World Series Of Poker, Guy Laliberté Firm On Cap For $1 Million Buy-in EventHigh-Stakes Cash Game Pro Sam Trickett Tells Card Player He Will Play |
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The most expensive open buy-in tournament in the history of poker has a 48-player cap, and despite some criticism from the game’s community, the World Series of Poker and the event’s organizer, Guy Laliberté, aren’t budging.
The $1 million buy-in charity event is scheduled for nationwide TV exposure, and drama is good for ratings and interest in the cause.
“It’s every show producer’s dream to always leave at least one person at the door, unable to buy a ticket,” Laliberté told Card Player. “That’s how you know you have a really great show. It’s a fundamental principle of marketing. I remember when a special edition Ferrari came out. They calculated that there were 350 people in the world who would buy it, which is why they only made 349.”
As the 2012 festival nears, some of the game’s best are fixated on the tournament that will award as much as $15 million to the winner. Over his 24-year career, poker pro Erik Seidel has accumulated $16.9 million in earnings — good for the top spot on the all-time money list.
The WSOP took to Twitter on Tuesday to maintain that the cap will stay at 48. So far, about 40 players have confirmed their participation. A month ago, the list was at 30.
Poker pro Jason Somerville Tweeted that he wanted to know if the WSOP will actually turn people away if they “show up with a wheelbarrow of [money] the day of the event.”
Veteran grinder Cliff Josephy chimed into the conversation: “I suspect the cap is to entice [players] to [register] while the field is soft, but they’ll kill the cap when 48 is hit.”
Laliberté prefers the mix of professional and amateur players.
“It’s kind of like a red corner versus blue corner,” he said. “It’s almost even for both sides. By keeping the event at that number, the luck factor says that anybody can win.”
High-stakes terror Sam Trickett, who confirmed to Card Player that he will be playing, said that it seems “strange” to have a cap on such an event, and it would be better for him not to have one. Trickett is accustomed to seven-figure cash game pots.
“I actually believe we will hit the cap at this point,” WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart said in a Tuesday conference call. “There’s a lot of activity of players trying to find their way in.”
For Laliberté, who has played in some of the largest cash games around and five years ago made a final table at the World Poker Tour Championship, it’s also about fairness.
“By capping the field size, we allow these players to know what they are getting themselves into. Permitting more players after the fact would be unfair.”
Stewart added that it’s a once-in-a-lifetime event, but Laliberté has said there is a market for it to happen annually. “It’s too early to tell,” Stewart said.
Julio Rodriguez contributed to this story.
Pempus on Twitter — @brianpempus
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