WSOP: Then and Now

I can’t believe that it has been seven years since I made my deep run in the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event, finishing in 13th place out of 5,619 participants. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago and other times it seems like just yesterday.

When I look back to 2005, things in poker have changed dramatically. Of course, the way we play the game has transformed. For example, back then, standard preflop raising used to be four to five times the big blind as opposed to today’s commonly seen two to three times.

However, besides the poker playing disparities, there are other notable differences between poker at the WSOP then and now.
Let me share some examples.

POKER CLIMATE:

2005: Poker’s future looked extremely bright. Due to the Moneymaker factor, everyone wanted to learn how to play poker. Poker on ESPN (for the WSOP) and the Travel Channel (for the World Poker Tour (WPT)) was must-see television. Of course, online poker was booming and registrations for multiple WSOP events were up, especially the main event. Back then, these online sites were responsible for qualifying thousands of players and even bought them directly into the main event. Imagine, all you had to do was show up to the event and pick up your seat card. The WSOP main event registration increased from 839 (2003) to 2,576 (2004) to 5,619 (2005). (The following year, the event would reach an all-time high of 8,773.) Poker was definitely on the rise.

(Unfortunately, unknown to us all at the time, Senator Bill Frist would tack on the UIGEA as part of the Port Security Improvement Act of 2006. In October of 2006, the UIGEA halted poker’s momentum and it is still impacting poker today).

2012: The current landscape of poker is tempered, especially in the United States. Although Europe and Macau have become the hot spots for poker around the world, Black Friday and the recession have slowed poker’s growth, decreasing tournament registrations across the United States. To adapt to the financial climate, lower buy-ins became the norm across the country (including WSOP Circuit main events) with multiple day one flights for re-entry. As a sign of the times, the WSOP included a re-entry event earlier this summer. Nevertheless, although numerous records were set in 2011, the 2012 WSOP registrations started off down and many predict the main event will be lower as well.

MEDIA COVERAGE:

2005: After Moneymaker’s victory, the desire and need for media at the WSOP became evident. Additionally, in late 2004, Harrah’s Entertainment purchased Binion’s Horseshoe, obtaining the WSOP and Horseshoe brands. Thus, in 2005, the WSOP moved to the Rio All-Suite Casino and Hotel. Converging onto this larger property, a few media outlets such as Card Player provided day-by-day online coverage of every WSOP event for the first time. Media personnel, forever known as chip counters, were born. Players were excited to run back to their rooms after the day’s play to see if they were mentioned during the daily online reports. Why? Because smartphones and even texting were not as commonplace in 2005 as they are currently.

2012: Today, the WSOP is a media sensation. Hundreds of poker media members are on hand, representing dozens of countries from around the world. Today, every bracelet event is covered in excruciating detail and every final table will be streaming live on WSOP.com. Additionally, with the ever-present social media (especially Twitter), players can give their family, friends and fans constant tournament status and even chip counts. This year, the WSOP introduced ChipTec, which is a new chip-counting program that follows every player, amateur or pro, throughout the tournament.

TOURNAMENT AREA:

2005: When the Rio held the WSOP for the first time, they opened its doors to the unbelievable Amazon Room. Prior to the 2005 WSOP, there had been nothing like it in poker. The room resembled a football field filled to the brim with 200 poker tables. The capacity for one day was around 2,000, which seemed unbelievable at the time.

2012: Today, the Amazon room is joined by the Pavilion and Brasilia rooms, creating even more space for the players. This year, a day’s capacity is at least 4,700 players with about 470 tables available. Therefore, there is ample room for not only the bracelet events, but also cash games, satellites and daily tournaments.

ONLINE PLAYERS:

2005: With the Moneymaker Boom, hundreds of players qualified online and invaded the WSOP. However, online players were not completely respected back then.
Stereotypically, they were considered poor players, who were neophytes to the game. Not having much experience, they often had multiple live tells and did not know the ins and outs of playing live poker. If an unknown player made a bad play, poker regulars would often say something like, “Did you learn that by playing online.”
2012: Today, the image of online players is drastically different. Online poker players are well respected and often considered ahead of the curve. Having played the millions of hands online, many of these players analyze the game at different levels and are now the current trendsetters. With multiple poker training sites online, online poker players have even become superstars of the game such as Tom “Durrrr” Dwan.

WSOP BRACELETS:

2005: 45 (which was a record at the time – up from 33 in 2004)

2012: 61 (62, if you include the WSOP National Championship and 69, if you include WSOP Europe which of course did not exist back in 2005.)

WSOP main event: Day one, Money Bubble and Final Table:

2005: Multiple day one starting days was still a relatively new concept. In 2004, the WSOP main event split day one into two flights for the first time. In 2005, the WSOP was still experimenting with an unprecedented three day ones. The players endured seven 100-minute full levels and toiled 20 minutes into level eight. Day one began at 11 a.m. and finished up close to 4 a.m. the next morning. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled, but exhausted to make it through to day two.

With 569 players returning for day three, the money bubble burst just thirteen hands into the day. The 560th-place finisher received a minimum cash of just $12,500.

To make it to the final table, one had to survive six days. However, the final table was played the very next day with no break in between. Additionally, in 2005, the final two days of the WSOP main event was played back at Binion’s Horseshoe downtown. The final 27 players reassembled at Benny’s Bullpen, a tiny room that could only house a couple of hundred spectators.

2012: Today, life is much easier for the players. With three starting days once again (the past several years have had four), you only play five two-hour levels and are finished for the day. “Shuffle up and deal,” is announced at noon and players bag up their chips around midnight.

Although there is much more rest, the tradeoff is players have to play into day four just to make the money (last year the money bubble burst late in the second round of day four). The minimum cash should be around $20,000 (last year is was $19,359).

To make it to the final table, one has to survive seven days (although last year it was nine days). However, the final table players go on hiatus for three and half months, based on the November Nine concept created in 2008. The final nine return October 28th to play at the Penn and Teller Theater in front of a live audience with a capacity of 1,500.

It is truly amazing to see how poker and the WSOP have grown over the past seven years. Hopefully, we will continue to see poker grow positively over the next seven years and beyond. ♠

Bernard Lee is the co-host of ESPN Inside Deal, weekly poker columnist for the Boston Herald, ESPN.com, author of “The Final Table, Volume I and II” and radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which can be found on RoundersRadio.com or via podcast on iTunes. Follow Bernard Lee on Twitter: @BernardLeePoker or visit him at www.BernardLeePoker.com.