Harrah’s Run by Idiots
Nov 12th, 2005 by Mark
As I have said many times before Harrah’s is run by a bunch of clowns. Those of us who live in Vegas or have lived there, understand how poor the management is at Harrah’s. Sadly “Wall Street” is clue-less.
This past weekend Harrah’s ran the WSOP TOC (Tournament of Champions) which was won by Mike Matasouw. Congrats Mikey. However Harrah’s made several misrepresentations to the players, and they are upset.
It was supposed to be a tournament for players who have earned points during year playing in TOC tournaments. Harrah’s changed the rules and added Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, and Phil Hellmuth. Phil ended up taking third place and $250,000. See the problem?
The other misrepresentation is that it was to be winner take all. Clearly that is not what happened.
Why did this happen? Well this might explain it.
First off, Harrah’s, strangely, was looking at the television nature of the event as well as a possible long term addition to the game of poker.
I completely disagree that statement, but it is part of the paragraph I am quoting. They were looking to eliminate their exposure and generate more upside by not having to cover the pay-out.
It seems that, just before the start of the TOC, a sponsor stepped up in the form of Pepsi Cola, looking to promote a new soft drink. They were willing to front the entire $2 million purse, which the Harrah’s management was more than happy to accept, and Pepsi requested that the threesome mentioned be added to the roster of players. Harrah’s accepted the move without consulting those participating.
So Harrah’s was bribed to make modifications. I wonder if ‘gaming’ (Nevada Gaming Commission) has been consulted about this?
Many of the players have been openly hostile to Harrah’s about their “lies”, as some have put it. The message boards have been buzzing about it. I wonder if Harrah’s will get the point.
Poker tourneys are funded by the players. We don’t need the WSOP. Harrah’s had better wake up to that fact.
Like I said a year ago, Harrah’s is bad for gaming and bad for Poker.
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