Savage Signs On as Tourney Director for L.A. Poker ClassicMatt Savage Comments on New Position |
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Matt Savage is one of the most widely respected and highly sought after tournament directors in the world, and recently it was announced that he will oversee the L.A. Poker Classic.
Here’s what Savage had to say about his new position:
Card Player: First of all, congratulations on becoming the tournament director for the L.A. Poker Classic.
Matt Savage: Thanks, I’m really excited about it.
CP: What goes into planning or reconstructing an event when taking over as tournament director?
MS: Well, the LAPC, in my opinion, is one of the greatest tournaments already out there, so I’m not really going to reconstruct it. I’m definitely going to put a little bit more flare into it. By doing that, I’m just going to try to elevate the prestige a little bit more so that it’s looked at as one of the majors in poker. Right now, I think it is already there. If you talk about the biggest and best event, the LAPC always is in the conversation. But I think that now it’s going to be even higher.
CP: Are you taking player suggestions? If so, what kind of feedback have you gotten?
MS: Actually, I have opened up to that. Of course I want to know what the top the pros think, but I also want to know what the regular players think. It’s been interesting, because I’ve been getting a lot requests for mixed games and a lot of requests for pot-limit Omaha.
We are looking to have two pot-limit Omaha events on the schedule. What that does is two-fold; I think it’s going to bring not only players that play pot-limit Omaha on the Internet, but I also believe that it will bring some Europeans over because pot-limit Omaha is a big game in Europe. To bring those guys over here for another event besides the World Series would be great.
CP: What other additions are you making to the event schedule?
MS: We are actually going to do a $1,000 buy-in H.O.R.S.E. event and a $10,000 Commerce H.O.R.S.E. championship. We’re also doing a Commerce heads-up championship, limited to 64 players, and there’s going to be a unique appeal to it, because it’s going to be double elimination. You could actually lose your first match and go on to win the tournament.
CP: Are you making any changes to the main event?
MS: Well the main event is going to be a six-day event, just like it was last year. However, it’s going to be a little different in the structure. Players will get 20,000 in chips, but blinds will start at 25-50. I believe it’s going to be the best structure out there, except for maybe the main event of the World Series. It’s going to be really slow. There will be no dinner breaks after day 1, and I think they will be playing eight hours on those days.
CP: Are there any important rule changes players should note?
MS: Not that I know of. I’m going there later this month; I’ll see what they have already in place. I’m going to meet with everybody this week, the staff and the dealers. I know we can’t be biggest event in the world, but I want to be the best. We are going to try to improve on some of the procedures. We’ll make sure the dealers are top-notch, and I hope to make it the best.
CP: Are you going to be doing more at the Commerce?
MS: As of right now, it’s just the LAPC. After the LAPC, we’re going to talk about the other big events. I’m not going to be there full-time, but I’m hoping to do more of their major events. And thanks to VP Casino Manager Tim Gustin and Commerce management for giving me the opportunity.
The full schedule of events in the LAPC will be posted on CardPlayer.com under the Tournaments tab later this week.
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