GG, Jeffrey Pollack
Sunday, November 15, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
It seems with poker that every time we get good news it’s countered with some bad news as well. And that happened this week as well–just a few days we all tuned in to ESPN to watch Joe Cada win the Main Event WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack announced that he was stepping down. Pollack helmed the World Series of Poker the past four years and in that time the WSOP enjoyed record-breaking attendance every year, even in the face of the UIGEA and a global economic meltdown. More than just about anything poker players love to complain, but the last two years people were often hard-pressed to come up with something to bitch about. Pollack always seemed to keep an open mind and was receptive to new ideas, proof of which can be found in the positive changes that took place under his watch.
First and foremost of those changes was the decision to delay the Main Event final table until November. That wasn’t exactly a popular move when it was announced (I wasn’t a fan at the start) but there’s no denying that the November Nine brought far more attention to the final table than it enjoyed in years past, the TV ratings jumped dramatically, all the players who made the final table got to enjoy a flurry of media attention (and the chance to score some endorsements) that were often enjoyed by just the final few at the end. There are still those who don’t like the delay but Pollack and his team took a chance, tried something different, and from the scene at the Penn & Teller theater you can’t deny that it generated a lot of excitement.
Pollack often stressed the word “WORLD” when discussion the World Series of Poker and he helped take the brand international with the World Series of Poker-Europe. Moving the WSOP across the Pond was another controversial move that has paid big dividends, with stellar fields and huge prize pools that attracted many European pros who don’t come to Vegas for the Series. Not that fields at the Rio lacked an international flavor–during last year’s Series players from 115 different countries took to the felt. Those countries, and their triumphant native sons and daughters, were honored thanks to another change that occurred under Pollack’s watch, the daily bracelet ceremony where the previous days winners were brought up on a dais in the middle of the Amazon Roo, introduced to the crowd, and then everyone stood for their national anthem. It was a cheesy-sounding idea that ended up being, to my mind, a huge success. It gave the fans a chance to take pics and gawk at the latest poker champion and when the anthems were played just about EVERYONE stood. Don’t discount how remarkable it is to see 2,000 poker players doing the same thing willingly, especially an act of respect.
But for those who aren’t as enthused about such touchy-feely moments Pollack oversaw some changes that had some real meat to them. A few years ago some players complained that the WSOP was turning into the “World Series of Hold-Em” many non-Hold-Em game were added to the slate, including the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event. There were a number of mixed-game events, some of them with low buy-ins to attract more players to these games. If I recall correctly the $1,500 H.O.R.S.E. event (where my friend Lana bubbled the final table) had close to 800 players. 800 players for a H.O.R.S.E. tournament, that’s remarkable.
From a personal standpoint Pollack was always a friend to the poker media. Many poker scribes have a slightly, ah, irreverent take on the poker world, yet Pollack not only let us do our thing, he actually seemed to enjoy the freewheeling aspect of much of the coverage. And he wasn’t one to duck the media when things weren’t going good–on what Pollack described as the most difficult day of his career, the day when Harrah’s had to turn away hundreds of players on Day 1D of the Main Event, Pollack walked over to Media Row after the contentious meeting with the shut-out players to chat with us about what all went on. He talked about the decision to not allow alternates, or an impromptu “Day 1E” at night, or to squeeze the players into any open space they could find. And he was very resolute when he said, “This will not happen again next year. We will find a way to fix this”.
And so it’s too bad that Pollack won’t be around next year to see that those changes are made. In their initial statement Harrah’s said that there were no plans to replace Pollack, which to my mind in ominous. As I’ve already said Pollack was always open to new ideas and was responsible for some of the major positive changes to the WSOP over the last four years. If there’s no plans to replace him, that could mean that Harrah’s either thinks that the WSOP is good enough as it is and is content to coast, or that they think innovation isn’t something the WSOP no longer needs. Jeffrey Pollack brought more than an almost Continental-chic to the role of WSOP Commissioner, he brought a creative and entrepreneurial attitude to a game that is often quite hidebound. In an interview he did with Wicked Chops Poker Pollack said he wasn’t sure if he would stay in the poker industry, and it sounds as if he won’t have to wait long before taking on whatever challenge catches his fancy. Hopefully the World Series of Poker won’t find itself missing Jeffrey Pollack more than he misses it.
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Tags: 2009 wsop, jeffrey pollack, jeffrey pollack steps down, world series of poker, world series of poker commissioner, WSOP, wsop commissioner
