If We Wanna Be Big Time …

From Sports Illustrated's media writer Peter Deitsch, five moves that worked in sports broadcasting this year … "2. Airing poker as much as possible. The 22-episode run of ESPN's World Series of Poker averaged a 1.7 rating, a 42 percent increase from 2003 when ESPN aired just seven episodes. Add that to the Travel Channel's World Poker Tour, FoxSportsNet's Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, and Bravo's (the B in Bravo here is for B-level) Celebrity Poker Showdown. Look for the trend to grow in 2005, beginning in January when ESPN debuts its second episodic series, Tilt, a drama based around the poker world." Dec. 28, 2004.

Poker's looking pretty good, isn't it? Well, that depends on how you look at things. As I write this, I have a story from yesterday's paper in front of me. That super-duper major sporting organization the WTA Tour (Women's Tennis Association) just signed Sony Ericsson as its "global sponsor" for $88 million. A big chunk of that cash is going to prize money and the end-of-season bonus pool. Mind you, that's not the whole story. Porsche, Dubai Duty Free, and China's largest media/entertainment company, Tom Group, are regional sponsors. And there are several dozen other sponsorship deals. And, of course, there's the television contract, principally for events on ESPN.

Compared to the WTA, poker looks like a kindergarten game. I'm not going to make here what I think is the self-evident case for why poker has a potentially greater market appeal than women's tennis, or ice skating, or rodeo – all of which have larger sponsorships and better TV deals than poker.

Evelyn Ng

Let me point out that while Howard Lederer and Doyle Brunson ain't exactly beauty queens, Maria Sharapova (who has a $1 million-a-year endorsement deal with one of Sony Ericcson's chief competitors, Motorola) has nothing on the likes of Clonie Gowen and Evelyn Ng in the looks department. Furthermore, Clonie and Evelyn and the other ladies of poker are definitely more charismatic.

My point is that poker has the appeal, the personalities, and the flamboyance to crack the big time of corporate sponsorship and TV contracts. The maverick and rugged individualist that is part of poker's personality has a definite marketing cachet. And our game is incredibly positioned because of the work of the Berman/Lipscomb team, and the amazing market penetration of Internet poker sites.

There are problems, of course.

Poker doesn't translate particularly well to live TV, although there are ways to address that issue.

There are some pretty poor role models around the poker world. Without mentioning anybody currently playing, imagine big-time corporate types seeking a world-class poker player for a sponsorship deal, and choosing Stu Ungar in his prime!

The potential for scandal is also a real risk for prospective corporate money. (I have a two-part column about integrity issues that will be published here in the not-too-distant future.)

The biggest problem, though, is that nobody negotiates for poker. Nobody speaks for poker. There's no organization that sets forth rules and standards for poker. As I wrote a few months ago, there needs to be a national voice for poker – and soon!

I got loads of e-mails on this subject and I'm going to write a separate column about them soon. The main thing I learned from readers is that there are at least six separate ongoing efforts right now to form a national poker association. None appear to have the necessary funding. None include the key players. And while I laud the efforts of those involved, absent picking up significant support from the major players, all are likely to fail.

The to-be-named poker association (a group reportedly has tied up the United States Poker Association moniker) needs the following to succeed.

1. Lyle Berman/World Poker Tour, et al.

2. Harrah's/World Series of Poker (Howard Greenbaum, director of poker operations)

3. Chip Reese and Doyle Brunson

4. A representative from the PartyPoker group (Mike Sexton)

5. Somebody to front enough cash to do the job right (500K is my guesstimate)

6. A top-quality executive director

If I were going to add one more, it would be Barry Shulman from Card Player, not because I write for CP, but because the magazine and website dominate poker media and have the largest following among players of any outlet.

In my previous column about an association, I recommended 15 names to get this thing rolling, including some heavy hitters with cash. A few of them have been in touch with me about getting it all rocking and rolling. But the preceding is the bare minimum to make it work. (I plan to write a column about the 15 people I recommended, and add some people who would be great to see involved.) I could write an entire column on each of the above six (seven, including Card Player) essential elements. Take my word for it that if you remove any one of those six, the chances for success are significantly reduced.

It has been suggested that both Berman and Harrah's would be unwilling to share the wealth, and would only be diminished by including others. I think they are better off as part of a bigger entity, especially if their existing roles are protected and they have significant say in defining the paradigm for the association. I'll write that column sooner or later.

Whoever puts up the cash is going to have to choose an executive director right off the bat. This has to be a person who knows poker both as a game and as a business. It has to be somebody who is universally respected in the industry. It has to be somebody with good administrative and communication skills. It has to be somebody who loves the game. And that's just for starters.

It has been suggested by more than a few people that I've been writing about an association with an eye toward lining up that job for myself. Well, another job is the last thing on earth that I want. I'm just not interested.

But I do have somebody in mind, although I've actually not talked to this person, and have no clue whether she would be interested: Linda Johnson. Linda has been around the poker world forever, and has demonstrated organizational and leadership abilities in her various business successes. Everybody knows Linda and Linda knows everybody. (My other choice would be Mike Sexton, but he's got a pretty good gig right now, and I don't think he's giving it up anytime soon.)

Eventually, our group will need a staffer with the specific experience of running such an association. For now, though, we need somebody who knows all the essential players and has all the requisite skills. We need somebody with a reputation for being fair. I think Linda fits the bill, and I hope that whoever puts up the cash to make this a reality grabs her for the job. She would serve the best interests of all of poker.

If we wanna be big time, we need to play like big-time players. The Internet boom and the WPT-induced TV boom have created an amazing moment of opportunity. Somebody needs to do something with it – soon.

I'm going to put together a list of all the people who have expressed interest in pursuing this project and pass it to everybody on the list. I'm also going to communicate with all the people I've mentioned, and try to give them a little nudge to kick-start this.

If you want to be included in the discussion, e-mail me at [email protected], and I will add you to the list I will circulate to everybody who expresses interest.

Roy Cooke played winning professional poker for more than 16 years. He is a successful real estate broker/salesperson in Las Vegas. If you would like to ask Roy poker-related questions, you may do so online at www.UnitedPokerForum.com. His longtime collaborator, John Bond, is a free-lance writer in South Florida.