Quote:
Originally Posted by PokerStars Matthew
Yes – 2% of players with significant changes includes those players playing high stakes and those who are Supernovas with more than 200,000 yearly VPPs. Of course they generate a lot of volume on the site and that wasn’t the point that was intended. I am merely pointing out that most players are not significantly impacted by these changes.
You were repeating the comment used by Eric Hollreiser in his role as spin doctor on the Pokerstars blog:
"Approximately two percent of players... will have significantly reduced rewards."
The mistake you made was failing to recognize that language used in a press release to a wider, less-informed following may not work so well in front of a [generally] more educated audience. Such a comment is either superfluous or a public relations stunt, there is no "merely pointing it out."
You have a very difficult and uncomfortable job right now. My advice would be to stop belittling us, show some balls, and deliver a little more honesty.
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On a separate note regarding rewards to low volume players, here it is explained in more transparency:
They pretty much don't exist- they're really just "phantom" rewards. In reality their value to the player is usually zero. Some of the better casual/low volume players will be net winners and withdraw profits, but the vast majority will be fun players and so any money will ultimately end up either being won and withdrawn by regs, or taken as rake by Stars.
So, when Mr. Hollreiser or Mr. Negreanu (shame on him) spews their rote-learned nonsense on the poker ecosystem and how they're so concerned with a more balanced long-term poker economy, let's remember where this Robin Hood redistribution of wealth that is supposedly given to the casual player really ends up:
...and a reminder of where those funds came from:
So, these "rewards" (effectively winnings) have been taken from the players that actually win the money (regs) and given to the casual players, from where a small portion comes back to the regs, and a tiny amount remains with the casual player. The vast majority goes into Stars' pockets.
As I have mentioned in the past, I met with Isai Scheinberg at the Stars HQ back in 2012. I was
very impressed with him. He loved Pokerstars and he genuinely cared for the health of the game and his customers. This passion and love for the game has been evident in each Pokerstars member of staff I have ever met, including Pokerstars' Steve, Chris, Baard, Nick, Michael and many others. (It has to be a tough job these days for those who remain with the company- good people, with the best interests of the game at heart, having to work for a new company that no longer shares their views.)
Now, to be fair to Amaya, the environment has changed, and they are a business, so it's not surprising that we would see some changes over time. However, they are taking things too far. They are risking a lot for the sake of greed. On top of this, their behaviour in explaining the changes is shameful and embarrassing. Make no mistake, they have no interest whatsoever in the balance of the ecosystem outside of how they can make as much money as possible for themselves.