It is a Popularity Contest

A few weeks ago I had the honor and pleasure of hosting a tournament at the Wildhorse Resort and Casino in Pendleton, Oregon. I had two co-hosts, a rising star in the tournament world, Clonie Gowan, and former World Series of Poker Champion Tom McEvoy.

One morning, Tom and I were having breakfast together and our conversation was focused on the explosion of poker. We both voiced our excitement with what had been happening the last couple of years with poker, and we talked about what we both believe is a very bright future for the game.

We agreed that there are many more opportunities available to tournament players now – certainly more than we could have ever imagined.

Many of the better-known players are now really beginning to reap some of the benefits of the great explosion in the popularity of poker. With the huge increase in the number of new players in casinos and on the Internet, and the tremendous amount of mainstream media attention, many doors have now been opened to poker players.

Tom told me about a little incident that happened to him several years ago, which illustrates how things have changed in the poker world. It gave me the incentive to write this column. The incident took place one day while Tom was playing in one of the Las Vegas poker tournaments. A couple of the players in the tournament got involved in an argument at the table, and when the smoke cleared, one of the players involved was criticized for his behavior. When he was confronted about his bad behavior, he responded by making this announcement: "This is poker. It ain't no popularity contest." As Tom got to this point in the story, he paused, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "You know, Vince, it is now."

He obviously was referring to the fact that the attitude that poker is a game for cigar-smoking men who can use foul language and whose conduct is not gentlemanly has become counterproductive for the game and the players. If you are a tournament player with that old attitude, you are not going to get the same opportunities that you would get if you were a social, outgoing, friendly player.

The successful players with these kinds of attributes will be able to cash in with sponsors or with "people" who are willing to give them something to represent their interests. In simple terms, the more popular you are and the better your image, the better chance you have of getting some of those perks or gigs that have become available in the poker world. You obviously must show some good results and win some money in tournaments in order to become a recognizable player. Once you have done so, you can be perceived as a player with something to offer.

Of course, as is usually the case, there are some exceptions. This means that there are some ways to get around the "nice guy" image. One way is to win everything in sight. Most of the people looking for players to represent their interests will allow a little less in the way of personality or congeniality if one can show the results of a Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods.

Another way to get to the top of the "popular list" is to have a talent that most other people really admire. For instance, you could be an average player, but if you are a top movie star or athlete, you definitely will be "popular." Luckily for those of us who do not fit into that category, most of those people who do meet this criteria aren't that interested in signing a contract to receive a few thousand dollars to wear someone's shirts or hats, or host a tournament.

Another example of being popular because of a talent is Antonio Esfandiari. Antonio is an accomplished magician. We all admire someone with the talent to make rabbits appear and disappear. When Antonio and I both made the final table of the World Poker Tour event at Lucky Chances, he received more coverage and attention on that TV broadcast than any of the other players. And one of the players was Phil Hellmuth, who is one of the most recognizable and well-known players around.

Later on, I think Antonio even did a commercial for the WPT. I could tell even then at the Lucky Chances tournament that Antonio was someone who was going to be "popular." I knew that even if he had moderate success in tournaments, there would be "people" who would want him to represent them. I guess I was right, because just a short while after that tournament, the WPT asked him to do a commercial.

As Paul Harvey would say, "And now, the rest of the story." A couple of months ago, Antonio exceeded everyone's expectations and won the biggest prize ever in a WPT event at that time. He won $1.4 million at the L.A. Poker Classic. He was then featured on the cover of Card Player, with a lengthy story about him included. It's a little scary to imagine how "popular" Antonio will now become.

There are other ways to become very popular quickly. One is to donate your winnings, say about $1 million, to charity, as Barry Greenstein does. Barry would certainly be at the top of my list if I wanted someone to help me promote something in the poker world.

Finally, there is another way that you can endear yourself to the "people" and become "popular." How about being lucky enough to have a "catchy" name? Of course, you still must win something – but let's say you do win a big tournament and have a real catchy name, maybe something like Moneymaker. Can you imagine how popular you could become? The possibilities are endless. You might even get on the Letterman show.

I am not saying you have to be any or all of the things I've mentioned, but in the popularity contest in the "new" poker world, it probably wouldn't hurt to be an outgoing, likeable, sociable, benevolent ventriloquist with the last name of Champion.

For what it's worth …