Such players were billed as having an extra talent that others didn’t possess and then the marketing people turned them into celebrities in the hope the brand would be swept long in their wake.

Previous to the recent revelations, even the ever forthright poker forums would take enormous exception to suggestions that the big name pros were anything other than just that.

Sadly, as the smoke clears from the horrendous business failures in the online poker industry of the past year it is increasingly obvious that the biggest poker celebrities were in fact unable to pay debts or cheated to ‘win’ their tag as a poker professional. The latest examples of Phil Ivey and Erick Lindgren thought to be owing $4,000,000 each paints a very different picture to that of the clever, aspirational characters the marketers sold us. Even the ‘pro’s pro’, Barry Greenstein, has admitted that he is unable to pay around $400,000 of debt for many years.

The poker pros have also often been vocal about how poker should be run and some have even tried ventures of their own, in almost every case the result has been the same and the list is a long one including; Phil Laak (Unabomber), Dave Ulliot (Devilfishpoker), Doyle Brunson (Doyle’sRoom) and to certain extent FullTilt itself.

While we don’t pretend for a second we envisioned this personal implosion of the poker pros when the Bodog Poker Network first started working on the Recreational Poker Model back in 2009 one of the first realisations was that the players we wanted to attract knew they were never going to become ‘pros’. Indeed, they did even not aspire to be one. As a result we started looking for people who really represented our brand best. Yup, pretty girls, still work! The most recent addition to the Bodog team, Tatjana Pasalic, is not just a pretty face though. She knows poker and poker people but she is also approachable and friendly unlike most of the recently discredited ‘celebrity’ names of the past.

What is now evident is the gravy train that was the ‘sponsored pro’ is coming to an end. Many of those that still enjoy a sponsorship are at very reduced amounts and even some of the best players in the world, even those without debt skeletons, like Phil Helmuth, remain unsponsored. Of course, we have seen a dramatic drop in the value of ‘pro’ players as TV programmes with huge audiences in the US are no longer viable and poker rooms realise they don’t drive the right kind of revenue, if any at all. They simply suck money out of the eco-system.

Poker marketing looks to have changed forever and once again we will see a reinvention of how the game is sold to a more mainstream audience. Once again there will be winners and losers and (once again) it will be fascinating to see whose strategy wins out.

Poker News

Much of this speak was inspired by the merging of bwin and PartyGaming to create bwin.party Digital Entertainment. This deal was hailed as one of the industry’s biggest and created one super iGaming company that represented an impressive 12% of the entire industry play.

The merging of the two company’s affiliate programs earlier this month signals that there is at least one deal that is here to stay. Rather than dealing with Bewinners or PartyPartner, affiliates will soon have the pleasure of dealing with one affiliate program that operates across multiple brands.

bwin.party Digital Entertainment is now very much alive and well after suffering a rocky patch in terms of share prices. However, the company is still some way away from being the all-engulfing super iGaming company that some had predicted or even feared.

This super company’s failure to realise its true potential has been touted as one of the major factors that have contributed to the lack of mergers across the industry. Effectively smaller iGaming companies are taking note that joining forces certainly isn’t a one-way ticket up easy street.

Back in August, Bodog Europe chief executive Patrik Selin spoke to Calvin Ayre about mergers. He certainly subscribed to the view that some were being put off by bwin.party’s trials and tribulations.

He explained: “So far in this industry we’ve only seen one big merger and that is the pwin merger and for me it’s not shown any success so far.

“It’s a tricky road to move forward to do these things because there are no obvious benefits if you merge two companies of the same size.

“You will have two years where you’re standing still before you can move ahead and those two years are going to cost you. We’re seeing the same thing now with the pwin merger that they’ve been standing still now more or less for over a year.”

Selin’s pessimism regarding the success of mergers is certainly well founded and is by no means a new one. Twelve months ago, he spoke to eGaming Review and argued that global domination was far from guaranteed for the company. He also expressed his feelings that mergers weren’t going to be quite as common as many were suggesting.

It’s now the end of 2011 and Selin is well and truly vindicated. Rumours and even talks have mergers have come and gone throughout the year. However, there have been some close calls.

Ladbrokes

The popular UK bookmaker was one of the companies that many thought were most likely to form some kind of deal in the iGaming industry. This reasoning was due to CEO Richard Glynn’s plans to rejuvenate the digital side of the business, which included intent to join forces with or acquire a pureplay operator with a better understanding of the market.

However, Ladbrokes’ two highest profile talks of the year ended unsuccessfully. The first came with 888 Holdings but the deal officially collapsed after four months of talks in April. During this time, 888 CEO Gigi Levy announced his departure for the company just before the announcement regarding the termination of talks was made.

Six months on and news surfaced that Ladbrokes’ talks with Sportingbet were terminated. This time the problem between the two was Sportingbet’s Turkish business, which Ladbrokes opposed. Unfortunately, the risk was deemed to great and another of Ladbrokes’ potential deals passed them by.

For Sportingbet, this wasn’t the only time that they dipped their toe into to merger water either as talks with Unibet ultimately proved fruitless. Even their reported attempt to re-launch the deal in March this year ended unsuccessfully.

Joint Ventures

Then there was of course the talk regarding a joint venture between Playtech and Ladbrokes. The supposed talks that took place were deemed so serious by Ladbrokes’ rivals William Hill that an injunction was taken out to prevent further discussions.

Any iGaming companies that were still eying up a joint venture as a way of easing themselves into the merger frame of mind will surely have now been put off.

Staff boycotts, resignations and break-ins to secure servers must have been enough to scare many a company – one thing is for sure, Hills are likely to pick a partner much more carefully next time.

The US

Despite the high number of factors weighing up in the argument against mergers, one issue means that there could still be a large number of iGaming companies finding a friend in the near future. This is of course the US and the opportunities available to enter the market.

Conventional wisdom appears to currently suggest that the best way for iGaming operators to make their way into the US market is to join forces with a company already based over there. This is going to come in the form of casino companies and has already taken place in some instances.

888 has managed to overcome the heartbreak sustained by their failed Ladbrokes deal to lead the charge in this way. The Gibraltar-based company has formed a deal with Caesars and will look to operate in the US with or without the use of their 888 brand.

Bearing this in mind, there is hope for mergers but as Selin said earlier this year “it’s a tricky road.”

Business News

The black lash from a certain segment of the poker community has been vitriolic but not entirely unexpected. Bodog Poker VP Jonas Odman took the brunt of the comments but was completely unapologetic about the switch, as he knew he was doing the right thing. Along with Bodog UK CEO Patrik Selin, they have been working on a recreational model for online poker for the better part of a decade.

As much as Odman is the public face behind the moves, Selin has been a major force behind the scenes in the implementation of the new model. Selin knows poker; when his schedule permits, you can find him playing in live tournaments in and around London but his skill at the tables isn’t what brings him to the dance. Selin has worked in the poker industry for years. As the CEO of Ongame, he turned the small poker network into the 2005 IT Company of the year by Sweden’s business magazine Veckans Affärer; Ongame beat tech heavyweights Apple, Ericsson, Vodafone and Microsoft for the honour. Along with Odman, the duo built up the Ongame to the point where Bwin found it attractive enough to purchase the network for close to a half a billion Euros.

I was able to chat with Selin to discuss the changes to the Bodog Poker Network, let him address some of the controversy and give him a chance to respond to some of the valid questions raised about the potential for collusion and bots with the new Bodog Anonymous tables.

Bill Beatty – It’s been a little over two weeks since the Bodog network updated its software. What do you make of the blowback from the sharper players?

Patrik Selin – The uproar caused by the most recent component of the Bodog Recreational Poker Model has seen the most vocal criticism of what we are trying to do and this was to be expected. Let’s bear in mind that on top of the fact that over 90% of operators cater directly to the needs of the sharp player there is also a whole subsection of the industry creating tools to make the sharp player stronger. Sharp players, therefore, have a huge choice of rooms they can use. The casual player does not have anything like as many options and hence their entertainment value is decreased.

BB – So it’s not about killing the sharks but rather not doing them any favours by allowing any unfair advantages over the recreational players in the room.

Selin -Most people would agree that these unfair advantages harm the user experience of the casual player, which are so crucial to the eco-system of any poker business.

BB – What about from an operator’s perspective is this the right move? Will you see a drop in numbers?

Selin- Equally a poker operator, especially one with an affiliated sportsbook, does not want a poker room where cash is being drained out of their (mainly sports betting) customers by sharp poker players. Now with the system we have in place nobody can know our traffic figures and, yes, we have seen a few sharp players leave us as we expected but have seen very little decrease in traffic since the implementation of the new software.

BB – OK about the players saying they are quitting or taking their business elsewhere, I get that some are just emotional people or have a vested interest in a non-anonymous poker table but a few have raised some genuine concerns about bots and collusion. The poker community works hard to police themselves, having an anonymous table makes this self-policing tougher.

Selin – When you strip back all of the emotional comments from people with vested interests, whether they be players that use HUDs or are data-mining companies, there is only really one criticism that stands up to scrutiny and that is whether the lack of usernames can increase the opportunity for collusion. The solution is relatively simple and as the concern has been raised, we will introduce our solution in Q1 of 2012. We are now bringing it in ahead of having a full Mac solution for the new software.

BB – And that solution?

Selin – Players will be able to request their hand history for any game they feel was wrong with the added bonus of having ALL cards from the hand ‘open’. Players can then highlight any problems to our team who will delve further into any issues. As the tables are anonymous, it is possible for players to view all the cards rather than just their own.
This solution will actually give our system a higher security value than poker rooms with usernames.

BB – Interesting, we’ll see how the poker community responds to this feature. Looking forward, what do you see as the future for the Bodog recreational Poker Model?

Selin – Already the Recreational Poker Model eliminates the HUD player who is simply playing the odds on multiple tables – he is essentially playing similarly to a bot without actually being one. This is better for the casual player.

Also, we will introduce a number of fun features like the ability to show just one card when you muck. We will reintroduce the ability for players to see their folded cards as the hand plays out and additional graphics on the cards at certain times of a game like when you win, when you lose, when you fold and even when you get a genuine bad beat. All to enhance the entertainment factor for the casual player.

Our previous changes to the rakeback systems that were rewarding winners rather than depositing players are better for the casual player. Our blocking of other data-mining sites is better for the casual player and having a poker room full of casual players is good for ALL players and ALL operators.

Poker News

GI’s article focuses on what the near future holds for Bodog in the UK and Europe. Selin goes into detail about the software underpinning the poker platform that will see them grow on a continent-wide basis. The platform will be second only to PokerStars in terms of software and drops later this year. Features will include the live dealer suite that is popular in the gaming industry’s fastest growing market, Asia. Selin reckons the European poker market will soon be relying on this sector for 20-25% of revenues.

It’s what Selin doesn’t say that’s most significant. The article quotes him saying that the new poker software “has a few unique features, which will be revealed in more detail closer to launch, but its main focus will be on depositing players rather than winners.”

Keeping strategies close to your chest is another advantage that comes from being a privately held firm in this industry. Public firms can only sit and prophesize about it while tucking into a continental breakfast. To this end we’re fed small tidbits of information on what Selin is up to while at the same time having no real idea on what Bodog’s next move will be.

Bodog successfully applied for a UK licence earlier this year meaning the firm is in prime position when the UK changes its laws on remote gaming firms. Bodog’s servers in the UK are in the process of being set up and as Selin puts it: “The UK Gambling Commission is probably the best in the world and it creates a lot of trust in us being regulated by the best regulator in the world.”

Selin has negotiated himself the global gaming industry’s equivalent of a free valet parking spot at the Ritz with the UK license that is held.

Business News

Legal News

Rev. Graham invites you to consult the Book of Alderney, Chapter 9, Verse 12...

Seated onstage alongside Graham and Flint, Bodog UK’s Patrik Selin listened to this ‘regulation cures cancer’ argument for a few minutes before remarking that FTP held valid gaming licenses in both Alderney and France – as does PKR. Does this mean auditors should be taking a closer look at PKR’s balance sheet?

For the record, I’m in no way suggesting that PKR is guilty of anything except a misguided faith in over-regulation. FTP’s problems were chiefly the result of stupidity and hubris – things that even the most draconian regulatory regime couldn’t constrain. Banking is one of the most strictly regulated industries, but as this week’s UBS headlines make all too clear, someone who decides to go ‘rogue’ can do billions in damages before their misdeeds come to light.

COLLATERAL DUMBAGE
Without a doubt, FTP’s fall from grace has damaged the industry as a whole – and that includes the publicly-traded companies, who appear to believe they stand to benefit from this scandal somehow. What they fail to realize is that, thanks to the DoJ’s use of the phrase “Ponzi scheme” and the mainstream media’s rush to judgment, millions of average citizens – many of whom didn’t know the online poker industry existed before this week – now see the entire sector as black-hatted bad guys. As such, when regulation does finally come to the US market, it will be needlessly strict, imposing onerous costs on operators that will ultimately be passed on to players. Lose-lose, fold.

For what it’s worth, the DoJ bears a certain amount of responsibility in FTP’s plight. As various lawyers have pointed out, FTP’s antics, while criminally inept, don’t fit the accepted definition of a Ponzi scheme. Unlike classic Ponzi schemes, FTP had a genuine revenue model. Moreover, most of FTP’s financial shortfall can be traced to the DoJ’s war on online poker eCom that has been going on for the past few years (which we have documented at great length on this site).

Commodore Teufelberger vows to sweep the seas clean of pirates.

SHOOTING STARS
Back at EiG, the CEOs weren’t satisfied with kicking FTP while it was down. In an apparent attempt to launch a ‘guilt by association’ meme, PKR’s Graham suggested that PokerStars – indicted on Black Friday along with FTP – should have its gaming licenses revoked in all the jurisdictions in which it operates. Pwin’s Teufelberger settled for calling US-facing poker companies ‘pirates’, but he has made remarks similar to Graham’s in previous interviews.

Despite the public company CEO’s hopes/wishes/fantasies, the fallout from the expected demise of FTP and PokerStars’ departure from the US market (or disappearing entirely) will not instantly propel public companies to the top of the online poker heap. Particularly in the US, most of the online poker momentum of the past five years was driven by Stars’ and FTP’s promotional efforts. In their absence, online poker’s profile will continue to wane, and even if US federal legislation were passed this year, it will be a long spell before regulations are finalized and systems are implemented.

When such a system is finally up and running, the grinders will return. But by then, a good chunk of the recreational player base – without whom the online poker ecosystem cannot thrive – will have found other ways of entertaining themselves. A few US land-based casino companies will eventually benefit from a heavily regulated US market, but the market as a whole will likely never return to its past glories.

Is Commodore Teufelberger gone?

European public company execs always maintained that the only thing keeping the private companies above them on the online poker charts was access to US liquidity. But the miniscule gains the European outfits picked up post-Black Friday disproved that argument, suggesting these execs might never wake up from their American dreams. They need to stop wasting all their energy attempting to paint US-facing poker companies as predatory threats to the American way of life (we hear Iraq’s former spot on the Axis of Evil is available) and spend more time attempting to formulate some (any!) kind of actionable growth strategy.

As we have suggested time and again, we believe the public company model is the wrong model for our industry. Be that as it may, these public company execs have a fiduciary duty to act in a manner that increases shareholder value – and the only proven, time-tested method of accomplishing that feat is to innovate. Apple’s staggering market capitalization is a perfect example. FTP is/was by far the most innovative company in the online poker sector. Now, with FTP fading from view, we’re betting that these public company execs will have even less incentive to innovate, which will give US poker players even less incentive to return to the game. Lose-lose, fold.

Business News

Submit your question and we may use it in an upcoming episode of Question of the Day.

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Business News

It belonged to Bodog Europe CEO Patrik Selin as he took his seat alongside Unibet CEO Henrik Tjarnstrom and BetClic Everest CEO Nicolas Beraud, and eGaming Review editor James Bennett for EGR Live’s Main Event: THE CEO Panel (would it have been too much to get Michael Buffer to do the announcing?)

It was interesting to note the fact they actually allowed the CEO of a company who didn’t even make the EGR Power 50 on their panel without loose bowel movements all round, but those in attendance will have been enthralled by what they heard.

The majority of discussion centered on the Black Friday US online poker indictments and various issues involving jurisdictions around Europe.

In terms of the European market, particular attention was paid to France and Beraud had strong views on this subject. It’s hardly a surprise since former CEO Stephane Courbit gave the market such a damning indictment late last year and Beraud echoed these sentiments, stating France needs to “allow all types of gaming,” and the market must become “attractive for players.”

Unibet, meanwhile, are still not operating in France and it will continue to stay that way until there is re-regulation.

Tjarnstrom commented, “Re-regulation will be a good step as we want to compete with the monopolies. Currently, what was the purpose of the opening? It looks right now that they wanted to protect the monopolies.”

Floatation was also discussed between the panel, with Selin commenting that, “Once you’re on the stock market you’re stuck with working in regulated markets and you have less opportunities in the ultra-competitive European market,” echoing what has been seen on the tablog almost as often as a woman’s bare flesh. Well maybe we went a bit far with that.

How long might the advantages for the private companies last though?

Selin belives that it will be “good for 10-15 years” as the “market is changing and you’re more flexible if private.”

Discussion then looked at whether organic growth or mergers and acquisitions were the best way to go, Selin commenting, “I don’t believe in mergers at all and have a strategy to acquire smaller companies and grow organically.”

He also added that Bodog “will never merge as long as I’m sitting here.”

All three panelists agreed that as far as the next five years are concerned, the landscape in the US is extremely hard to predict due to the fast-paced nature of the industry

Moving forwards it’s certainly clear that markets around the iGaming world are continuing to change, something that doesn’t look like coming to a halt anytime soon.

Conference News

Bodog Europe has continued their relentless pursuit of the best talent the industry has to offer by making two crucial new hires.

The latest members to join the team come with plenty of experience and from distinguished careers at two industry pioneers.

Arijit Ghosh is the company’s new Technical Project Manager and joins from Betfair where he worked in a similar role. His job will also mean that he’s part of the Product Development team and he brings the company almost ten years of experience in the IT industry.

Bodog Europe has also hired a new Quality Assurance Manager in the shape of Sergio Neves Barros. In the past he’s worked at Sportingbet and brings with him a wealth of experience and will be mainly tasked with implementing the company’s forthcoming software products.

Patrik Selin, CEO of Bodog Europe, commented: “Obviously, IT is at the heart of any online company and in our industry speed to market with any new product is vital. The additions of Ari and Sergio will strengthen our hand is getting new and improve products direct to the customer.”

It has also been revealed that the winner of Bodog’s billionaire experience didn’t actually win the hand of blackjack that they were playing.

Although the player lost the hand, it only actually cost them $1, and it means that for only a dollar the winner had the chance to go on the trip of a lifetime.

Business News

Bodog Europe is looking to add a number of new products over the coming months and is, therefore pleased, to welcome two crucial new members of the team.

The latest two members of the team join Bodog Europe from Betfair and Sportingbet respectively:

Arijit Ghosh. Ari joins Bodog Europe as the Technical Project Manager and will be part of the Product Development team. Ari has most recently been working in a similar role at Betfair. He has over nine years experience in the IT industry and will be taking on a key role in delivering multiple software projects.

Sergio Neves Barros. Sergio joins Bodog Europe as the Quality Assurance Manager and having worked at Sportingbet and Xbridge, an online insurance broker, Sergio brings with him a wealth of experience in software testing and development and will implement Bodog Europe’s forthcoming software products.

Patrik Selin, CEO of Bodog Europe, commented: “Obviously, IT is at the heart of any online company and in our industry speed to market with any new product is vital. The additions of Ari and Sergio will strengthen our hand is getting new and improve products direct to the customer.”

For further information please call:

Ed Pownall, BodogBrand.com’s International Press Office (London), on +44 7825 064 776

Press Releases

It’s hard to argue most of the names on the list, Harry Reid, Daniel Negreanu and Doyle Brunson have earned a well-deserved spots on the list. There was however one glaring omission from the BLUFF Power 20, Bodog Europe CEO Patrik Selin.

This year the poker mag sent out 101 ballots to online and land based operators, agents and media. The ballots asked the voters to rank the most powerful people in poker from 1-20. 101 people is a small sampling for such a large industry but to be fair it’s still a better process than getting nominated for the Golden Globes, seriously how was The Tourist up for Best Musical or Comedy, it was just awful but I digress.

After the ballots were counted, 195 people received votes and the list of 20 is a mix of poker players, poker room owners, media members, tour directors and podcasters.

The most powerful man in Poker as voted on by BLUFF magazine’s handpicked electorate was the “Professor”, Howard Lederer. Lederer didn’t earn votes for his professional play but he topped the poll for his consulting work with Pocket Kings Ltd.

Pocket Kings is the company that provides Marketing and technology services to the number two online poker room, Full Tilt Poker. Full Tilt had a solid year in 2010; their Rush Poker was one of the bright lights of the poker industry in 2010 but that’s the kicker of these polls. These polls look backwards and often ignore looking forward to the year ahead.

A wee bit of nostalgia is nice but with the online poker landscape changing as the market continues to shrink, leaving operators looking for ways to maximize revenues, the Power 20 for 2012 could look very different.

Back to Patrik Selin, even though he didn’t crack the top 20 this year, we’re predicting he should have a prominent place in Bluff Magazine’s top 20 for next year. Selin, along with Bodog Network Vice President Jonas Ödman, have been making waves with their editorials and critiques of the online poker industry.

Selin’s decision to block data mining sites from scrapping data that gives certain players an unfair advantage, has set off some fiery conversations. It’s a move clearly designed to hurt the sharks and the pros that the other companies pander to.

There are rumblings in the poker forums that Full Tilt Poker will be following Bodog Poker’s lead by blocking data mining sites. I’m sure many more poker rooms will join the Save the Fish crusade.

Selin will have to wait until next year to receive his rightful spot on Bluff Magazine’s list but those in the industry will see the influence of his game changing decisions long before 2012.

Check out Bluff Magazines Power 20

Poker News

There’s been warning signs on the radar for some time now that poker industry was in need of restructuring. Bodog’s decision to move in this new direction was the latest in Selin’s campaign to persuade the industry that “the narrow-minded focus on serving the needs of pro players is not only shortsighted but dangerous to continued growth.”

So we had to ask the question, “Is Bodog’s strategy to block scraping sites a good thing for the industry?” Here are the results.

In third place with 23 per cent of the votes the response was “Only if Other Poker Rooms Jump In the Water.” We hear were that is coming from, but someone has to jump in first, who is next?

Garnering 24 per cent of the votes the response was NO, as in no, Bodog’s strategy would not be a good thing for the industry.

With 53 per cent of the votes, the overwhelming response was YES Bodog’s strategy to block scraping sites as good thing for the industry.

Poker News

“Nobody who is playing poker for fun visits these [tracking] sites, or even knows they exist,” explained Selin. “They exist only to serve professional players and therefore we will be implementing a series of online blockades to further protect the crucial leisure poker player.” The move is the latest in Selin’s campaign to persuade the industry that the narrow-minded focus on serving the needs of pro players is not only shortsighted but dangerous to continued growth.

To be clear, Bodog isn’t penalizing sharp players. They’re just ensuring that nobody gets to bring a gun to this knife fight. To the recreational player, online poker is a form of entertainment and there are many competitors for his entertainment dollar. If he’s immediately torn apart by sharks every time he enters an online poker room, he’ll inevitably decide there are better ways to spend that dollar, and the online poker business will continue its downward trajectory.

Scrubbing hand histories, preventing the use of heads-up displays, ending misguided rakeback schemes… In choosing to address the needs of recreational players and create a truly anonymous playing environment, Bodog Poker is laying down a trail that the entire online poker industry can use to guide itself out of the wilderness. With or without their technological crutches, pro players will still play online poker, and they’ll still win more than they lose. It’s why they’re called ‘pros’. But it’s recreational bettors that keep online poker in business. Fish in the sea are a renewable resource. Fish in a barrel are not.

Zero is the new #1...

Poker News

Alun Bowden captures Selin perfectly in this captivating interview on the state of the poker world as Selin sees it. If you like a guy who speaks his mind and doesn’t mince words, then you’ll like this interview and you’ll like Patrik Selin. Selin has not been amused with the listlessness in the poker industry. He believes that some firms have been getting it all wrong for while now. In the interview Selin is quoted saying,

“Poker is becoming seriously boring…There is not one poker company with something unique to sell. We are trying to build that uniqueness and I think everybody is going to follow us, even Full Tilt and PokerStars. It’s just a question of time before they realize we are right and they are wrong.”

You drop a quote like that, you should almost cross your arms in a B-Boy stance. But Selin didn’t stop there, and we should be glad that he didn’t.

It’s not often you have big-time executives willing to speak candidly and willing to speak their minds. This interview is a must read, check it out by clicking here.

I’ll leave you with another scintillating teaser from this exciting and informative interview about the state of poker today.

“We already know poker is not growing, it is in decline. A couple of the big companies are growing, but that is just taking market share off everyone else. If they had done their homework and thought what the customer wanted things might have been different. What’s shocking to me is poker companies are always taking the view of what is right for them and not what is right for the customer. If the customer is not excited it doesn’t matter what you do.” -Patrik Selin

Poker News

The WSOP will run from May 31, 2011 through July 19, 2011 with all events taking place at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. The Rio has held the WSOP in its convention center each year since 2005.

The WSOP Main Event will begin on July 7, 2011 and stagger the start for the big tournament over the following three days. (July 7-10)

The tournament will wrap up July 19 after the WSOP Main Event is down to its final nine players, who will then have to wait until November to continue their quest for a bracelet and millions of dollars.

With the WSOP dates announced, you can book your flights and even if you won’t be playing poker, Las Vegas is always a good time during WSOP. While you’re there, you can cheer on Bodog Europe’s CEO Patrik Selin as he tries to take down the field. Selin is the only CEO of a Poker network that’s also a poker pro.

The big change announced for the 2011 WSOP is the use of hard stop times, which will be in play for all bracelet events. Players will play a maximum of 10 levels per day. Once the 10 levels have been completed, the players’ chips will be bagged and tagged and they resume playing the following day. The hard stop times will be adhered to regardless of the number of players remaining in the event.

The WSOP will announce the complete World Series of Poker Tournament schedule with dates and events in January.

Poker News