Watch Interview With Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack Part 1 on RawVegas.tv
We caught up with
Jeffrey Pollack for what was supposed to be a final vlog but quickly turned into a
60 Minutes style interview. Turns out after four years as WSOP commish, there was a lot of ground to cover.
So we headed to the new home of the WSOP (breaking news here), the Pavilion Center in the Rio, where Pollack, who has always been good to the so-called poker “media,” was cool enough to give us his only video interview. Part I (above) covers why he decided to leave and what role (if any) new boss Mitch Garber played in that decision.
Parts II & III (coming soon) cover accomplishments, disappointments, wtf he would’ve done had both Shulman’s captured the Main Event crowns, and of course, what he’s going to do with all of this free time on his hands.
UPDATE: WITH PART II
Watch Interview With Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack Part 2 on RawVegas.tv
PART III
Watch Interview With Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack Part 3 on RawVegas.tv
Tagged as: featured, Harrah's, Jeffrey Pollack, Mitch Garber, WSOP
Jeffrey Pollack oversaw tremendous growth with the WSOP since he took over as commissioner in 2006.
Harrah’s announced today that
Jeffrey Pollack is “leaving [his] post” as
WSOP commissioner.
Prior to serving as WSOP commish, Pollack was Vice President of Marketing & Corporate Communications for the NBA and Managing Director of Broadcasting and New Media for NASCAR Digital Entertainment. He was hired by Harrah’s in 2005 as a VP of Marketing and was elevated to President and Commissioner of the WSOP in 2006.
Under Pollack’s guidance, WSOP attendance has grown 88%. He’s also overseen the launch of the WSOP Europe, Poker Hall of Fame induction ceremony, $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship, Ante Up for Africa charity event, and of course, the November NineTM.
Of course, Pollack was also a vlogging, blogging, twittering fiend who was always looking for new technological innovations to reach the poker audience.
Go below the fold for more detailed information on growth during Pollack’s tenure. Go to Pokerati here for other additional info.
We expect to do an exit vlog with Pollack later today. Check back this afternoon.
[click to continue…]
Tagged as: Harrah's, Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP
Phil Hellmuth, who will be making a Caesar-like WSOPE entrance as well, thinks Harrah's is dictating unfair practices on WSOP players.
We’ll get the audio files up soon, as we’re having some issues uploading them right now, but
Phil Hellmuth was on the
Hardcore Poker Show discussing what he feels are issues that
Harrah’s is creating for the
WSOP by (inevitably) launching their own online poker site.
Specifically, Hellmuth said that by starting their own online poker site and limiting logos at TV tables, Harrah’s could drive sponsored pros away, making the WSOP brand “worthless.” More broadly, he also said that the WSOP has been raking second place money in every tournament they provide, but are not giving enough back to the players. He’s spoken with WSOP Commish Jeffery Pollack about it, but he is not convinced yet that the WSOP will do enough to make this brewing situation acceptable.
UPDATE: Ok not sure what is up with audio file uploads today, so go here to listen to the interview clips.
Tagged as: Harrah's, Jeffrey Pollack, Phil Hellmuth, WSOP
ESPN has signed a seven-year extension for WSOP broadcasts. Speaking of seven-year extensions, meet Cristina Buccino.
The World Series of Poker will be on ESPN at least until 2018.
A new seven-year deal extension is supposed to be announced by ESPN and Harrah’s today. This can really only be seen as a good sign that ESPN and Harrah’s see future growth in poker (i.e. bye-bye UIGEA). Shit, most marriages don’t last seven years. This is a real commitment.
While ratings have dipped for WSOP broadcasts by 8% this year compared to 2008 (when ratings rose up to 15%), some of that could be attributed to the absolute worst-case-scenario final tables they have aired. We’ll see if ratings spike during the Main Event, which had some marketable names (Phil Ivey, Dennis Phillips, Joe Sebok, and reigning champ Peter Eastgate) go deep.
Read the full article on the re-up at Fox Business here. For more Cristina Buccino pics, go here.
Tagged as: ESPN, Harrah's, WSOP
Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) introduced his only reason why we're still doing this site anti-UIGEA bill at a press conference this morning.
Frank's bill estimates over $63 billion in revenues for the government if it regulated online gaming over the next 10 years. Interestingly, Harrah's Entertainment is also backing the bill, which probably has everything nothing to do with the "maybe" hiring of ex-Party CEO Mitch Garber.
We'll post a video from the press conference if/when it becomes available (readers, please send link if you find it). In the meantime, read about Harrah's backing of the bill here and the press release on today's press conference here.
UPDATE: Good recap of the bill by Bluff here.
Tagged as: Barney Frank, Harrah's, Poker News, UIGEA
Stating the obvious (again) here, but these WSOP Circuit events aren't what they used to be.
Back when the WSOP-C's began, ESPN cameras followed. Top pros played in them. Winning one had at least a little bit of prestige.
Now, not so much.
The first WSOP-C stop of 2009 kicked off yesterday at Harrah's Tunica. $5k entry, 154 entrants.
Like the movie The Fast and the Furious, play was fast and furiousTM (man we haven't used that one in a long time…feels good), as only 27 remained by the end of Day 1. David Dao will enter Day 2 as the chip leader, stacked at 291,700. Online pro Matt 'Allinat420' Stout is second with 255,500.
Other notables remaining include Gavin Smith, "Captain POB" Tom Franklin, Jordan Morgan, and Kathy Liebert, a woman.
Tagged as: gavin smith, Harrah's, poker, WSOP
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