A poker buddy friend of mine listened to the 2+2 Pokercast and commented to me about Jon Aguiar and the rules controversy at the WSOP. I responded to his comments as follows.
Dear Poker Buddy:
There is a stark difference in perspective as to what players think the WSOP is about and what the owners and management of Caesar’s/Harrah’s think the WSOP is about. Players (or many players) operate under the delusion that the WSOP is the Super Bowl – the Mecca – of poker and this annual pilgrimage is about the players and the glorification of the game. The owners of Caesar’s/Harrah’s and executives at ESPN see it differently. They view the WSOP as a cow to be milked – an opportunity to extract every last dollar from the players. It’s only because of that mindset, (i.e. that players should be exploited to the maximum extent possible), that you get insane “rules” such as “Players must verbally declare their actions at the final table.” This is what happens when you have Harvard MBAs running the show. These “Masters of the Universe” know everything about maximizing shareholder value – and nothing about the game itself.
When the late Benny Binion ran the WSOP he believed in the philosophy of giving players generous comps (including free or close-to-free food and drinks) along with other enticements. Benny Binion didn’t have the “benefit” (or the curse) of a Harvard MBA, but he understood if you give “the small guy” a good deal and treat him like a big guy, you’ll reap many times the cost of your generosity from the gambler. Gamblers are naturally inclined to loosen up their wallets when they think (or believe) they’re getting a good deal. Benny Binion understood this because he was a gambler himself. This truth is lost on the folks who run the WSOP. They are so into spreadsheets, databases, and statistical analysis that they can’t see the forest for the trees. In the process of “maximizing profits,” they’ve managed to ruin the WSOP.
this
And not just for poker and the WSOP, you can argue this is the problem with corporations and government!
I agree with Jon that the rule is dumb, and I like Jon and think its good to have people who will speak their mind. With all that said, I think the WSOP retweet is awesome. I think that as social media brings us all closer, we're seeing that everyone, including the higher ups at big corporations, are just normal people. Imo the notion that large corporations have some requirement to be "professional" is silly. I would rather see people speak their minds openly, as I believe open and honest communication is always a good thing. If a corporation feels that one of their customers is being a whiny bitch, then regardless of whether or not I agree with them, I applaud them for coming out and calling him a whiny bitch. I think the standard company line of "the customer is always right" is actually patronizing and demeaning- I would rather them give their honest opinions and let an open discussion occur as a result.
LMAO. If you don't see why it's wrong for a corporation such as WSOP to call a customer "a whiny bitch" is wrong then you are pretty dull.
Yes they did. If you retweet something without adding any commentary then you are echoing the sentiments of the original tweeter. Who typed the actual keys is irrelevant.
So since Jon speaks up for injustices put upon the players by the WSOP, he's a douche? Trust me, you WANT Jon on that wall! It's funny, because on day 1 of that event he came in 3rd in, I was goofing with him about how Seth Palansky said something to the effect of "Chiptic will be the biggest thing to hit poker since hole-card cams",(LOL) and it was being implemented first in that tournament, to which he replied that Seth is terrible at his job and not only shouldn't have it, but never should have gotten it in the first place. Quite prophetic, really.
Obv Chiptic is an Epic fail for numerous reasons, although the free wi-fi is kinda nice, if unsafe.
They just took an unscheduled break, because Scotty needed the bathroom, and Ivey requested the clock be stopped. Shame they would not allow that on fatal errors final table