When you’re a kid it seems like Christmas will never come. The anticipation builds and builds as you move out of summer into the fall until it finally, finally arrives. For me as a young poker player, the WSOP was poker Christmas. When I first started attending the WSOP in the early ‘80s, I couldn’t wait for the next one, and that same feeling of anticipation was there. Of course, back then the WSOP was fun! Players and employees knew each other, and it really was a reunion of players from all over the country, and soon the world, similar to the Rendezvous of the Old West. The tournament schedule wasn’t as full, the events lasted one, or later, two days, leaving plenty of time for golf, eating great meals and socializing. The circular bar near the old sportsbook (now the poker room) at Binion’s was the social hub, especially late night. Back then it only lasted three weeks, but it was by far the highlight of every poker player’s year.
The greatest unfairness of aging is that time passes more quickly, or at least it sure seems to. It feels like as soon as one year’s champion is crowned, the next WSOP is upon me. But, the Christmas analogy falls apart. The modern WSOP is a corporate monster that sucks you up in late May and shits you out sometime in mid-July. The venue is huge, the player base enormous, and the schedule so busy that there’s little time for anything other than poker, quick eating and hopeful sleep. I still love the excitement of it, and there’s nothing better than getting close to the final table in a bracelet event, but the social-type fun factor for the most part has been replaced by the poker grind.
Since the WSOP moved to the Rio in 2005, management has tried all sorts of things as far as the physical layout is concerned. In 2005 and 2006, at the height of the poker boom, the immense crowds and heavy presence of the online sites led management to be creative in the ways of providing fun and excitement while maximizing profits. The Poker Expo (replete one year with stripper poles!), different restaurant options, huge, site sponsored parties, various player lounges, and the need for more space, as evidenced one year by a tent constructed in the back to hold more tables (until a giant wind storm almost blew the tent and players away!). Those years were the absolute height of poker at the WSOP and in the US in general, and yes, it was still fun, until our representatives in Washington decided they knew what was good for the rest of us and stealthily passed the UIGEA. The sites that defied the law and stayed, primarily Poker Stars and Full Tilt, kept the party somewhat going until Black Friday in 2013, but 2005-06 was the greatest time to be a poker player, perhaps ever!
Since the Black Friday year, the WSOP has settled into a routine. The entire convention center is dedicated to poker for the duration, temporary and much needed bathrooms are set up in the back, the Poker Kitchen and All-American Dave’s have been established as the food outlets, and the final table stages move around a bit, but are generally the same setup. The one thing from last year that I really miss is the Draft Kings lounge. It was on the stage in the Pavilion Room and was a great way to pass breaks, especially the interminable 90-minute dinner break. But, the Nevada government stepped in to protect their state’s sportsbooks by eliminating DFS, thereby not only stopping me from again playing something I really enjoyed, but taking my lounge away too.
One of the consequences of Black Friday is that young kids in the US, especially college kids, aren’t spending their time playing online poker and perfecting their craft. I’m not sure what they’re doing in lieu of going to class, (some I know are full bore on DFS) but I’m sure there’s something! The result is that the WSOP is no longer overrun with 21-year-olds. Most of the younger players of talent are in their mid-to-late ‘20s. Personally, as far as this goes, I don’t mind! Having to fade wave after wave of newly legal kids who lived and breathed poker was getting old!
A big subject this year is the new playing structures, and the overall effect on the WSOP. I’ll discus that next time.
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