Professional Players boycotting WPT events

[g3rkshz]

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I think I speak for many 2+2ers when I ask who the [censored] is Richard Brodie

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Brodie is a super-wealthy former Microsoft guy who now apparently plays big $$$ online poker under the name QuietLion. And like Punker said, if you google his name, you'll find he's got a blog that talks about a lot of his poker experiences.

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Seriously though, who the [censored] is Richard Brodie.

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apparently, some guy who didn't get laid in high school and has now a ton of money (obviously).

[NicksDad1970]

On Brodie's home page after I googled him has a FAQ.

One asked : What do you do now?

His answer : I'm trying to learn to play poker well enough to get on the World Poker Tour. You can read about my exploits at www.liontales.com.

Maybe that's before the boycot

Then I read this off his blog :

What's up with the World Poker Tour?
Please release me
Astute readers will notice I haven't played in the recent World Poker Tour events. I thought I'd fill in some background on what's going on. The bottom line is I no longer think it's a good deal.


I first got into poker when I saw my friend Andy Bloch on season one of the World Poker Tour. It looked like fun, like something I could learn to do well, and a hobby that would make, not consume, money. I taught myself to play, leaned on my smart friends for coaching and tips, and jumped into the shark-infested waters. I've had only moderate success, but no less than could be expected with someone of average or slightly above-average skill. Regardless of how good you are, you have to get lucky to win these things.


The Fox Sports Network decided to join the fray, as did the Ultimate Poker Challenge on WGN and syndicated stations, making for many more opportunities to play televised poker. The unlikely Game Show Network threw in their gauntlet. Suddenly it wasn't imperative to fly to Paris to play poker. There were plenty of events in friendly Las Vegas.


When Harrah's jumped into the picture, adding money to the WSOP Circuit tournaments in the form of a freeroll and allowing players to wear sponsor's logos, their ESPN contract immediately jumped them ahead of WPT in almost every respect. World Poker Tour married itself to the marginal Travel Channel, meaning even if you could get it on your cable TV, it wasn't being aired in bars almost 24 hours a day. Sponsor logos were allowed, meaning regular players could get paid extra for appearing on TV. The WPT was making itself less and less attractive. I won't even mention losing Shana Hiatt.


To counter the perception of the WPT giving nothing back, they created the Professional Poker Tour, a series of freerolls where small logos were allowed. We all loved this, but they have been unable to sell the first five shows and have postponed indefinitely plans for a second season. With the PPT out of the picture, WPT finally relented and allowed small, pre-approved logos at the final table. Financially, this was not very significant to the players as the WPT events are very large and therefore the chance of making a final table is very small.


The straw that broke the camel's back for me, as well as Andy, Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, and some others, was the WPT's release form. From the beginning Andy, a lawyer, had complained that it was overly broad. But discussions with Steve Lipscomb, creator of WPT, and other personnel assured me that it was simply a standard release allowing them to air and promote the program. I signed it many times based on that assurance. Then WPT decided to put a banner up on their online poker room with the likenesses of three poker pros without either their permission or compensation. It was quickly removed when they complained, but Lipscomb, in a letter to players, asserted it was removed "not because we were legally obligated to, but because the players asked us to." That was way out of line with the assurances Lipscomb had given me in private. Apparently he believed signing the release allowed him to legally use our names and likenesses for any purpose whatsoever, but in his great benevolence he offered to take our feelings into consideration when making his decision.


He goes on to say in the letter that since we have signed the release in the past, signing it again would have no effect. Legal advisors have told me this is untrue, especially since they have now changed the language in the release, and Lipscomb, an attorney, should know better. Lipscomb's claim that it is a "standard release" is simply untrue. Compare it to the ESPN release for the World Series. Andy Bloch has written a clear article about it.


And so I'm not playing in the World Poker Tour until things change. It's not a boycott. I don't think they'll miss me. It just doesn't seem like a good deal.


But Ultimate Poker Challenge season three—look out!

[MicroBob]

That's some pretty interesting stuff imo.

However, I do hope that he's being mildly sarcastic regarding the UPC bit since that is show that is even less known (and has less money) than WPT.


He is absolutely correct that WPT being tied into Travel Channel really hurts it.

I believe Lipscomb turned down ESPN for his WPT because he was able to market Wednesday night as 'Poker Night' on the Travel Channel and that appealed to him.

Well, ESPN would probably have shown more WPT re-runs than Travel Channel does. As it appears now that ESPN barely even cares what day it is to show their episodes over and over and over again.


They did indeed get things started with their Travel Channel program, that's for sure.
But now it is just old news.

You can be on a big channel that will show your programming at random times...and maybe only 1 or 2x a week...BUT it will still get viewed.
Or you can try to get something going with a smaller channel that will show your programming over and over again.
WPT on TLC has the worst of both worlds now imo.
They are on a smaller channel AND they aren't getting shown that frequently (twice 2x on Wednesday and 2x on Saturday).


His point about ESPN always being on in bars (and it's also one of the first destinations for many male viewers immediately upon turning on their TV at home) is extremely valid.
Had a burger at a sports-type bar a couple weeks ago and they naturally have ESPN/WSOP on.
All these people young and old naturally are looking at the TV as their drinking or eating just because they're used to watching the TV. Sound is off but they can read the closed-captioning as Matusow and the Sheik get into their little war of worlds. Many of these people might not have a clue of what they're watching for the most part...but they know that the personalities make for compelling television.


On WPT on TLC, they are significantly less likely to just casually make it past that programming at all.


I don't know if the WPT is 'dying' or not. They have some contracts with some pretty nice casinos...certainly nicer than many of the WSOP-circuit places.
And maybe they can get more exposure on more nights on TLC...or maybe they can move to a different network sometime (but I thought they just renewed with TLC, so I really don't know).

But I do know that fewer and fewer non-players are catching any of the WPT episodes anymore...and everybody in the universe knows that ESPN is showing a helluva lot of poker.

[ECDub]

So after all these high profile players boycott...then what?? They come crawling back after they discover life goes on without them. I enjoy watching the WPT events and I could care less if Negreanu or one of those guys made the final table.

It's like a lumberjack boycotting the woods isn't it? Makes no sense to me. All these contracts they are worried about wouldn't even exist without the WPT. Classic case of biting the hand that feeds you here. Be interesting to see how it turns out.

My guess is the pro players discover the world does not revolve around them and suddenly come to the conclusion that the release form is not that big of a deal afterall.

[MCS]

The WPT is not the sole source of income for these guys. There are plenty of cash games and big non-WPT tourneys.

[Quicksilvre]

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The WPT is not the sole source of income for these guys. There are plenty of cash games and big non-WPT tourneys.

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Which, of course, is why nothing is likely to change--neither side of the equation needs the other one. The pros have the cash games and the WPT can just show amateurs and have the same ratings.

[Sponger.]

So this Richard Broadie looks like he just wants to be a sponsor whore on TV? Why not just play poker?

[MicroBob]

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I enjoy watching the WPT events and I could care less if Negreanu

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Not to nit-pick too badly or anything...but I saw Negreneau strutting around Tunica last week the night before the WPT event there (they were having an opening night reception). So I'm almost positive that he played in that event and isn't part of any boycot.


And for the other players, I'm not so sure it's as much a 'boycot' as it is a situation where there are SO many options for them now that they are just preferring to play some of the other ones.



I do think that some of these players don't seem to realize that it's often-times more a situation of the 'show making them' as opposed to 'them making the show'.

Many of these guys wouldn't have the book and other endorsement deals that they have without the TV stuff.
So regardless of whether WPT speeds up the structure at the final-table and perhaps takes advantage of their name stars...it is pretty obvious that they (and ESPN/WSOP) are the ones who made these guys stars in the first place.



Outside the poker-world most people did not know who Robert Varkoni was in 2002.


In fact, when I started playing poker in early 2003 I had never heard of Sklansky, Hellmuth or Brunson (and I think the name Johnny Chan would have been vaguely familiar since I had seen Rounders).


Obviously everybody and their brother knows who Hellmuth and Brunson are...even if they don't play any poker at all.

[Quicksilvre]

It's not fair. You get to make all of the long, thoughtful posts on 2+2, and I'm reduced to doing all of the FYPs and SIIHPs. How do you do it?

[maurile]

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It's like a lumberjack boycotting the woods isn't it?

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Uh, no.