The World Series of Growing (Up)
The 2023 World Series of Poker at the Horseshoe and Paris Las Vegas raised the bar and set new heights, taking full advantage of the current boom after the global coronavirus pandemic has all but vanished from the news. It culminated in a new tremendous field of 10,043 entries for the WSOP $10,000 Main Event whereas many other tournaments during the seven week series also reeled in new records along the way as well.
Two years in, the new venue on the Las Vegas Strip endured a stress test for the overall capacity and it didn’t go all the way without a hitch. Ultimately, the record-breaking numbers brought with it some temporary restraints and snake-like waiting lines throughout the tournament areas but things ran as smoothly as one could expect given the circumstances. There are obviously plenty of tidbits that can be improved upon but that’ll have to wait until the 2024 edition.
As far as my personal live reporting performance during is concerned, I shan’t be satisfied because it felt like a drag for the second part of the seven week long endurance challenge. There were too many sloppy mistakes on my part in an environment that tends to be very unforgiving and in which every word is carefully examined. I always set the bar for myself very high in order to deliver a quality and quantity that speaks for itself, how others judge that is up to them.
While live poker continues to thrive all over the world, the number of active live reporters more or less remains the same for a couple of years now. There is no secret wizard school a la Hogwarts where new poker journalists learn all the magic tricks. Likewise, not all venues and operators see enough value in providing this kind of service and fail to realise the exposure it triggers by default.
There may always be a demand for a product such as live reporting from events and with small enough (high-stakes) fields or big enough armadas of bodies, it is possible to track everyone in near real-time. But neither of that is feasible for events with thousands of participants without any kind of sophisticated tracking system and natural compromises have to be made to the work itself and the respective expectations.
The annual WSOP in Las Vegas is basically the epi center of where all of these things collide. Many of the experienced reporters that set the bar during the initial boom after the Moneymaker era have since moved on to new ventures outside of the poker bubble or took on roles within the industry, whereas the second generation is all but gone as well. New reporters are hard to find and typically get tossed into the cold waters with little preparation, barely knowing what to expect.
The turnover rate for these “newbies” tends to be very low because many of them find regular live reporting work hard to come by in order to hone and improve their skills. This is obviously no excuse for sloppy mistakes especially at the start of the series but shines some light on the difference in quality compared to veteran reporters.
I always try to pass on advice and my knowledge about the job, how to behave and what to look out for but it takes a while to create the own routines. Some people are fast learners while others may crack under the sheer pressure of the stressful circumstances and ruthlessness of social media. That may perhaps never change but I would love to run some live reporting boot camps with poker players to show them the other side of the coin.
On the contrary, video content in various formats and feature stories for social media are certain to grow and become more important for brand exposure — I am not good enough at either of them. Usually, old dogs don’t learn new tricks anymore especially when they have been following the same routines for more than a decade. But these dogs are usually very loyal and remember many of the people they crossed paths with to make them valuable assets.
There will always be some people with new fancy ideas that love to put themselves into the spotlight when that shouldn’t be the case. One can tell stories without inserting yourself into it and I personally prefer never to be noticed in the shades — just outside of the camera focus, yet observing and delivering as many important details as possible.
Whether or not I will be personally there in Sin City once again to witness even more awe-inspiring numbers remains to be seen. The summer of 2023 feels like it was a “make or break” kind of year and I haven’t taken the required time needed yet to reflect on everything. Right now, the detox is by far more important and South East Asia has become a safe haven with added perks.
A very similar detox was needed for some different albeit reasons twelve months ago and for the first time in a long while, I stumbled upon some places to soak in and cherish more. For one dozen years, the live reporting grind in the world of poker has taken a toll on my sanity but South East Asia is turning into my feel-good cocoon — hopefully not just temporarily but also in the future.
Whether or not that will be the Philippines, Japan, Vietnam or Thailand remains to be seen but all of these countries have their own unique cultural treats and excellent food options. Thailand is perhaps the front runner right now thanks to the low expenses, good public transport options and solid healthcare system. Furthermore, there are a lot of official running competitions as well and I’d like to take part in them regularly to maintain my current fitness level.
There may not be any live events in Thailand but it’s easy to catch a quick and affordable flight to any of the nearby countries. The Asia-Pacific region is one of the fast-growing markets in poker and tours such as the APT, APPT and Poker Dream all host stops on a regular basis. The World Poker Tour is also visiting the region with its mid-stakes WPT Prime format as well and just set a new attendance record during its stop in Taiwan.
Europe has been my “home” for more than three decades but the more I got to travel and explore different cultures, the more I realise that my heart is aching for a new chapter in a different location. Life on the other side of the planet may perhaps be more chaotic and unpredictable, yet that has a charm of its own, too. The journey is not always about making as much money as possible but accumulating happiness and experiences.
Perhaps, the latter aspect is what I have neglected to some degree and the time of catching up has arrived. There will still be time to cover poker events — even though not as frequently and without racking up as many as 1.1 million kilometres on planes throughout the last decade. The Asia-Pacific region provides plenty of places to explore and I have started to really appreciate the contrast between the serenity of the old temples and the frenetic frenzy of the traffic / markets.
Having grown up in a small town in the middle of nowhere in Germany and most of my family being stuck in the same region, I have already seen more places than I could have ever imagined as a kid. Everything from now on is a bonus and I cannot wait what surprises show up on the horizon.