[morlspin]

Howard Lederer

Quote:

Hi All, First of all, I would like to say that this discussion reminds of one the poker community had about 6 years ago: "We can't show hole cards! It will ruin the game and we'll all lose our edge." That opinion proved wrong and many of the most vocal opponents of hole-card cams have profited greatly by poker's staggering growth. We can all sit back and see poker's TV ratings erode, or we can stand up and take a chance that this could turn things around. The mainstream media attention will be huge, resulting in media exposure to the 5th place finisher this year, that will dwarf last year's second place finisher. -- Roland says-- In three months players ability and mentality can be totally changed. It would almost like be playing different players. The fact that the players might get better, is fair to all players as it's the rules before the event starts. The delay will benefit pros and amateurs in fair but different ways. If you're a pro, you may not get the benefit of getting much better, but the media value to you as an established pro during this 3 months of attention will be huge. Also as a pro, you may actually get to see an amateur's play on TV before facing him, unheard of these days. Other pros being hired as coaches will also be a neat story. Of course, amateurs will get the opportunity to get much better and become media stars over night. If you have a cool story to tell combined with the fact that MIGHT win the world championship, that sells. That same story combined with the fact that you finished 5th three months ago, doesn't sell. --Roland says-- It is also dangerous for the players, leaving them vulnerable to corruption and threats. When tens of millions are on the line the wrong types are attracted to try to influence proceedings. This time window could be a serious opportunity for them. The bright light of the media attention will discourage cheating. Harrah's will also make sure every player knows the dire consequences of getting caught cheating (forfeiture of the money and life-time ban). The paranoid fantasy of death threats is absurd. Every week there are huge numbers of pro athletes who could be killed, with huge money being won and lost by dishonest gamblers who knew about the hit ahead of time. But there is no evidence any athlete has ever been killed for gambling profit. Also, every hand can be reviewed to make sure there was no clear pattern of collusion. Also, what is to stop two players from making a deal to collude overnight between the last two days of the main event in its former format? If they get caught, it will cost them big money, a life-time ban and their reputations. I suspect those deterrents will be effective here. --Roland says-- It may also discourage people, especially those traveling cross continent to not enter the event, if they do not want to travel twice or have commitments in November I somehow suspect that traveling a second time to Vegas to play for millions will not be a deterrent. --Roland says-- And what if a player dies in the meantime? Highly unlikely (probably <1%), but I'm sure Harrah's will do the right think if that happened. -- Max says-- Question: are the "wsop players advisers" going to do anything about this? If u don't get heard, you should all quit !!! And If u agree with this change/proposal, u should also quit, since u are not smart enough. We are definitely heard. If you know the line-up of Player's Advisory Council members, we aren't ones who would stick around if we aren't being heard. Does that mean that what we want we always get? Of course not. All of our opinions are heard, and most of our strong suggestions are implemented. I think you will see a much better schedule and vastly improved structures this year, for example. I can also say that, according to you, just about every member of the PAC should resign due to stupidity. Though this idea was generated between Harrah's and ESPN, it received near unanimous support among the PAC members. I have no plans to resign just yet. In my opinion this is an ambitious attempt to put some "buzz" back into the Main Event. All sports have to evolve to compete in an ever more competitive sports entertainment landscape. If we don't do something, we could be off ESPN before you know it. That would not be good. This may be radical, but is was done with due deliberation. We can't let long shot worst-case scenarios stop us from moving forward. If this gets poker to cross over to the media mainstream, it will benefit us all, not just Harrah's and ESPN. I think it's a great idea. Howard