So what you say! A bunch of players toss a bunch of fake money around, bluff each other, and eventually some luck of the draw says that one guy wins the lottery.  True, that if you've never played poker, it's hard to appreciate the strategic value and dicipline involved to win a tournament like this.  But this wiki is not about the strategy of poker, it's a reflection on the 6,358 people that walk into a ballroom throughout the 12 day period and the "Event" that takes place during that time.

Lets Start with the room itself.  The Amazon Ballrooom

Holding nearly 40,000 square feet, it was noted that with almost 9,000 in 2006 contestants it was a tight fit. However in 2007 when the internet regulations toward online gambling were enforced, the number of people in the tourney reduced by almost 20% creating a much better fit. The event itself was moved from its original venue, Binion's Horseshoe, in Downtown Las Vegas since the parent Harrah's Entertainment group bought Binion's. It made sense to move the WSOP to a larger venue with the increased internet gravitation as well as give it a modern overhaul with a cutting edge facility.  The first 4 "day", because of the capacity of 2,288 seats in the venue are split up into 4 with a 12-16 hour day determining the final 570 on each day and get the remaining "bye" time into the second round.

The Event Itself

According to Jeffrey Pollack , the commissioner of the World Series of Poker, whose background stems from NASCAR and the NBA, "ultimate responsibility for schedule development and overall strategy and design. This year there are 55 bracelet events. The main event is the biggest event, but we have 54 other events that are very important, too. We pack an entire sports season into 48 days, and we do in 48 days what some other leagues do in eight to 10 months... The poker side of this has grown very organically over the last 38 years. What I've been focusing on the last 1 1/2 years has been the business side. We didn't have an online partner until last year with America Online. We didn't have a proper television deal until last year with ESPN. We're in the place of establishing the same kind of foundations that would support any other brand. That will enable us to have sustained strategic growth over the next 38 years."

Glitches

Some of the major points in running the event itself

Breaks - Many players, few bathrooms. Picture a stadium event, without the stadium. Personally working various trade shows at the Rio, I've never had a problem with bathroom breaks, however, I didn't have to go with 2,000 other vendor staff at the same time.

Heat - This year (2007) a "Tent" like dome was setup for the tourney to accommodate more seats and as it happens, Las Vegas is a desert, with desert heat.  Difficult times arose in the 100+ degree temperatures.

Food and Drinks - Because of the structure of the room, and the nature of the event, it was very difficult to ascertain how many waitresses were needed to accommodate the 2,000 + contestants.

Dealers - Maintaining a positive attitude throughout the tournament was noted as an issue in 2006 with some dealers that in a 45 minute session in the above noted stressful and yet exciting period can be a damper on the event.  

Harrah’s Dealing with Issues

 According to one report, "For their part, Harrah's attempted to quickly solve the issue with the "on the spot" creation of a Player's Concerns Table on the floor, where the players could come to discuss their particular problems immediately. This table often had Tournament Director Robert Daily manning it, meaning that the players concerns were at least heard at the highest level possible. Make this a staple and future problems could be avoided."

Dealing with the Numbers

The Championship Event has almost become too large for one venue to hold it. 8,773 players played through nearly two weeks of poker and this is possibly a little bit too long. In a discussion that I had with Max Shapiro during the Championship Event, we bandied the idea around about the different Harrah's properties in Las Vegas (Caesars, Harrah's and Bally's come to mind) each hosting the first and possibly the second day of play along with the Rio, then bringing everyone together to complete the event in the Amazon Room. This isn't as far out there as it sounds; it could be done, in this day and age of the Internet, and would streamline the $10K tournament back down to a week.

Overall Thoughts

Overall, the 2006 World Series of Poker was the best event ever. Harrah's, ESPN, the dealers and tournament staff and even those people who ran the Poker Kitchen and outdoor facilities performed above and beyond the call of duty. It will be difficult to sit back and wait for 2007 and the renewal of the World Series of Poker.

Videos

2006 World Series of Poker - Final Hand

Web Sources Used

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2006/8/2006-wsop-good-bad-ugly.htm

http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/tourneyDetails.asp?groupID=309

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2006/7/wsop-updates-mismarked-chip.htm

http://www.pokernews.com/news/2006/7/wsop-vendors-location.htm

http://www.harrahs.com/images/non-image-assets/rlv/RLV_Meeting%20Facilites%20Map.pdf

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/12/NSGBAP5MNB1.DTL

http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/news/article.asp?newsID=680

http://gaming.unlv.edu/WSOP/

http://gaming.unlv.edu/WSOP/history.html

http://www.unitedpokerforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=28636

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