but lets take this from a reality point of view

IF this had been a flop - it would conclusively say that poker is dead overall
There was almost 6 months of prep work done for this event
I don't have a specific percent but a lot of these players are coming from out of town

There is currently a war between the tours - in the past they did not step on each other's dates but that has changed.

its still in the low range of what a WPT stop makes - average 300-800 range and it is rare for them have 4 Day 1s.

that being said - they had some stumbling blocks to overcome and they did indeed overcome them
a - the constructions was not complete for them to show case their new facility
b - poker atlas totally failed to keep up with the registrations
c - unable to take credit cards
d - unable to take phone calls or reply to texts

Overall it is looking like a great success - will probably set a record for the rake free era of total prize pool (not the largest ever in houston which is north of 1.5-2.0 million

This also could be a trigger event for if it does drive more people to open venues - the state might have to make a decision one way or another - we are now heading into election time and the success could put this more and more into the public eye.

Which ever way it goes - at least a decision will be made
Im all for an increase in poker in a regulated manner.

Now I just try to quote facts from another point of view and don't take it as a "haters" thread - there are always market factors and positives and negatives - I wish all of the rooms the best - my income from poker has never been more than a few percents of my income but it pretty much has been 100% of my avocation and leisure time.

Anyone play or hear anything about the 5/10 cash game going on alongside the WPT? Did it go off on Wed or Thurs?

it was pictured on wed but it looked like a 6 handed 10/25 PLO)
game - I did not see one featured last night - received a text about it this morning

Does anyone know how many unique entries there were in the freerolls/wpt tourney?

There were 790 total entries. I don’t believe they publish how many people rebought/bought in multiple days.

790 represents number of total $1000 buy ins - it has not been broken down for unique players

Any idea on how much they had to pay for the WPT branding?

50% of $79,000?

i would have no idea....why 79k? the door ? - they made more than 790 times 100 - if you made day 2 you paid another 100 and if you made day 3 i think you paid another 100

They paid $30,000 months ago to get the WPT Brand to Houston on a 3 year contract. Also if you made day #2 and #3 You had access to the venue for only the initial $1,100 Buy In. Don’t know where Clive comes up with his info sometimes. It was a success and can only get better if things stay the way they are.

i have talked to several people and they all said it was another 100 for day 2...are they lying to me?

I was wondering how they were going to stay "legal" with the tourney not even being at their "club" and how the "membership fees" would be handled. Additional daily fees would make sense if they wanted to keep the illusion of the membership model in place.

Edit: from their facebook page

5d
FreeRolls Poker Club
FreeRolls Poker Club $1000 buy-in + $100 membership fee that covers all three days to final table. All buy-in goes into prize pool $1000x each player. :-)
Manage
5d

i talked to 5 people...that made day 2....and they all said they paid an extra $100

I made day #2 on Sunday and didn’t pay a dollar

interesting...thank you for the update - i thought it was odd for i had asked charles potter months ago if there was a charge for day 2 - I even got confirmation from 2 dealers that people were indeed charged - i do strive to make sure i have the facts and are confirmed before posting

I personally questioned the prizepool based on a few facts that were given to me by players as in receipt documents but I understand that no one absolutely would know how many true entries and re entries there were. I think it was run pretty well dealers were decent maybe a 5* out of 10 but a handful of veterans did well there was a lil hitch on Sunday start time but wasn’t a big deal and I think with proper personal it can be be very successful. I was very reluctant to go with one of the owners background in the poker community and outside of it. I actually heard him giving a speech and pretty much dogged the other clubs around Houston as to say they wish they had what he has, I didn’t find that to be very wise and arrogance and ignorance will get you no where look what it did to Bill he went from King of Hill to relocating and probably struggling once they move. I personally will never drive to Katy unless there is another event like this I just don’t see Houston action leaving Houston to drive outwards. I’m a regular at Prime and Lions and POP now and everyone says the same things there not driving out there. It’s people from outside Houston and state coming to Town now the big games at Prime are from all over the country and they have said that’s houston is the y’all of many tables in different cities. I don’t and could never play in the bigger games but I’ve seen it with my own eyes

it would be easy to "prove" number of players in a very simple way...every time a new buy in is made - the person gets a receipt and a copy of that receipt goes in a SEALED jar - to be opened at the end of each day and counted by a panel made up of players.

But nobody wants to do this and yet it would be such an easy way to show transparency and keep the integrity of the prize pool.

I've always really hated the lack of true transparency in tournaments for this model. I hate it so much, in fact, that it's a major deterrent for me to play tournaments at all. Just a thought for people running clubs here who are reading this.

Clive, I asked a player at Prime last night that had made the final table if he had to pay $100 for day 2 or 3 and he said no. He only paid when he initially bought in.

ty bulltexas - im going back to my sources and confront them - my apologies to freeroll on the #FAKENEWS

I’m pretty sure Vice is at Prime lately and as always has to do with sports betting. Was told by a very reliable source that the owners of the place book sports and talk about it out in open just a little bit more than they should be. Someone talking to Vice and prosecutors trying to get them selves out of hot water. I’m not trying to start rumors but the source is very reliable. I’d hate to see this unfold at the best place to play at in the state and becoming one of the best in the whole nation according to out of towners that are making there way to there on a weekly basis

unfortunately sports betting is often a mainstay with poker players - also floating around is that the house is giving tab to the BIG players - this is certainly understandable rather than keep this type of money on premises but could result in all sorts of disasters.

PLO is traditionally a game of tab since the numbers are so huge and who walks in with 50k but should a situation arise that one whale decide to not play the dominoes could fall hard and fast.

That being said - I hope that Prime continues to grow and keeps their nose clean - this is a tough business and risks happen in all businesses.

Not sure if you guys are aware but ScamRolls=FRERROLLS did it again after last months WPT event ended employees were told on Monday by CEO Trent that investors pulled out and there is no money to pay anyone even the tip out from Tournament was used to cover prizepool that was short close to 30K. Yes employees were told at 4PM on Monday after a 2pm meeting with investors and over 20+ showed up to a bull**** conference held by Trent Daniel after being notified at 9am that they will be paid after 2 weeks of waiting. Was told he said not only was there no money but he also took the tips and used that too. I wonder who else is involved I know Ihost poker tables were being used in this event through pictures but was Bill Huear guest involved with FreeRolls also. Would like more insight and I hear there videos of employees fighting one another cause was complete chaos there that day. I’ve heard it all before about Trent that he is well known for things like this so not surprising but I know for a fact that investors are asked weekly and daily to invest more money. I was told there room may never open and it’s not even close to being done and contractor was playing poker last week saying there is no money to pay him or even move on with project. Has anyone else heard anything

This is news to me, but doesn't surprise me, back when I lived in Houston they weren't the must "upstanding" if you get my drift. And I am talking about the founders.

i wish that the dealers that were wronged would stand up and post what is going on and confirm these facts publicly. Tweets to WPT - Vince Van Patten and all involved with the WPT tour should be notified.