FULL TILT POKER BLOG

#930 – Jeffrey Pollack: The World Series of Poker Will Miss Him – More Than We Realize

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It’s been nearly a month since Jeffrey Pollack resigned as the Commissioner of the World Series of Poker and I’m just now getting around to writing about it. Partly, this has been because of the rush of other assignments: finishing up my Final Table work (which still isn’t done) and my trip to LA. But mostly, it has taken me this long to accept it: Jeffrey Pollack is really gone from the World Series of Poker. It may take a long time before we realize how much we’ve lost.

I didn’t start out liking Jeffery Pollack. Like most other poker players in 2006, I generally regarded Harrah’s as interlopers or, at best, undeserving beneficiaries of poker’s success. And I felt this way specifically about Jeffery Pollack.

Here’s what Pollack had going against him: (1) He had no background in poker; (2) He was known as a marketing whiz; (3) He looked like a marketing whiz; and (4) He appeared tailor-made to be shoved into the role of figuring out how to milk the WSOP cash-cow for his corporate bosses at Harrah’s.

Of course, Pollack succeeded in his marketing objectives. He immediately brought in Ty Stewart, a fellow sports marketing professional, and the two of them put the World Series on professional footing with regard to merchandising, sponsors, and related “branding” matters. (For example, it was under Pollack’s regime that the concept of “The Bracelet” took on its enormous symbolic significance.)

His list of accomplishments, however, is much longer and more varied: an expanded multimedia presence for the World Series, World Series of Poker-Europe, the Player Advisory Committee, the $50K HORSE and the Chip Reece Award, initial steps to develop the Poker Hall of Fame, redesign of the bracelets, the bracelet ceremony, moving the Final Table to November, overseeing a phenomenally successful 2009 WSOP despite a worldwide recession, and linking the World Series of Poker to charitable causes.

Of course, skeptics can look at most of these and see the work of a corporate functionary. Moving the Final Table to November made money for TV. WSOP-Europe was another revenue source. The expansion of bracelet events and the $50K HORSE just made more money from player-entry fees.

That’s too skeptical for me – and I retired after a successful career as a plaintiff’s lawyer. We live in a capitalist society (thank god). The World Series of Poker is a for-profit operation. The WSOP was the brainchild of Benny Binion and Jack Binion, and nobody would accuse those guys of ignoring the bottom line. Clearly, there is a middle ground in which the World Series of Poker can operate at a profit and still serve its customers, the players. (Extreme skepticism in this case is, by the way, actually the mark of a sucker. Poker players have a long and sorry history of complaining about everything – but doing nothing about it.)

I credit Jeffery Pollack with finding the sweet spot, that place from which Harrah’s could maximize its profits and asset values while making the World Series of Poker a more enriching experience for the players. It’s fundamental in business that a manager has to balance the interests of his bosses and his customers, and Pollack & Co. generally accomplished this. His team was not afraid to innovate, but it also wasn’t afraid to admit mistakes. I think even most of Pollack’s critics would have to agree that the Series got better each year of his leadership and, in almost every instance, he tried to fix any problems that developed.

To me, several of his achievements were simply mammoth. Like the Player Advisory Committee (PAC). I am sure a lot of people thought the PAC was window dressing. But it came to be stocked with many of the most experienced and knowledgeable men and women in tournament poker and played a significant role in virtually every poker-related decision made in connection with the Series. Or running a successful Series in 2009 despite the recession and all the pressure on him to trim the Series’ profile in advance of a potentially weak market.

There’s some confusion over what will happen with Jeffrey’s position. After his resignation on November 13, a spokesperson for Harrah’s said, “There is no intention at this time to replace the commissioner role.” I have no idea what that means. Does it mean they regard Pollack as “irreplaceable”? Does it mean that they are no longer going to have a WSOP commissioner? Does it mean that other people at Harrah’s will take his responsibilities?

I’m sure the World Series can go on without a replacement for Jeffrey Pollack. He built a strong team and Jack Effel can run the tournament while Ty Stewart continues managing the brand. I happen to like both of those guys a lot, but it won’t be the same.

There were rumors – or hopes – that new Hall of Famer Mike Sexton would take over the position of commissioner. Bad idea. What really made Jeffery Pollack irreplaceable was the very fact that he was Harrah’s man. Choosing a “player advocate” is nothing compared to having the corporation’s own representative weighing your interests. That’s why it will take some time to realize what we have lost.

After Pollack’s administration, the players expect a voice and I’m sure will continue to have a voice. But who is going to listen to that voice? Who is secure enough to in his corporate position where he will really care about what makes players unhappy? The PAC isn’t going anywhere but who will they find better than Pollack to give their input and know that it is being honestly considered? (In some ways, it has been to the players’ benefit that the head of the World Series was both a corporate representative and not a “poker man.” A player advocate would have trouble making headway with the corporation and a poker insider would potentially resist player input.)

This could all work out fine. The World Series is strong financially and generally perceived as a positive experience by players. The initiatives of the last three years are strongly established. Whoever the players go to with their gripes and suggestions may be honestly willing to listen and act.

But that’s what we already had with Jeffrey Pollack. For the future, who knows what we’ll have?

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