World Series of Poker finals show game's popularity hasn't waned

16.07.2007, Lesen Sie hier den Bericht über «World Series of Poker finals show game's popularity hasn't waned».

CHICAGO (MarketWatch) -- Only nine players will compete for the top prize of just over $8 million at the World Series of Poker's final table Tuesday afternoon but plenty of other folks -- from casino operators to chocolate makers -- will cash in as well as America's fascination with the game remains high. A crackdown on Internet gambling and oversaturation of poker shows on television pose threats to the pop-culture phenomenon. But even as some of the more marginal programming has fallen off the cable box, top-tier poker properties such as the World Series attract thousands of would-be champs and remain in high demand with sponsors and broadcasters.

At the same time, casinos continue to build more and better card rooms to serve the burgeoning crowds of those who prefer to pit their skills not against the house but others just like themselves. There were 54,000 registrants for the 55 qualifying events in the World Series of Poker this year, up form 48,000 in 2006, with 6,358 making it to the main event. The field has been getting whittled down since June when the tournament kicked off at Harrah's Rio casino just off the Las Vegas Strip. "That's the largest field in history and a strong affirmation that [poker] is alive and well," said Jeffrey Pollack, commissioner of the World Series of Poker and vice president of sports and entertainment for Harrah's Entertainment (HET : Harrah's Entertainment, Inc), which bought the tournament in 2003. "There were a lot of people predicting we would have trouble but the room and halls have been packed since June 1."

Much of the poker craze can be traced to ESPN and its innovative "card cam," which gives viewers a tabletop sneak peak at the players' hidden "hole" cards. Starting next month and running through October, ESPN will air 32 hours of original 2007 World Series- related programming this year. It takes more than a month after the tournament to edit all the footage and splice in the card-cam shots. The Disney-owned sports network (DIS : Walt Disney Company) is offering a commercial- free pay-per-view live peek at the final table -- sans card cams and commentary -- for $19.95.

Plenty of table play Even when the TV cameras are turned off, poker is doing well for the casino industry. According to the American Gaming Association, revenue from poker in Nevada hit $160.8 million last year, up from $140.2 million in 2005 and more than double the 2003 figure. Figures form New Jersey show a similar trend, as do those from California and Florida, which allow card rooms. The revenue may be a drop in the bucket compared with what the big gambling halls rake in from slots and other games of chance but, unlike blackjack or baccarat, the casino can't lose even in the short-term: Typically, a card room in a casino will charge players by the length of time they play while also taking a cut of every pot.

"Poker itself is not a major profit center for casinos, but it can help define a property as being 'cool' and attractive to a younger demographic," said Joseph Weinert, an analyst with consultancy Spectrum Gaming. "And poker players tend to be more low- maintenance -- that is, low-cost -- in terms of the perks they expect. Further, they often bring friends or companions who will hit the slots or traditional casino tables while they play." At Boyd Gaming (BYD : Boyd Gaming Corporation) , which has a handful of casinos in Nevada, along with riverboats in the South and Midwest, and co-owns the Borgata in Atlantic City with MGM Mirage (MGM : MGM Mirage), "poker brings a lot of energy and traffic to our casinos, similar to the sportsbooks," said spokesman Rob Stillwell And he gives credit to the World Series and other high-profile events like the World Poker Tour (WPTE : wpt enterprises inc com) for bolstering not just the take in his company's poker parlors but the industry as a whole: "It helps raise the awareness and public acceptance of gaming."

Loyal fans The World Series of Poker first aired on ESPN in 1993 and will be a staple on the network through at least 2010, which is when the current contract with Harrah's expires. It does not pull huge ratings, averaging just about 1 million households. However Scott Hanley, ESPN's senior director of programming and acquisitions, noted that its numbers hold into the fall "during one of the busiest sports periods of the year" with Major League Baseball's playoffs, regular NFL games and big Nascar events. "The sponsors love the property with its loyal fan base and great time slot," he added. It is also cheap to produce relative to much of the network's other fare and is "a good business model for us, a perfect entity for what we are doing with multiplatform programming."

The tournament's title sponsor is Milwaukee's Best Light beer, a unit of SABMiller (UK:SAB: news, chart, profile) . The brew builds an entire marketing campaign around the World Series of Poker, from packaging to consumer promotions (it runs a contest where 10 winners get a chance to compete for the top prize) to ad buys on ESPN.

"We know we are an economy brew, not the highest profile in the world," said Tyler Woods, senior associate brand manager for Milwaukee's Best, but research has shown its poker-focused campaign has built brand awareness. "We've been very happy with the World Series of Poker. It is the premier poker property and really dwarfs the others in terms of viewership -- and it has that history." The event is the only sports marketing vehicle the brand uses and the company puts a lot of resources behind it. Woods declined to give specific details but said that the company spends "somewhere in the middle" of a range of $1 million to $10 million. Pollack said the tournament has "more sponsors than ever before" with new ones including Hertz (HTZ : (25.29, -0.27, -1.1%) , Hershey's (HSY : Hershey Foods Corporation ( Last: 51.10+0.29+0.57%) and Kraft's (KFT : kraft foods inc cl a (Last: 35.89+1.09+3.13%) Planters nuts coming on board.

Sports marketing bonanza Pollack was hired two years ago with a background in sports marketing, having worked for both Nascar and the National Basketball Association. Harrah's has also brought in other outside executives, including veterans of the NFL and Disney, to expand the footprint of the World Series. "Think of us as a 38-year-old start-up," Pollack said. "For the first 36 years, it was a poker tournament with not a lot of ancillary business activity." Now, though, the operator of its Web site pays the company a rights fee, it has mobile games, multiple sponsorship deals and a licensing business. It is going international as well, launching the World Series of Poker Europe in September. Pollack declined to say whether the World Series is profitable for Harrah's yet, noting that "we have been investing in the business more than anything" and a Harrah's corporate spokesman did not return a phone call. But he sees a bright future: "This is basically an intellectual property business and an entirely new way for a gaming company to innovate and break through the clutter," he said.

Über World Series of Poker (WSOP):

Die World Series of Poker, oder kurz WSOP, ist eine Reihe von Pokerturnieren, die jedes Jahr in Las Vegas ausgetragen werden.

Die World Series of Poker finden jährlich im Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas statt.

Die World Series of Poker ist die grösste und prestigeträchtigste Pokerveranstaltung der Welt. Mit einer umfassenden Liste von Turnieren in allen wichtigen Pokervarianten ist die WSOP das am längsten laufende Pokerturnier der Welt und geht auf das Jahr 1970 zurück.

Darüber hinaus hat die WSOP bahnbrechende Allianzen in den Bereichen Rundfunk, digitale Medien und Unternehmenssponsoring gebildet und die Marke mit der Einführung der WSOP Europe im Jahr 2007 und der WSOP Asia-Pacific im Jahr 2013 sowie der WSOP International Circuit Series im Jahr 2015 erfolgreich international ausgebaut.

Ursprünglich wurden die Tourniere in Las Vegas Downtown im Binion's Horseshoe Casino ausgetragen. Im Jahre 2005 kaufte Caesars den Brand WSOP. Seit diesem Datum werden die Pokermeisterschaften im Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino durchgeführt.

Gewinner der letzten Jahre des WSOP-Championship-Mainevent

2020: Damian Salas 2019: Hossein Ensan 2018: John Cynn 2017: Scott Blumstein 2016: Qui Nguyen 2015: Joe McKeehen 2014: Martin Jacobson 2013: Ryan Riess 2012: Greg Merson 2011: Pius Heinz 2010: Jonathan Duhamel 2009: Joe Cada 2008: Peter Eastgate 2007: Jerry Yang 2006: Jamie Gold 2005: Joe Hachem 2004: Greg "Fossil Man" Raymer 2003: Chris Moneymaker 2002: Robert Varkonyi 2001: Carlos Mortensen 2000: Chris "Jesus" Ferguson 1999: J.J. "Noel" Furlong 1998: Scotty Nguyen 1997: Stu Ungar 1996: Huck Seed 1995: Dan Harrington 1994: Russ Hamilton 1993: Jim Bechtel 1992: Hamid Dastmalchi 1991: Brad Daugherty 1990: Mansour Matloubi 1989: Phil Hellmuth Jr. 1988: Johnny Chan 1987: Johnny Chan 1986: Berry Johnston 1985: Bill Smith 1984: Jack Keller 1983: Tom McEvoy 1982: Jack Strauss 1981: Stu Ungar 1980: Stu Ungar 1979: Hal Fowler 1978: Bobby Baldwin 1977: Doyle Brunson 1976: Doyle Brunson 1975: Sailor Roberts 1974: Johnny Moss 1973: Puggy Pearson 1972: Amarillo Slim Preston 1971: Johnny Moss 1970: Johnny Moss

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