ESPN and Harrah’s entertainment’s decision to not shoot the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E World Championship on Saturday night is the main reasoning behind the lack of entries in the prestigious event. With many of the world’s poker stars turning up for the event, regarded as the most coveted of all the W.S.O.P events for the poker professional after the main event got flocked by qualifiers, the event would have been an excellent show case for the many recognisable faces of the game.
The likes of Chris Ferguson, Doyle Brunson, Scotty Nguyen, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, Annie Duke, Mike Matusow and Gus Hansen were all present at the felt with fans railing two to three deep to catch their favourite players in action. The constant flashing of the cameras made the tournament look more like a stunning red carpet entry and a progression of stars rather than a serious poker tournament.
This year’s H.O.R.S.E tournament was down 30% compared to last year’s entry, with the news clearly painted on the faces of the organisers. The organisers had to delay the event by an hour from 12 noon on Friday to 1pm so that more players could register late, with 35 players registering when play had started to cap the registration at level 2 of 94 players. Some look at this as a sign of a lagging economy, whilst others feel that promoters could have used more techniques to attract more players and sponsorship dollars. There is always next year to learn from this year’s mistakes.
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