They really wanted a record-breaking first prize to blast out in press releases, but it's terrible for the players when the jumps are so huge.

Part of my theory about why mystery bounties are popular is because you don't need to bink the whole damn thing to get a nice chunk of cash.

You can potentially "only" finish top 2% and still get a nice reward. Most WSOP events are nearly all-or-nothing.

Played the Colossus this year and was amused by the reality that even most people who make a "deep" run are going to make like $1k. It's very dumb.

Aesthetics feel weirdly sterile. Too much red. Feel like maybe they need to reintroduce the dark, foreboding aesthetic of the mid 00s.

Audience drowned out in monochrome. Spotlight on the players. Helps convey the drama and stakes.

Great call. That looks way better so much more dramatic.

I agree 100% with making the set more focused on players. Now they want to make the spectators part of the show and it takes away from it. It’s like Happy Gilmore in there.

Smaller more foreboding set, limit audience per player to 5-10 max. I’d rather fill in with extras lol

I need to watch some old episodes to see how much cheering was going on. But I don’t recall doing the truck horn to tell your folks to go nuts with every pot

I’m not here to defend the 88 jam but Weinman is probably squeezing a lot there. Wouldn’t be shocked if that was +chip EV. Of course it looked horrible given he had AA.

Then Jones was in a tough box with top pair HU

That said it seemed to lack the tension just from a feel. But some of that could be accounted by fact that everyone had the huge score locked up.

Some type of deal was probably in place but it wouldn’t be out of this world to believe what they said that it wasn’t. With three people there would be a lot to agree on and issue of tax bills to get squared away

Glad I’m not the only one who doesn’t really care as much for all the focus on the rails. I know that started with the November Nine to try and make it more like a sporting event with crowds. But it does take away from the drama.

No but I'll always remember that Ben Lamb punt when they got 3 handed. If they didn't have a deal I'd be astonished.

What's the big issue with deals? Wsop just should allow/encourage it, just don't talk about it on the broadcast. Even then, could make an argument it would attract even more amateurs/recs if they didn't think they had to win it all to get 12m, if at f3 they could make a deal for 7.5m each. Of course the amateur doesn't need to know that a pro wouldn't structure such a deal with them.

umm, this is not true IME.

Top pros which maybe includes Weinstein, will buy in themselves but swap 30ish % maybe more.
Then wealthy recs might well have all of themselves if they've bought in or may do swaps.
But the majority of mtt regs, grinders etc are selling big pieces at mark up

I'd forgotten about that. Was it bvb v Staszko? I tried to find the hh but 20 secs on google wasn't enough

to be fair, Lamb had been bullying everyone and so that kind of play was what got him there.

eg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXrM3MmH0eY

imagine playing the main event for a decade, never cashing, then finally getting the sun run you've always dreamt of and outlasting 99% of the field and still being down lifetime because 100th place only pays 6x the buyin. for the people who have been playing the main since the boom they are pretty much guaranteed to be down lifetime if they've never gotten to the final three tables at least once.

When they present the WSOP Main as the "World Championship" and not just another poker tournament, they have to maintain the pretense of intense competition. You wouldn't see someone make a deal in the Super Bowl, Olympics, or NBA Finals. If the WSOP presents itself as the poker equivalent then it's a bad look if players are making deals and soft-playing each other because they don't care all that much about the bracelet.

I remember many years ago Chino Rheem and Scotty Nguyen chopped up a big HORSE event at the LAPC where they got equal money in exchange for Scotty being named the "winner" and getting the trophy. You can imagine the problems it might pose for the WSOP brand if people are making similar deals for bracelets. The idea that the bracelet is more important than money is core to their marketing strategy. Strip that away and what separates them from Wynn, Venetian, Aria, etc? It becomes just another MTT series.

I think that's why they're hush-hush about things like selling action and making deals. It detracts from the legitimacy of the competition if they are trying to present it as the Super Bowl of poker. Of course, everyone who is embedded in the game at an even moderate level understands that it's a lot of smoke and mirrors. Daniel Weinman isn't the world champion of poker just because he luckboxed one $10k event. It's a marketing gimmick. In reality, winning something like GPI POTY is much more akin to being the world champion in a calendar year.

You can thank our good friends over at pokergo for DMCA takedowning so many things poker related.

It was the very first hand when they restarted 3 handed lol. IIRC Lamb 3b KJo .. but then called the shove when he got 4bet??

I remember it differently.

I think Lamb 4/5 bet shoved bvb and Martin called with A rag or sth

But maybe it’s a merge and Ben had KJ

Yeah they def chopped. Nothing wrong with that of course, it is their money after all.

This, for all the coverage from 27 down making it finish early every day compared to before was a complete fail. WSOP/The Broadcasters got too scarred from the Greg Merson win when 3 handed went on for a long time. However adding extra days in and making the coverage each night brief in comparison to previous years has really detracted from the viewing experience. I hope next year they remove the extra day added for 27 to 9 and they just run the final table from 9 down to winner. Yes theres a chance it goes epic and overruns by several hours but thats what creates a memorable viewing experience and as a commentator looking back on it that you covered it would be cool also.

Making the FT run from 9 down to winner would also reduce the chance a deal is done as they wont get overnight to discuss it when 3/4 handed. Has to either be done with 9 involved (much more unlikely) or worked out on a break.

Someone asked about deals in previous years. Not much known about that I think as obviously the players dont tend to talk about it, but I do remember when TJ Cloutier made the final he didnt allow his potential bracelet to be tainted from any talk of a deal (source "Positively Fifth Street")

Staszko(sp) had 77 and Lamb had KJo. 99% that Staszko jammed & Lamb called.

I understand why they do it, but chopping is always cringe af when it happens. Trust the 3 americans to do it. Pathetic ending compared to last years tense ending.

WSOP should just play the final table all the way down instead of having a break when they get 3 handed. That break just increases the chance of chopping 10000x

The Greg Merson think was solely because of how much time Jesse tanked for no reason.

I watched every hand of that FT and I’m positive if you go through and add up the time Jesse was tanking he added a full hour to that broadcast just waiting to check or look at his hand.

Ben opens to 3m in the SB with KJo
Martin 3bets to 7.5m in the BB with 77
Ben ships 42.5m
Martin calls

that sounds right

fwiw, Lamb was left w 10.6 BBs after that hand

It's blatantly obvious there was a deal done. I've been in that situation a few times, not for that type of money, but money that meant alot to me. When there are three left and youve all chopped up the money, pots are huge and things get wrapped up insanely fast.

You can't compare the likes of tennis or golf to poker, and discuss the implications of chopping prize money. Most players in top tier sports earn their money from advertising, the prize money they win is nothing compared to sponsorship deals.

However it would be fair to compare to the likes of snooker or darts, where there is little or no sponsorship deals to be had. And I've heard second hand of deals being done in both snooker and darts finals.

Unless Phil the Power Taylor was involved…the great athlete of the past 30 years. No way he’d have done a deal

Deals are a thing in poker because of variance. You can't get coolered in darts or snooker.