BBT5 has just come to the end, with actyper and jjok winning the main event seats. Congrats to both players. Now comes the question of whether they will actually play in the main event, or just pocket the money. During the TOC, Al said in the chat that this would be the last BBT, mainly because most people seem to be keeping the money instead of going to Vegas and playing. He makes a good point, because there's no benefit for Full Tilt if they're just giving money away and not getting the publicity of having qualifiers from their site play in the biggest tournament in the world. And while I think it's pretty disingenuous to play in the BBT and the TOC if you have no intention of playing in the World Series, I don't think that's whats happening in a lot of cases. Instead, it's Full Tilt's own disinterest in the BBT as a whole that's causing the problem.
To illustrate what I mean, I'll take you through what happened after I won a main event seat during last year's TOC. A few days after the TOC, Full Tilt added $10,000 to my account and sent me an email congratulating me on winning a main event seat. I was a bit surprised at this point because almost all the WSOP packages Full Tilt gives out for their regular satellites are worth $12,000, $10,000 for the tournament and another $2,000 for expenses. I was disappointed, but still ecstatic about the chance to play in the World Series. So the next step was of course to get the $10,000 off the site and into my bank account. This turned out to be a difficult process, as the only withdrawal method available to me was a check, and the maximum withdrawal was $5,000. This meant all I could do was a wire transfer, but the minimum for a wire transfer was $20,000. So I had to email Full Tilt support asking for special permission to make a $10,000 wire transfer. They approved it, but only I after I sent them a scanned copy of my drivers license and a scanned copy of a bank statement.
Once I finally got the $10,000, that was the last I heard from anyone at Full Tilt. They never offered me any free Full Tilt gear to wear when I played, or contacted me at all asking if they could use me to help promote the site, as in "Here is the story of busto donk Loretta8. Thanks to this great promotion we have at Full Tilt, Loretta8 won a trip to Vegas to play for millions in the world's biggest poker tournament. Next year, this could be you, etc."
Now this may come across as whiny, but I don't mean it that way at all. It was a fantastic opportunity for me, and I greatly enjoyed my time at the World Series. But for someone who's actually a responsible adult with a family to provide for like PokerFool, I can understand perfectly why he chose not to play. Here's how Full Tilt should handle the BBT, in my humble opinion:
1. Actively promote it. Whenever I log into Poker Stars, a window pops up telling me about the latest promotions on the site, from main event satellites to the big winners in their Sunday tournaments to Stars' own blogger freeroll. Full Tilt makes almost no effort to promote the BBT, so it's no wonder they don't get more players who want a cheap way to win their way to Vegas.
2. Make a better effort to get the winners to play in the event. The first step is to make the packages worth $12,000. You're already giving away 10 grand, what's another two so the player doesn't have to go into his own pocket for expenses? Additionally, the email I got congratulating me on my win should have contained detailed instructions on how to get the $10k off the site and to the Rio. Full Tilt wants me to play, so they should make it as easy as possible. And throw in some bonuses for the winners once they get to the Rio as well, like giving them access to the Full Tilt VIP suite where all their pros hang out. And in exchange for all these perks, have the winner agree to wear Full Tilt gear when he plays. This to me is the most baffling part of the whole thing; what the hell is the point of giving someone $10,000 to play in the main event if you don't give them Full Tilt gear to wear, and don't use their story to promote your site? I really don't understand it.
Al and Full Tilt have been very generous in setting up the BBTs, and if they're really coming to an end, it's too bad. But with some simple changes and a little more hands on the effort on the part of Full Tilt, prize pools would soar, Full Tilt would get more rake, and they'd be much more likely to have the TOC winners play in the main event.
In other news, Stoner finished 3rd in the WSOP $2500 no limit tournament, taking home over $200,000. Congrats to him, $200k will buy quite a lot of hookers.
Thanks for reading,
George
14 comments:
I would completely agree with all of this, but have you said anything to anyone before now? Nothing changes if you don't speak up: if you mentioned it to Al or FTP sometime since BBT3, that's a different situation altogether
I completely agree with you.
I don't know that Al would be able to do anything else other than asking FT for the prizes.
He has worked his way into a job with FT through this, and his efforts have benefits for both sides.
But Full Tilt should be prepared to protect their investment. Just because the "law" prohibits them from demanding that people play, doesn't mean they shouldn't take steps to help those out, and at least encourage them TO play.
It never ceases to amaze me the lack of response I get from people when I tell them about the BBT and what's at stake.
I mean, this could be the most equitable promotion hosted on the site for Main Event seats, and they do nothing to encourage or promote it outside of the bloggers pimping it.
I get that part. They give the prizes so we do the advertising. That's fine. But once someone wins, they need to be proactive about helping that person play.
I had no idea about your issues last year, and am quite disappointed now that I hear about it.
Good Post
Good post Loretta. Hit the nail right on the head.
Very well-reasoned post that makes a lot of sense.
-PL
Great post. One thing I would like to add, though, is that when you have a series of weekly tournaments already scheduled (i.e., pre BBT), it's a bit foolish to think that people would stop playing because they can't go to the WSOP. I knew I couldn't go to the WSOP from the get-go, but should I have to sit out of the weekly blogger tourneys for THREE MONTHS because I might win a 10k package. The amount of players would drop significantly if that was a rule. I do think that it is ok to encourage the players to play in the WSOP events, though, such as giving a reduced prize if the player does not actually use it for the WSOP. OR FullTilt can start a separate promotion without relying on the already-established weekly games...but that would require them to promote that separate tourney, which as you pointed out, was not done regardless.
I was under the impression that the prize was a WSOP seat package that included money for travel. Strange they didn't work to meet you out there and make you their muppet.
Good post. I had also wondered why FT didn't provide some free swag for the winners to get the maximum exposure.
And yeah -- those of us with families and regular jobs can't always make arrangements on relatively short notice.
fyi, the 10k is already in my account. No extra $ for hotel, spending etc.. You do get free swag that you have to pick up from their suite though.
same for me as actyper said, obviously.
crazy.
and Loretta, thanks for this post because it hits home with the dilemma I face.
and thanks for the grats.....much appreciated.
Per Pokerstars:
Instant Supernova VIP status & $1 Million Freeroll.
Play in this year’s World Series Main Event through winning a seat on PokerStars.com (and sign our player contract to wear PokerStars logo gear during the event), and you will be credited with 100,000 VPPs - making you an instant Supernova VIP.
Sounds like they are on the ball.
well spoken!
Pretty much agree, but it shouldn't be $12,000 if people don't play. The extra $2000 could be some more incentive for people to actually play.
Lucko brings up a great point.
It would be so simple for FullTilt to credit extra $2k for travel if you show up in the suite and show Main Event entry.
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