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Posted by on May 27, 2014 in Blog, General Poker, Las Vegas, World Series of Poker | 2 comments

The Gold Rush Begins: 2014 World Series of Poker Starts Today

 

2014-wsop

 

Sometimes I get asked about my favorite World Series of Poker moment.  My answer is always the same.

This one.  Right now.  As in today.

 

That’s because as much as I revere the past — and no one reveres poker’s history as much as I do, although James McManus could give me a solid run for my money — this is a game where everyone is fixated on two things for the time being.  Those two things are the present and the future — as in what’s about to happen today and then what follows over the next six weeks.

Opening day is the cradle of all dreams.  Opening day is the anticipation of the unknown.  Opening day is mutual optimism shared by all.  Opening day is the belief that just about anything might and can happen to anyone, given the right circumstances.  Indeed, every poker player who crosses the Rio Convention Center threshold today and beyond knows that within his or her grasp the impossible dream is actually possible.

Working for the WSOP and covering what goes on here isn’t just a job.  It’s a privilege and a responsibility.  Most of the other dedicated professionals who work in poker media share this deep sense of commitment.  They’re the ones who arrive early and often stay late.  What they do matters.  What they do has lasting value.  It is they who write the latest chapter of poker history.  They become the conduit to the rest of the world letting everyone not only know who wins and loses but how it all happens.

Three things set the WSOP apart from other attractions in poker and all of gaming.  They even separate the WSOP apart from other sporting competitions.  Those three things are:  (1)  the action, (2) the camaraderie, and (3) the gold bracelet.

First, the action.  Where is the action bigger and better (and more varied since low-stakes players might even go on a major run) than at the WSOP?  With nearly $200 million expected to be paid out to tournament winners in 2014, including a guaranteed $10 million top prize for winning the world championship, nothing comes close to the amount of money that changes hands here.  Moreover, the juicy side action, satellites, and smaller daily poker tournaments all create the best poker action on the planet.  Nothing comes close.

The second is camaraderie.  The WSOP has become the world’s biggest fraternity house and an annual reunion for thousands of people from all over.  It’s the one time a year when attendees see each other and have a chance to catch up.  Sure, the WSOP is about playing poker.  But it’s just as much about what happens before and afterward with many of our closest friends.  It’s a shared experience.

The third is the gold bracelet.  While other big tournaments are held elsewhere, the game’s benchmark of achievement in the public eye remains winning the WSOP gold bracelet.

Allow me to tell you a brief story about the history of poker’s most coveted prize.

READ MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY OF THE WSOP GOLD BRACELET HERE

Years ago when I was working at Binion’s Horseshoe, came a critical junction on the WSOP timeline.  We were given the cover story for Card Player magazine, which at the time was pretty much the face of poker.  When you made the magazine cover, that was a really big deal.  I was told to “handle it.”

Binion’s Horseshoe’s steady decline and eventual demise have been written about in some depth here.  However, that cover story provided us with a rare opportunity to re-brand ourselves and regain the high ground over our competition.

An exciting new attraction called the World Poker Tour had begun just a year earlier and frankly, was kicking our ass.  Sure, we had a far superior product due entirely to tradition and prestige.  But things could certainly change fast.  We weren’t marketing those advantages effectively.

Right then and there I decided — for all the things the WPT was doing far better than us — the one thing they couldn’t match was our gold bracelet.

When they were initially awarded to champions at the 1976 WSOP, gold bracelets weren’t thought of in the manner they are today.  Many of the players who won them, including virtually all the poker legends we know, lost them over time or simply gave them away, not realizing the stature attached to winning one would increase many years later.  Quite a few gold bracelets ended up sold off in pawn shops.

Nevertheless, I remained convinced that the gold bracelet was that one item that simply couldn’t be equaled by any other poker competitor, no matter how hard they tried or what they did.  As creative as our rivals were in trumpeting their own symbols of accomplishment, nothing quite matched the WSOP gold bracelet, nor would anything ever equal it so long as I was in charge of the publicity surrounding our event.

So I wrote the magazine’s cover story that year.  Instead of focusing on the upcoming tournament as was standard practice, the gold bracelet and its rich tradition became the emphasis.  Of course, prior to the start of the tournament that year we had no idea poker was about to change forever with Chris Moneymaker’s seismic victory.  We went ahead with the motions and staged a photoshoot in front of Binion’s Horseshoe one afternoon right out on Fremont Street.  Matt Savage and Jim Miller, the co-tournament directors that year, stood side by side like two carnival showmen welcoming the world to come and be part of poker’s grandest tradition.

The strategy to accentuate prestige over mere dollars and numbers worked.  We also got very lucky with Moneymaker winning.  But somewhat forgotten in the weeks leading up to that moment were Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Hellmuth all winning gold bracelets that same year.  In fact, Chan and Hellmuth each won two.  That memorable WSOP in so many ways really launched the horse race between the three icons of poker in the public’s eye.  Of course, Hellmuth has since distanced himself from the others.  But the rivalry remains a pedestal that bolstered even healthier respect for the gold bracelet.

Since that time, the gold bracelet’s symbolic value has only grown in the minds of many.  While more tournaments are played now than in years past, there are also far more poker players who enter such events.  That’s why winning one has never been more difficult than it is today.  That’s why winning a gold bracelet sires pride within those who win one and envy among those who yet haven’t.

Over the next six weeks, I encourage you to check out the official World Series of Poker website — at WSOP.COM.  That’s where I’ll be posting the latest news stories and special features about what’s happening this year at the Rio.  By the way, this marks the ten-year anniversary of the WSOP moving to the Rio.  I’ll be posting a look back at the highlights of each year, including my own favorite memories, as well.

I’ll also soon be joining my WSOP.com counterpart Jessica Welman on a new daily video show which will be seen just prior to the start of every live-streaming final table.  I’ll write more about that and announce the launch date and time very soon.

You can also check back here each day for my usual musings about whatever happens to pop into my mind at the moment.  For readers who are not interested in poker, don’t worry.  There will be plenty of my usual off-the-cuff ramblings.

And so, opening day is here.  Let the WSOP gold rush begin!

READ: Write-Ups on the WSOP

2 Comments

  1. Just got in on the money drop. Nice idea. Well Done.

    • Thank you for writing, simply writing.
      Even if you need to do it for yourself, thank you for alsways taking the time to do it.
      I checked your traffic, not too shabby !
      I wish readers wrote more comments.
      I always feel like if at least I read for free, I should post something, I have been reading for a while, thank you.

      Soory for my spellins, I am not from this country.

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