WSOP Europe! Even the name sings.
Those who invented poker tournaments were smart. Those who invented BRACELETS were brilliant. WSOP Europe! Even the name sings. The news this last week, after nearly forty years, is that the World Series of Poker will finally be the WORLD Series of Poker. This news will not be happily received by the World Poker Tour and The European Poker Tour managements. The big dog has just moved into your neighborhood. Small cats better look out. It's amazing, really. Who would have thought all the macho guys over the years would get so in touch with their feminine sides that they would want to encrust their forearms with bling? It's past time for one of the natural bracelet wearers, a woman, to win one of those bangles. Will the first woman winner of a WSOP bracelet be European? For sure, I underestimated WSOP Commissioner Pollack. I'd been under the impression that Jeffrey was passing through poker on his way from NASCAR to Bud Selig's seat in Major League Baseball. But he's impressed me with WSOP Europe, a classic marketing 'line extension' of poker's premier franchise. Pollock showed me he means business in poker.
The WSOP in Europe will be a huge success. Even bigger, potentially, than the WSOP Circuit is here. Poker is going back to the home of Charlemagne, the first King in the deck of cards. Poker is going back to a continent where the moralists aren't on the rampage against online poker. Hence, there can be unlimited cheap satellites to enter the European events. Big fields can be expected in time. The first WSOP Europe events will be in London, starting September 6th of this year.Way cool. As an example of what's possible for Europeans, PokerStars.com has been running exclusive tournaments for Germany-only residents for the last several months. It's an idea that could eventually lead to poker becoming an Olympic team event. Why not? Not athletic enough? I don't agree. The stamina to concentrate for multiple twelve-hour days is an athletic achievement. While America is closing its doors to the game it invented and made spectacular, Europe is opening its doors as wide as possible, welcoming the orphaned game. After seeing so much tax revenue go elsewhere, England has offered online poker sites a home for only a small 2% fee. Might be worth it get to live in London, right? It's obvious that all the momentum for poker is toward Europe now. But Asia is coming. Big Time. At the recent Tournament Directors Association meeting I was told of a new poker magazine that will launch, written in Chinese, and distributed to 500 internet cafes around China. This, combined with the enormous wealth that's heading to Macao to gamble, will likely send Asian poker into the stratosphere. If he's one in a million, are there 5,000 Chinese poker players like Jamie Gold? WSOP Asia. That sings as well, doesn't it? Today, Las Vegas. Tomorrow, the world. This last weekend over at NBC the suits have to be ecstatic about the results from this year's National Heads Up tournament. The Poker Brat, first year winner, Phil Hellmuth, didn't play, but the expanded field of 64 players had nine female starters along with eight former WSOP main event champs. So there was an added dimension of 'Battle of the Sexes' in several matches. Let's see. Do you think NBC liked having Shannon Elizabeth get all the way to the Final Four? How about having the bombshell from the movie American Pie beating four top men (Rene Angelil, Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein and Humberto Brenes) before losing to the tournament winner, Paul Wasicka? When televised later this year, NBC could have the 40 million viewers they had the first year of this tournament - second only to NFL football on the network.
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| Paul Wasicka, 2007 NBC Heads-Up Champion | |
Tournament winner, Wasicka, is turning into the real deal. There are scores of players who have made the WSOP main event final table only to never be heard of again. Wasicka, on the other hand, was fourth at the LA Poker Challenge then three days later won the Heads Up title. This is after finishing second to Jamie Gold last year and holding his own against the sharks for cash on the High Stakes Poker TV show. Impressive guy. Very quiet and disciplined. I don't think he'll be fading away soon, do you?Meanwhile, in other main news of the week, the World Poker Tour continues to prosper even while TV ratings for the broadcasts have fallen on the Travel Channel. An all-time $10K WPT high of 791 players showed up in LA at the Commerce Casino to plunk down their $10,000 and live the dream of WPT stardom. Showing again how important live tournament experience is nowadays in these big fields of pros and amateurs, a guy who had never played in a live tournament in his life (career earnings $0) won it all on a late rush against the prohibitive chip leader J. C. Tran. Eric Hershler did, his first time out, what thousands of players have been trying to do without success for five years...win a WPT title. Incredible. Hershler was buried in the pack all week. 30th at the end of Day Three. Short-stacked until the last hour of a five day tournament. Obviously no one knew him, and he only knew the big-name players from TV. It was a perfect disguise in which to avoid detection as a threat. Three-handed at the final table, Eric won a couple of his all-in hands to double up against J. C. Tran. Suddenly, miraculously, the complete live tournament novice had a slight chip lead on Tran when he picked up the cooler. J 6 of Diamonds for Hershler. A 7 offsuit for Tran. The flop came a killer for the experienced pro. A J 6. Tran couldn't get away from top pair heads-up, and Hershler had his golden two pair.
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| Eric Hershler, 2007 LA Poker Classic Winner | |
The J 6 of Diamonds can now be called "The Hershler." Eric has won $2.4 million in every live tournament he's played in. I think his average will go down from here.After several miserable months during our winter of discontent in poker, spring is bringing a glorious vision of a bright future. Please come back next week for more of HERE AND NOW. Mike Paulle
Any questions or comments are appreciated: mikepaulle@pokerpages.com |
