Harrah’s Has Heart

Harrah’s has started a fabulous promotion program that will give several million dollars to poker players.

First, here’s some history: In 2003, Harrah’s purchased Jack Binion’s Horseshoe Gaming holding company, which gave them several new casinos. As part of this deal, it also got a note from Becky Binion Behnen, secured by the Las Vegas Horseshoe Club. It was this note that eventually led to Harrah’s acquisition of the World Series of Poker. At the time, everyone recognized that this had some value, but no one realized what was about to happen. In 2003, Chris Moneymaker won an online satellite and then amazed everyone by outlasting more than 800 players to win the main event. Online poker started to take off, and many online players wanted to try live cash games and tournaments. Moneymaker’s win, the use of the holecard camera on televised poker shows, and the growth of online poker ignited an unbelievable poker boom. Three years later, with a huge assist from online satellite winners, there were almost 9,000 entrants in the main event. The number of entrants had increased more than tenfold.
The misguided passage of the UIGEA (Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act) resulted in a slowdown in poker growth in the U.S., and the number of entrants in the WSOP championship event declined, although more players entered some of the other WSOP events.

This proved to be an incredible bonanza for Harrah’s. The summer months in Vegas generally are slow. Suddenly, the Rio was packed for nearly six weeks. This produced a lot of poker revenue for Harrah’s, and the players, their families, their friends, and spectators flooded the casino, as well. They stayed in the hotel, ate in the restaurants, drank in the bars, shopped in the stores, and gambled in the pit. There were so many players that they overflowed to neighboring casinos with poker rooms. The Venetian, Bellagio, and other venues were alive with cash games and smaller tournaments. Suddenly, poker was a huge cash cow for Harrah’s, and management seemed intent on milking it for all it was worth. Winning a WSOP event and a bracelet was every player’s dream, and players didn’t seem to mind paying a little extra to try to do it.

The WSOP becomes more popular each year, and Harrah’s World Series of Poker Europe (WSOPE) has become successful. Now, finally, Harrah’s seems to realize how important poker is to its business. This fantastic promotion

centers on the WSOP Circuit events. These are events held at various Harrah’s casinos around the country. Harrah’s has added money to the tournaments and has added seats to championship satellites. And there is a cumulative program leading to a 100-player freeroll for $1 million. All of this will benefit both local players and touring pros. The benefit to the players is immediate. The benefits to Harrah’s will accrue over time as more players come to more tournaments and locals find out more about nearby Harrah’s properties. Someone who wins one of the extra satellite seats and then cashes in the main event will be loyal to Harrah’s forever. Successful gamblers have always known that you have to give action to get action. Casinos generally have given back about 20 percent of what they expect players to lose, but somehow this rule of thumb has never been applied to poker players.

I just returned from the Harrah’s Horseshoe Hammond, which is actually in Indiana but is known as “Chicagoland,” since it is only about 20 minutes from Chicago. The combination of local and regular WSOP staff members ran a very successful tournament there, and they seemed truly grateful to the players. I managed to survive two long days, and got knocked out on day three just before the final table, the television bubble. I stayed in the luxurious apartment of some friends, Harold and Julie Lilie. Harold is a great bridge player, and often has had the misfortune of being my partner, but he is relatively new to poker. Like many other game players, he seems to be picking up poker quickly. He played some cash games in the regular poker room, and said the games were great and the room was comfortable and well-run. He has even gone back since then. I can’t resist saying, Harold does Harrah’s at Hammond.

In conclusion, I want to thank Harrah’s for giving something back to the players. I hope that more players around the country are drawn to these local casinos by the promotions. If Harrah’s starts to develop a reputation for being good to the players, similar to the one that Benny and Jack Binion had, there may not be much reason for anyone to play anywhere else. ♠

Steve “Zee” Zolotow, aka The Bald Eagle, is a successful games player. He currently devotes most of his time to poker. He can be found at many major tournaments and playing on Full Tilt, as one of its pros. He usually spends much of the fall hanging out in his bars on Avenue A — Nice Guy Eddie’s and The Library near Houston, and Doc Holliday’s at 9th Street — in New York City.