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
So you're going to play a Ladies Only tournament on the NFL's first Sunday of the season? What kind of man are you?
Ok, so a dude, Abraham Korotki, entered the $300 Borgata Poker Open Ladies Event. Ha ha that’s original. Even worse, he won it, banking some $20,000. Disregard what we think this absolutely proves once and for all about women poker players, it ended up being extra douchey as the lady Korotki beat, Last Woman StandingTM Nicole Rowe, was just diagnosed with breast cancer. According to some friends at the Borgata, Korotki, a lawyer from New Jersey, also acted “like an ass” in the process of winning the tournament. Read more about it here. Photos of Korotki in the below gallery. Props at least on the cute A wife…Barry G would be proud.
On with the news:
:: 888 partners with Harrah’s to provide its “online services,” clearly paving the way for the owner of the WSOP brand to enter the online gaming space. [link]
:: Jason Newitt, the guy who accidentally forwarded Howard Lederer’s “freak and a weird dude” email about Jimmy Fricke to Jimmy Fricke, gets all Clonie Gowen-ish and sues his former employer. [link]
:: If you’re into following online poker tournament results, knock yourself out with this WCOOP recap. [link]
:: Teddy KGB was named as one of the Top 15 All Time Worst Movie Accents. [link]
:: Ok now let’s get those Abraham Korotki images out of your head with some NSFW pics of Olga Farmaki here.
Tagged as: 888, Jason Newitt, Olga Farmaki, 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
Somewhere in the above photo, there are topless girls trying to get guys to pay them for sex. Allegedly.
If you attended the
2008 WSOP or
2009 WSOP, the
Sapphire Pool girls were absolutely unavoidable.
They were the first “display” of sorts as you walked down the hallway to the Amazon Room. If you were at the WSOP daily, it’s likely that you turned away at least 747 attempts of to hand you a Sapphire Pool flier.
Who knew so many of the girls working that booth were working girls? Allegedly.
Last week the Sapphire Pool was shut down and arrests were made for prostitution and drugs. Since it’s highly possible at least a few of our readers were approached by the below girls, or at least saw them topless, here’s a photo dump of the prostitution arrests (via Las Vegas Sun).
Eeesh.
Tagged as: las vegas, Rio, Sapphire Pool, WSOP
Comments
