From the Pros: If They Could Change Anything about the WSOP

by Bodog Poker | Jun 23 2009

Harrah's has been working at improving the WSOP since they purchased the brand in 2004. The last few years they have concentrated their efforts on the opinions of the players. A Player's Advisory Council has been in place for the last three years and helps Harrah's recognize faults in the promotion as well as suggests improvements from a player's perspective. Many improvements have been established since 2004, but both Harrah's and the players continue to strive to improve the greatest annual poker tournament in the world.

So far the 2009 WSOP has been the best ever promoted, but that doesn't stop Harrah's and the poker professionals from trying to plug up any leaks that may remain in the tournament. The promotion now provides more events for amateurs and big name professionals. There's action for just about every level of poker player now, and the newest regulations have forced the players to be on their best behavior during play. Bodog asked some Team Bodog members what they felt could be improved with the promotion, and this is the feedback they got.

2004 WSOP Main Event runner-up David Williams' suggestions were; "Well I am part of the Player's Advisory Council so the changes I would suggest, I have suggested. I think the WSOP is going great and has gotten better every year since 2004. They are constantly improving things and listening to the players for more input. I think this year will be the best WSOP yet."

Jean-Robert Bellande's concerns were more towards retaining the prestige of the tournament and making it a better deal for the players involved. He said that; "They should have money added tourneys.  Give a bit back to the players by doing a 1 mil added 5k tournament. Also, they should make the final table of the 50k horse event no limit holdem.  This way ESPN will be happy to televise it and the prestige of that event will survive."

Evelyn Ng's concerns were about the situation of women in poker, and how Harrah's might be able to improve things. "Personally, I think women's events should be called just that, Women's Events.  Calling it a "Ladies Event" is somewhat demeaning and lessens it in my opinion.  I'd also like it if there was more than one women's event, and I think the Women's Championship event should be a higher buy-in, maybe a $3000 or $5000 entry fee."

The youth opinion of the WSOP was captured in Justin Bonomo's comments on how the WSOP is run. He said; "I love the WSOP, even though I don't really fall for all the prestige. For me it's just a chance to play for large sums of money against mediocre competition. I wouldn't change much, but I would keep the 40k NL event, and add a few more 8 games to the list of events."

If you have an idea on how to improve the WSOP you can suggest it to either Harrah's or through the Player's Advisory Council. Help to make the best poker tournament even better in the future.