Reader Mail: WSOP Madness!

Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Reader Mail

Reader Mail – the journey continues. The World Series of Poker is set to kick off in just a couple of days, so how about an all WSOP flavored mailbag to get you in the right mood for the impending madness? Email us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with any comments, questions, or ill-advised inquiries about any subjects that have nothing to do with poker. It’s time to roll and rock:

Do you have any thoughts on the Main Event final table being moved to November? Seems like a bad move to me…

This topic has been addressed by many smarter people than myself already, but if I must add my thoughts to this already toxic brew than I shall not back down. Here’s what I think: I have no idea. It seems like it could be a really good idea in some ways. I mean, the potential to shine the spotlight on poker is an undeniable plus. The more attention poker gets, the more fish come swimming into the ocean, the more profit there is to be made. It’s just that simple.

On the other hand, the potential for this to be an unequivocal disaster is also enormous. Never mind that on the surface this seems to be nothing but a clever money-making scheme concocted by Harrah’s and ESPN, let’s put that to the side for now. It just feels like there are too many things that could go wrong – one of the players could die or get arrested, the players could collude with one another, etc., etc., etc. Another argument against this unprecedented move is that it changes the very fabric of the game. Players can get coaching from the best teachers in the world and have a completely different game by the time the final table rolls around. You take away the exhaustion factor of these guys grinding their way through two straight weeks of poker and being on the verge of taking home poker’s top prize. There’s an ebb and flow to every major poker event that will be missing from the biggest tournament in the world, and that cannot go unnoticed.

With all that said, I’m still all in favor of giving this thing a shot. What’s the worst that could happen? If it’s a big time disaster, then we just switch back to the traditional format the next year, right? At the very least, this should be a very interesting experiment.

What’s the deal with the MSOP? I read about it in one of the forums, but didn’t quite get what the point was.

The Mini Series of Poker (hereby known as the MSOP) is a series of low-roller events that are based on the actual WSOP taking place on the same day. The MSOP is just a fun way of giving all us cheap and broke degenerates a way to be involved with the Series, even if we can’t make it to Vegas for all the fun and games in person. Each event will be 1/100^th of the buy-in of the real WSOP event, so there should be something for everyone. I apologize for going into marketing mode here, but this promotion is actually a cool thing and I have no qualms about pimping it a little bit. Check out the full schedule here to pick which events you feel like giving a shot. And did I mention the bitchin’, fully blinged out watch you get if you win one of the events? Pure class, IMO…

What would you do if you won the $10 Million Main Event Mania?

Excellent question. Of course, winning Main Event Mania means that I’ve also won the Main Event − that’s another $7 million or so (hopefully more, maybe less) to add to my ridiculous pile of cash. So let’s say I’m holding on to a cool $17 million, what do I do with it?

First things first, I take the money to the bank and change it all into one dollar bills (and no, this isn’t going where you think it’s going). Then, I take those 17 million one dollar bills and find myself an Olympic sized swimming pool. I drain the pool and fill it up with the dollar bills. That’s right; I’m going swimming in a pool of money.

After my refreshing dip in the pool, the future is wide open. Fast cars, loose women, brain damaging drugs – I’m sure all those things are good possibilities. Asking me what I’d do with $17 million is like asking a diabetic what he’d do with an unlimited supply of Pixie sticks and no insulin. There’s just no good answer. But fear not our valued reader(s), even if I do find myself with a huge pile of cash someday, I’ll still be here to answer your questions. I just love it too much, and all the money in the world couldn’t stop me from being me. I always have been and always will be one very pissed off primate.

Good luck to all the players in Vegas for the WSOP. Until next week…

Tags: MSOP, WSOP