[bogey1]

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How much does it cost to make Wheel of fortune? How much do the players win? And how much does the show make?

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Completely apples and oranges comparison. Wheel of Fortune contestants aren't paying to play and aren't creating the pot that's there to win.

Poker is a competition where the players provide the prize money. The WSOP/WPT producers are making money off of these players without contributing anything to the players. Yes, TV broadcasts have made poker more popular, but that's irrelevant. Whether 10 or 10,000 people join a tournament, it's all prize money from the people playing.

If I organized the tiddlywinks championship and TV wanted coverage, I'd take some profit from the broadcast rights and distribute some to the prize fund. If the TV coverage folks said "No, you can't have any money", I'd tell them to stuff it. Why should I let them film my tiddlywinks championship, intrude on my players, and let them take all the profit?

WSOP/WPT would have nothing without the players, yet pay the players nothing. Players would be fine without the WSOP/WPT as the casinos would still run tourneys all the time.

Fossilman nailed it before though. In most other competitions, the competitors have a union that helps negotiate the split the competitors get for the broadcasting rights. Poker players don't and thus get nothing.