Inside Straight -- News

Dream Payout? World Series of Poker Director Says They’ve Finally Got it Right
Small Group Helped Transform the Payout Structure

“I think this is a poker player’s dream payout,” said Jack Effel, World Series of Poker tournament director. “The payouts look really good.”
Effel has been working on the creation of a better payout structure since he became assistant tournament director of the World Series in 2005. Four years later, after many long hours and the help of a few tireless allies, he thinks he’s finally got it right.

“I think I’ll use this model forever,” said Effel.

In the early days, the World Series main event was advertised as a winner-take-all event, but tournament organizers soon realized that it was prudent to spread out the money a little bit.

Tournament organizers established a payout structure, although it hardly resembled what players are familiar with today.

“When I first started out, first place was 50 percent [of the prize pool], second place was 20 percent, and third place was 10 percent for the big events like the World Series,” said Jack McClelland, Bellagio tournament director. “It was just too much gambling.”

Tournament payouts have flattened dramatically over the years.
“Online poker had a lot to do with it,” said tournament director Matt Savage. “Online payouts are very, very flat — 15 percent to 12 percent for first place.”
However, the flattening of the payouts created new issues for tournament directors.

“Payouts had never been created for a field size that large,” Effel said of the 5,619 players who played in the main event in 2005. He needed help, but he knew exactly whom to call — Dr. Adam Schwartz.

Schwartz taught Effel in college, and is currently a professor of business administration with expertise in numerical programming and financial modeling at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.

Schwartz used mathematical theory to create a standardized payout-structure model.

“What I did was something called the constrained optimization program,” said Schwartz. “It’s a kind of problem in math where you have a limited number of resources and a bunch on constraints. In this case, the constraints would be things like how much the payout changes from one place to another.”
While the model was used in 2005, there were some inconsistencies. For instance, 10th place received $600,000, ninth got $1 million, and eighth received $1.15 million. In other words, the jumps went from a $400,000 increase to just a $150,000 increase.

Effel went back to creating the payouts by hand from 2006 to 2008. Poker pros Barry Greenstein and Howard Lederer helped Effel in his efforts.
While the payouts improved each year, they finally realized that they could go only so far with a pencil and paper. So, Effel went back to Schwartz this year with a lot more direction.

“Adam put it all to life,” said Effel.

“It’s part art and it’s part math,” said Schwartz. “Barry, Jack, and I exchanged about 60 e-mails. We went back-and-forth to try to come up with a way to make the payouts work. They described the art to me — how to pay a poker field — and I tried to write that into the math.”

After hundreds upon hundreds of hours spread out over four years, Effel believes that the World Series finally has it right.

If the current structure had been used last year with the same number of entrants for the main event, the top 12 finishers would’ve become millionaires instead of the top eight. And Peter Eastgate still would’ve had a handsome payday — not quite $9.1 million, but approximately $8.7 million.
“Poker tournaments should have a big prize, and first place in 2009 will still have a heck of a payout,” said Effel.

But with the new structure, it seems evident that the majority of the hundreds of players who will cash in the main event this year will benefit from the hours of work that Effel and others put into the project. And that, the tournament director says, is what it’s all about.

ESPN to Televise Four Events From 2009 World Series of Poker
$50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event Will Not Be Televised

The public has spoken — no more mixed games on TV.

While the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event at the World Series of Poker has become one of the premier poker events in the world, ESPN will not be televising the prestigious tournament this year. The reason? Lackluster ratings.

Doug White, ESPN’s senior director of programming and acquisitions, announced the decision on the annual WSOP media conference call in early May. While the decision may dishearten some mixed-games fans, ESPN displayed its commitment to poker by announcing that the network will increase the number of hours it dedicates to main-event coverage.

ESPN will air 24 hours of main-event action from the 2009 WSOP. That will be the most TV hours dedicated to a single poker tournament in history.
“The main event is what viewers are looking for in terms of poker programming,” said White. “It helped us capture the unfolding drama of the World Series of Poker.”

ESPN will also film and air action from three other events: the $40,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event, the WSOP Champions Invitational, and the Ante Up for Africa event. Of those three tournaments, only the $40,000 event will award a gold bracelet to the winner.

The $40,000 buy-in event is a new tournament at the World Series, commemorating its 40th year.

The WSOP Champions Invitational is also a new event. All of the living main-event champions will be invited to the Rio for this exclusive free tournament. Besides TV time, the winner will receive a commemorative trophy, called the Binion Cup, as well as a new car.

Ante Up for Africa, founded in 2007, always welcomes celebrities and professional poker players in one of the biggest charity poker tournaments of the year. In the past, the event has attracted such stars as Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Adam Sandler, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Martin Sheen, Charles Barkley, Montel Williams, and Jason Alexander.

New WSOP episodes will begin airing on July 28.

Kardashian Sisters to Host Charity Poker Event at the Playboy Mansion
Card Player Readers Eligible for Exclusive Offer

Poker in the Playboy Mansion? Does it get any better than that?
On Saturday, July 11, the Playboy Mansion and the Kardashians will host the Aces & Angels Celebrity Poker Tournament. Card Player is the exclusive poker media sponsor for the event.

Aces and Angels, founded in 2007, has raised more than $427,000 for the families of Southern California firefighters who were either injured or killed in the line of duty. This year, the Kardashian family — glamorized in the E! reality television show Keeping Up With the Kardashians — will host the event.
Led by 28-year-old Kim Kardashian — who replaced Britney Spears as the “most Googled” celebrity in the world in 2008 — sisters Khloe (23) and Kourtney (29), and mother, Kris, will welcome high rollers and celebrities alike to the Playboy Mansion.

Dozens of Playboy bunnies and playmates, models, Hollywood celebrities, and the poker elite are expected to attend the alluring affair.

 
Ticket prices for the event range from $1,000 to $3,500, but even the most basic package includes access to the Playboy Mansion grounds, pool area, and grotto, along with a gourmet dinner and an unlimited amount of premium liquor.
However, if you sign up now for the VIP high-roller package (normally $3,500), you can get a $1,000 discount and a free autographed, custom-made Playboy poker table. Just go to www.Aces-Angels.org and insert “CARDPLAYER FREE PLAYBOY POKER TABLE OFFER” in the notes when you check out.

More than $50,000 in prizes will be awarded to the players making the final table of the charity event.
 
Many celebrities, playmates, and poker players have already committed to play in the tournament, which is being emceed by 11-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth.

Jayde Nicole (2008 Playmate of the Year), Sara Jean Underwood (2007 Playmate of the Year), the Ikki twins (featured in Playboy and MTV’s Double Shot at Love), actress Shannon Elizabeth, recording artist Ryan Cabrera, Jerri Manthey (of Survivor and Playboy fame), reality TV star Nicole Richie-Madden, and retired baseball player Jose Canseco are among the many celebrities expected to attend.

And, of course, a slew of poker pros will be making their way to Southern California for this event; among them will be Jamie Gold, Annie Duke, Greg Raymer, Nenad Medic, Isabelle Mercier, Marcel Luske, Gavin Smith, David Williams, and Steve Dannenmann.

For more information on the event, go to www.aces-angels.org.

A Total of 17 World Series Seats to be Given Away on SpadeClub
Members Participate in the World Series 17-Seat Giveaway Events

From now through June, SpadeClub will be giving away a total of 17 World Series seats during the World Series 17-Seat Giveaway promotion. Exclusive members already have started playing in daily qualifiers to gain entry into all of the exciting tournaments.

Every week, there is at least one World Series 17-Seat Giveaway event, including the $2K World Series Weekly, the $5K World Series Event, and the $23K World Series Main Event. The $2K World Series Weekly event will run every Thursday until June 11.

In the $5K World Series Event tournaments, two members will win a $2,000 World Series prize package. On June 7 and June 21, members will play for an $11,000 main-event seat in the $23K World Series Main Event.

Head to www.SpadeClub.com/promotions to see how SpadeClub can lead you down the road to the World Series in the exciting and rewarding World Series 17-Seat Giveaway.