to be able to have some elbow room but the cosy setting in London is what made it special because there was an atmosphere there, an atmosphere I experienced first hand at this year's Main Event Final Table.
The final table was amazing to watch, with the crowd near the action, chanting and cheering like it was a football match never mind a poker tournament but everyone enjoyed it. There was a massive buzz around the casino. I've reported on two EPT events, one in Barcelona and more recently in Prague and both were like being inside a school hall it was that dead and boring. All that was missing were the basketball hoops either side of the room and the inexplicable ropes hanging from the ceiling. The rooms were simply too vast to allow any atmosphere and excitement come through. Yes the Main Event should attract an extra hundred or so players, maybe more in time, but the small, select, pro-heavy field of the London WSOPE was what made it special.
It seems to me that Harrah's cannot stop meddling with the WSOP and they are doing it for business reasons (step forward the November Nine), which as a business with shareholders to please they are entitled to do but wasn't the WSOP all about the players in year's gone by? I hope the WSOPE presented by BarrierePoker.fr is a roaring success and it should be because we put all the hard work into it, I also hope that Harrah's have done this with the players in mind and not just because they get a golden handshake from some mega-rich consortium.
Sign up for a free Betfair Poker account through this link and you might be able to afford a few hours of poker in France with the $50 to $2,500 bonus you will receive from us! I'm not bitter!
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