WPT's Satellite Host Casinos Put Players in the 'Hot Seat'Casinos and Cardrooms Everywhere Send Players to WPT Events |
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It was maybe only five years ago when a lot of poker players couldn't write out the definition of a "poker tournament satellite" on a cocktail napkin for all the money in Men "the Master" Nguyen's wallet.
That was before poker became a mainstream sport, though. Now, poker players look to satellites as a way to win some big money and play against some of the best players, for cheap.
The folks at the World Poker Tour have certainly noticed how many more players are trying to get into events and they know that's a good thing. For the last two seasons, the WPT has worked with casinos to help them give their players a chance to compete in a WPT event.
On the WPT's website, a link will take confident players to a list of casinos that hold satellites to WPT events. The list now sits at 34, but on the same page is a link that a casino can take to apply to become a WPT satellite host casino.
And, according to Chris Lockey, WPT's Satellite Coordinator for Casino and Player Relations, cardrooms and casinos are applying to become host satellite venues all the time.
"As far as we're concerned, the beauty of the WPT is being able to put yourself in the hot seat. The WPT satellites offer them a cost effective way to see what it takes," Lockey says.
It also gives cardrooms and casinos use of one of the most popular poker brands out there.
For cardrooms and casinos to become official WPT satellite hosts, they have to show they'd be able to give at least one person a WPT World Championship event package that includes the $25,500 buy-in, flight, and hotel.
Other than that, satellite host casinos and cardrooms can hold satellites to any WPT event they choose. The casinos and cardrooms decide for themselves how many satellites they hold, how much they cost, and all the other nitty-gritty details.
The WPT provides each host satellite casino with a logo it can use in advertisements promoting the cardroom and WPT satellites. Many casinos have taken advantage of this, promoting the WPT satellites in regional print, radio, and even television spots.
Free Publicity
Or, as in the case of the Mill Casino Hotel in North Bend, Oregon, the press comes to them. When the casino announced - through a press release - that it was an official satellite host for the WPT, and that one of its players would win a seat to the $25,000 championship event, newspapers and radio stations promoted it themselves.
Not that the Mill needed any help. The WPT name was enough to bring players and interest to the casino itself.
"It's been a real benefit for us. It's been a lot of fun. Players were lining up the day we announced that we were going to have spaces available. There were lines out the door," says Ray Doering, the casino's communications coordinator
For $155, players could play their way into the $25,000 event. Each weekend since January, the casino held 10-player single-table tournaments. The winner of each table advances to a 20-person freezeout in which one prize package will be won.
The casino sold all the 200 slots the first day of registration, and Doering attributes that to the popularity of the WPT and its championship.
"I think that really makes a big boost. It's one thing to have your own poker tournament," Doering says. "Folks involved in playing (the WPT Championship) is kind of like the holy grail kind of thing. And to say you get a seat at the table, that really piqued everyone's interests."
The Mill Casino's representative will be crowned March 18. Chairs will be set up for an audience and the casino struck a deal with a local TV station to broadcast the tournament through the casino's closed-circuit system.
Doering's not sure how many people will wind up in the audience, but he has a feeling most of the seats will be filled. It makes sense to Lockey that so much interest has come from one satellite event
"There's a certain level of passion and dedication to the game and the sport that's undeniable," Lockey says.
And although he was talking about the list of casinos that are holding WPT satellites across the country when he said "we'd love to make it deeper," Lockey could've been speaking about the dedication and passion of poker players. So far, it seems the WPT has done its job.
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