It's 1am on September 13th and Day 2a of the World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) Main Event has just finished. For a lot of British players, myself included, this is probably the first time that they have been able to watch the big names in action, such as Negreanu, Hellmuth, Lederer, Hansen...I could go on, and that list would be very long indeed. Lots of the top names from the United States have made the journey over, but there were a few notable absentees,
Mike Matusow and
Phil Ivey spring to mind.
For the WSOPE ME, Harrah's, the tournament organisers, decided in conjunction with London Clubs International that they were going to hold Day 1a and Day 1b in 3 different casinos, therefore spreading the players around the city. For the players, this was no problem. For the spectators, this was a problem. What if you wanted to see
Doyle Brunson and
Jamie Gold? Or
Johnny Chan and
Daniel Negreanu? Or
Scotty Nguyen and
Neil Channing? Not possible. Well, not at the same time. You'd have to head from one casino to the other. For the Empire and the Fifty, this was easy, a ten minute walk down Piccadilly. The Sportsman, however, was located in Marble Arch, which meant a Tube journey, and the last thing you want to do is get on a Tube at 5pm!
Even worse for the spectators, the Fifty is an exclusive casino, with a month long waiting list and a £750 membership fee. When I went there, in the hope of seeing
Johnny Chan and
Doyle Brunson, I was emphatically told “no entry for any spectators”. For the fan like me, having never seen Texas Dolly in action, this was a hammer blow, as I'd been looking forward to watching him play. (As it happens, I would have missed him anyway, as he was out within the first level) So I trundled back to the Empire and was lucky enough to get to the front of the rail to watch
Daniel Negreanu double through with AK vs AQ.
(Now, I didn't get to go to the Sportsman, as I didn't want to face the Tube, so all my observations are focused on the Empire. I was in town for Day 1b and Day 2a, and I intended to go to the Sportsman on Day 2a, unaware that Day 2a was exclusively played in the Empire.)
The Empire casino is VERY nice, both inside and out. However, if Harrah's come back over here next year, then PLEASE do not hold the WSOPE ME here. It is impossible to rail properly. The card room is far too small, as Jen and Snoops can testify, and there is one place to stand, which incidentally blocks the entrance. It is impossible to see the back tables, so when you want to watch
Greg Raymer move all in and don the shades, you cant see a thing as there is cameramen/TDs/players (delete as appropriate) blocking your line of sight and nowhere to move to as the fence/other tables block you. Random tables just seemed to be dotted around the place. I overheard players complaining that it was just too cramped and that they weren't happy. Harrah's also need to learn that when you have a table with Hellmuth and Ferguson sat next to each other, there will be a lot of interest and as a result, don't place them where the press and staff cannot get through the rail because there was no room for more than one line of spectators.
As for the feature table, there was no advertising to it, and as a result the seats were empty. The only time I ever saw it full was when
Doyle Brunson and
Johnny Chan were in there. (Another note: If
Doyle Brunson is in the audience, having a private conversation with
Johnny Chan, I'm pretty sure he won't like having a tech guy shoving a mic in his face asking him to wear it! Doyle just sat there gobsmacked and Chan ended up telling the techie to stuff it!) As a result of this, Jack Effel just couldn't get any audience reaction when there was an all in, I'm sure this will look good on TV.
To sum up, having the WSOPE here is good for poker in the UK, but for the spectators, I really think Harrah's has dropped the ball this year. There are serious problems that need to be addressed. They need to find somewhere to hold it which can accommodate all the players in one room, and leave enough space for movement from everyone, staff, press, players, spectators and others. They need to advertise certain parts better, such as the feature tables. They must address any concerns that players have and sort it out.
Railbirding can be fun. It's good to see the top players play for the first time. It's good to feel like you're witnessing something big. But for spectators this year, it's not fun. It's not fun trying to watch Hellmuth trash talk and feeling like you're stuck on a stationary Tube train at 5:10pm. It's not fun to find out you can't watch certain players because no spectators are allowed. Please Harrah's, sort it out for next year. Otherwise the WSOPE could be a failure. And that would be bad for British poker.
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