Editorial: Has The Epic Poker Tour Been A Success?

The opinions in this editorial do not reflect the positions of the ownership or management of Poker News Daily.

There have been attempts before in the world of tournament poker to create what would be essentially a “professional” poker circuit that would draw the greatest players in the game to the felt. The World Poker Tour attempted it early during the Aughts with the Professional Poker Tour but, after one season, it fell apart. Thus, when Federated Sports & Gaming decided to enter into this difficult area, there were some grumblings as to whether it could actually be done.

FS&G, however, persevered in their efforts and came up with the Epic Poker League, which would only allow players who had earned the proper “tour card” to participate in their events (amateurs and non-cardholders can earn entry into tournaments through “pro/am” events). These “tour cards” were determined through the performance of players over a significant span of time rather than a quick hit, one time score.

Over the last half of 2011, the EPL has made some noise in the tournament poker world, some good and some bad. Their first event in August drew in a respectable 137 player field, but tournaments in September and earlier this month only brought in 97 and 100 players, respectively. While the players that have participated in the tournaments have raved about how well they are run and how it is “for the players,” there have also been a couple of controversies that have been well documented.

With this said – and with EPL Commissioner Annie Duke’s recent statements that the inaugural year of the EPL has been an “overwhelming success,” the question has to be asked…has it?

The concept of a truly “professional” poker league is a good one. By bringing some of the biggest names in the game to battle it out (in differing formats for each Main Event, by the way), the poker public is rewarded by seeing those “known” professionals either live at the Palms Casino Resort (the home base of the EPL) or through their televised broadcasts on the major American network CBS and the cable outlet Velocity. The players are rewarded as well, as the tournaments have been excellently managed and run by Tournament Director Matt Savage and, from player comments, they are treated well by the Palms staff.

Add in the factor that there is no rake taken from the tournaments and FS&G has even added a significant amount of money to each of the first three tournaments, there would seem to be little to discuss.

But, alas, that discussion has fermented. One of the top players in the world, Daniel Negreanu, has all but disavowed the league, potentially because of his beliefs but also potentially because of ongoing animosity with Duke. “I don’t think this league can succeed,” Negreanu stated earlier this year on his blog and he listed the reasons, including revenue streams, “time buys” to garner television airtime, and lack of major mainstream sponsorships.

With the discussion ongoing, here are three ways to potentially improve on what the EPL and FS&G have started:

1. Have One Event In Europe

While the majority of the EPL cardholders are from the United States (or call the U. S. home), approximately 70 or so players are primarily in Europe. It is nice that the EPL has their home base at the Palms, but one tournament in Europe – to give those European cardholders a taste of the EPL experience – wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

The tournament could be held around the time of the WSOP Europe – when many of the U. S. cardholders would be on the Old Continent – and could have the same format as what the EPL does at the Palms (a Pro/Am, Charity Tournament and Main Event). Hold the tournament at an arena that is respected – the Aviation Club in Paris comes to mind here – and the players will come out for it.

2. Offer A One Year Exemption

While the two, three and five year card memberships are an excellent way to determine the crème of the poker world, many people also might like to see if those players who perform well in one year can sustain that level of excellence against the best competition. Thus, the EPL might want to look at the idea of offering a one year exemption for outstanding performances in the previous season.

For example, wouldn’t people want to see the defending World Champion, Pius Heinz, step up to the pros on the EPL and see if he can duplicate his success? Give an exemption to the WSOP Championship Event winner (in the WSOP Europe also), the European Poker Tour Grand Final champion, the World Poker Tour Championship winner, potentially the winner of other major tournaments (the Aussie Millions and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure come to mind) and the Players of the Year from at least two of the major poker publications, if they’re not already cardholders. This would pump some “new blood” into the ranks as well as allow the poker public to determine if these one year wonders can become the next great poker superstar.

3. Guarantee A $1 Million First Place Prize

The buzz around the inaugural event for the EPL was that it awarded a first place prize of $1 million, which was won by David “Chino” Rheem. Each of the last two events, while having nice paydays of $782,410 (Mike McDonald) and $801,680 (Chris Klodnicki), didn’t seem to have the panache without a seven figure score.

If FS&G and the EPL were to guarantee that each tournament would pay out a $1 million first place prize, the players would most certainly come out for the event, perhaps to the point where adding money to the tournament would be unnecessary. Even if you had to sacrifice some ducats from those down the payout sheet, the lure of $1 million for the winner of the tournament would guarantee some exciting poker.

With these additions, the EPL can solidify themselves as a serious option on the world poker stage. While it may not solve all the ills of the EPL (remember, EPL leadership…we cannot be the poker world’s police!), it would allow the EPL to evolve and continue its impressive start. As to the question of whether the first season of the EPL has been a success, the jury is still out; we will have to see what happens in the near future, in a second season of the EPL, and over the long haul.