The point of using inflation as a benchmark is to provide some measure of disposable income available. If people are paying 50% or more for rooms, 100% more for food, 30% more for transportation, etc., then one can safely assume that there still exists disposable income. I could see in a deflationary environment when disposable income is thin, raising entry fees would probably be a mistake. Principally because elasticity of registrants in relation to buy in $ becomes stronger.

And growth means different things to different people. Sure, WSOP can reduce buy-in amounts and get the total registrant figures up. What's probably more important from a PR perspective would be growth of prize pools in relation to registrants. Also rake going down year-over-year per registrant, not going up. If I need to run a $400 with $100 rake (or whatever it is) to get "growth" that is almost certainly an unsustainable way of doing it.

This is where you have it wrong. Raising a $1,000 to $1,500 may reduce turnout for that specific event, but it doe not mean that aggregate turnout goes down. It provides WSOP space to time shift events (like DDS) where resources can be better managed, and peak crowds reduced. In addition to increasing aggregate prize pools, this will cut into competition across town and help keep players on the property. But they stick with a single metric, which is simply shortsighted.
I don't know how one determines when limits are reached. Safe to say for many events when DDS are forced to cancel and it takes up to 2 hours to register, we are already there.

Why should players "get over it" when the above improvements can be made? Makes no sense.

When staffing is thin, dealers difficult to recruit, player inconveniences left and right, a lot can (and should be) done. But using bad metrics to measure success will not get it done.

I have Aria booked June19-26 for an average of $105/night and Bellagio July9-13 for $95/night. I can walk to WSOP and save the UBER $$$. And have my own room. (I'm MGM Gold so I avoid the $45/night resort fee.)

You are suggesting that featured events having smaller numbers of entries will make for better logistics, but then you say that there will more players playing other events which can be run in conjunction. I don’t really see how processing x players between multiple events is in any way more efficient than processing x players in one event. Probably the opposite. Running multiple events at the same time is a lot more difficult logistically than running just one. You have to reserve tables and dealers for an unknown number of players.

Anyhow, I think we’ve basically covered all the ground on this topic, unless you have some other angle. The WSOP doesn’t seem keen on raising the buy-ins in their most popular events, the Main event included. And they keep on introducing more lower buy in events. I don’t have any access to their financial analysis, but I assume they have determined that having as any people as possible show up is their goal. And raising buy ins would be contrary to that goal.

I will be very curious to see the overall numbers for the WSOP next summer when it looks like the economic picture won’t be as rosy as last summer. I wouldn’t be shocked if a lot of events are down, but we’ll have to wait and see.

I have checked again since I posted, and the price is still $530, I can get comped rooms at Harrah's, Flamingo, Linq, and Rio, but not Horseshoe, good thing I booked when I did.

Well since I'm paying $158 total for a week why would I want to pay $150 a night? Now if you're not getting comped rooms and having to pay resort fees your logic makes sense.

Within the last 2 years, I did both of these. Stayed in an airbnb with a group of guys in '21 and last year stayed in Park MGM and MGM Grand. With the comps received, and the fairly cheap room rates, I paid a little less in the hotel than I paid at the airbnb. However, while in the airbnb, I did cook breakfast every morning and brought snacks for lunch, which is nice, but I ate dinner out each night, versus having to buy all meals while in the hotel - so that tipped the scale towards the airbnb being a little cheaper. But once I add in the cost of the Uber rides, it's pretty close to being break even, so it mostly comes down to preference.

If you bag chips in a tournament on day 1, it's typically going to end late at night, or really into the next morning, and then day 2 has a relatively early start, it ends up being a very short turnaround, especially if you're in an airbnb or in a hotel that's not very close. That happened to me with the Seniors tournament last year and I was a wreck on day 2 due to lack of sleep. I don't want to be in that situation again this year, if I'm fortunate enough to make some day 2s, and 3s, and .... So this year I booked a room in the Horseshoe/Ballys so I'm right there where the tournaments are. With comps and cheap room rates, it averaged out to about $52 per night across 10 days, so I won't be paying stupid prices.

For me, I want to be in the best possible situation to perform my best while playing in the wsop, so the convenience of being in the same hotel where the tournaments are held is worth it to me, even if I did have to pay a bit more $$ to stay there.

Good thing indeed. That seems crazy. But of course I can never figure out what mystical formula El Dorado uses in coming up with their rates.

I thought that would be self-explanatory, but I guess not. Note I said "stupid prices"

One man's stupid is another man's smart.

If you don’t like the WSOP there are many other very large tourneys to attend instead. One is the WPT championship at Wynn in December. I went this year and it is very well. There are others through out the year also. To me WSOP is for the average person and I love the experience there.

I think his point is that some minor convenience benefits to him are worth pricing people out at the $1000 and $1500 levels.

geez talk about timing. lmao. ya did well.

The $400 Colossus, $600 DeepStack, the $1,000 and $1,500 events are fine where they are. Everything else on the planet is now more expensive - so please zip it about raising costs here for events specifically designed for recreational players.

Appreciate all the replies here which are in agreement.

What would you recommend to someone coming to the WSOP for the first time ever this year?

Will be in town for roughly a week, and basically looking for recommendations of good places to stay and the best way to book to get a good deal. Not ballers so price is reasonably important, but don't want somewhere horrible obvs, and will be with a partner who doesn't play poker so ideally somewhere with a pool.

From the UK so don't have any existing rewards with any of the casinos, but do have some Hilton Honors points in case that's of any use.

Also, any other tips of things to make sure we do/don't do whilst in town would be much appreciated!

I feel like there’s a ton of information on all this in the Las Vegas Lifestyle section and maybe elsewhere on this forum so you may want to check that out.

It’s tough because “good” and “not horrible” are subjective. As a rule of thumb, Downtown is always cheaper than the strip. Four Queens is cheap and doesn’t charge resort fees. Golden Nugget is a little more pricey downtown but has a decent pool. Nugget also has The Grand tournament series that runs at the same time as WSOP. Nugget is a VERY short walk from Four Queens. That being said, downtown isn’t for everyone. Plus, you’d need a cab, rental, or Uber to get to WSOP and back.

On the strip, avoid Circus Circus even though it’s cheap. I’d avoid Stratosphere, too. Excalibur and Luxor tend to be cheaper and aren’t terrible. But they’re a far cry from Wynn or Bellagio. During the summer months of WSOP, it’d be a hot walk to get there.

So it sort of depends on what you want. If wanting to stay on the cheap but walking distance to WSOP and the strip, check out Ellis Island.

While in town, consider splurging on at least one nice meal at a fancier type restaurant. For daily food/drink, I like to stock up at a grocery store there to have things in my room. Food and drink costs add up quickly so the more you can save on that, the more you have for things to do.

You should consider seeing a show, too. There are a couple discount ticket places you can check out to get half off or more for show tickets but it’s usually because the show is that night and not sold out yet. So a bit of short notice and you may not get the show you really want.

Vegas is unique in that any vice you may want is at your fingertips. Personally, I don’t use drugs, drink alcohol, or cheat on my wife so I can’t speak to any of those things if that’s your sort of interest.

If you book directly through the hotel, then they give you some benefits. For example, MGM Grand offers a $50 daily dining credit that you won't get if you book via orbitz, etc....

There are lots of videos on youtube about getting value on your trips such as Norma Geli and Jacobs life in vegas. Norma's channel has some videos about cheap meals and other activities.

Download Bravopoker or PokerAtlas, etc.. which show what games and stakes are running at each casino.

You omitted this:
I understand WSOP cannot hold the types of events that it might want to, due to copyright issues. But it can certainly do a lot better than it has to date.


See above.

Which caused me to identify the issues with WSOP in not addressing player experience and instead focusing on simple metrics that do not respond to the opportunity space presented.

Then it becomes incumbent upon WSOP to consider what motivates tourists to travel to Las Vegas and enjoy a week of gambling and entertainment.

Thanks both - much appreciated.

Plenty to consider and I'll dig into the LVL subforum too

I assume you’ve never been to Vegas. If so, then I think it depends on what your’e expecting/used to when it comes to hotels. The vast majority of hotel rooms in Vegas are a fair bit less expensive than what you would find in other major cities or vacation destinations, even when taking the ubiquitous resort fees into account, and even if you aren’t part of a loyalty program. You can stay at a The Horseshoe where the WSOP is being held for probably less than $150/night avg. for a week. Theres nothing wrong with that hotel but it would be considered mid-tier. Or you can stay at a 5-star hotel like Aria which will run $250-$300/night avg. If you stay off the Strip, prices are even less expensive, but then you have to consider the time/cost of transportation. Prices are always a lot cheaper mid-week than the weekend, but if you are setting for a whole week, that shouldn’t really matter.

Many places have pools, but not all. And not all pools are created equal from a quality or congestion/scene standpoint. You can find more info on the hotel’s website or travel sites like TripAdvisor.

1) make sure you get reservations if you want to dine at specific spots, especially in and around weekends. Summer is still one of the slower times of year in Vegas, but it’s not nearly as slow as it used to be. Things will be crowded and labor shortages are still a thing, so be prepared for lines.

2) be prepared for the heat. You can spend as much or as little time in it as you want, but “a dry heat” is really not a thing when it’s north of 120 F in the concrete jungle. Also be aware that it can still be over 100 when the sun goes down.

3) be prepared to walk a lot and bring comfortable shoes. When I come to Vegas and stay on the strip, I walk just about everywhere (on the strip). It’s a lot cheaper than taking taxis/ride share and sometimes it’s not a whole lot slower. There’s often tons of traffic on the strip. If you stay in the central strip (near where the WSOP will be held) then most things are within a 45 minute walk in either direction. Be prepared to walk a lot, regardless. The hotels are enormous, and crossing LV boulevard usually requires some kind of detour.

4) You might want to at least go check out the poker scene at the Venetian (20 min walk from The WSOP) or the Wynn/Encore (40 min walk from the WSOP). The field sizes are a lot smaller but those two venues run great series.

Lastly, there are tons of things to do in Vegas, from entertainment, to shopping, to dining, etc., which you can learn about. But if you’re only there a week, and if poker is your main objective, I wouldn’t try and cram everything in. Plan ahead and be prepared for a fun, but not likely restful trip. The jet lag alone will screw with you and by the time you’ve gotten used to the time zone difference, it will be time to go home. Plan a few days when you get back to try and re-assimilate back into the real world.

But what you call an opportunity is only based on what you want, and nothing else. Surely you see that making the WSOP more expensive will not represent an opportunity for those who cannot afford the increases you are calling for. People don’t come to the desert in the middle of the summer in order to be comfortable. They come to participate in the biggest poker event of the year. That brings with it inconveniences, which increasing numbers of people tolerate in exchange for the benefits they get in participating in such large events.

As for it being an opportunity for the WSOP, as I’ve said, I don’t have any special access to their business calculations, but their actions tell me reducing the number of participants in the way you suggest would not make them more money at this time. They are doing things to get more participants, not fewer. So clearly they have come to the conclusion that this would be best. I’m sure it’s a fluid situation, so maybe there will come a day when they do the opposite. At that time you might get your wish. Or maybe not. There’s a cost to everything. Small improvements in one area could lead to things being worse in other areas.

Thanks

Currently thinking we'll stay somewhere cheaper (either Downtown or Luxor/Excalibur) over the weekend, then move into somewhere nicer for the week, since we are probably gonna be there Friday - Friday so it splits quite easily into two. Is the Venetian decent to stay in or just worth checking out for the poker?

All other points should be fine - we're gonna fly into SF/LA and do a road trip through at least one National Park for a week beforehand so jetlag shouldn't be an issue, and we're happy walking lots.

I’ve never stayed at Venetian, so I can’t comment on the accommodations but I’m sure it’s a nice hotel. I think it’s one of only a handful of 5-star hotels in Vegas and will be a bit pricier than any of the Caesar’s properties. The property itself features the indoor canal and shops. So if you or your partner are into shopping, or just window shopping, that is a popular area. Lots of good restaurants at all price points in the Venetian/Palazzo as well. The Wynn/Encore are near by. The Encore, especially, draws a younger crowd and is home to a couple very popular day/night clubs, if you’re into that sort of thing. Some of the more upscale pools in Vegas are actually day-clubs and may require cover charge to get in.

Downtown is pretty neat and a very different scene from the strip. There’s usually a bunch of live entertainment up and down Fremont Street during the summer.

Venetian/Palazzo is very comfortable to stay at, not a bad walk to Horseshoe, big +1 on the good variety of restaurants between the two casinos plus the onsite Grand Canal Shoppes.

Well, I'm actually thinking of all players. Except those who don't care about long waits, bad dealers, expensive food/rooms, poor structures, etc.

Price points are of course a logical marketing strategy for WSOP. And keeping the low buy-in events provides revenue from demos who may not be around w/o those events.

WSOP has done a few things to improve player experience (e.g. kiosks, BBA). But I could go on and on identifying the missed opportunities.

I am clearly aware they are not doing the things I have noted.

Great