After quietly announcing the date and location of their next conference, the Tournament Directors Association (TDA) has come under vehement fire from the poker community regarding the spot they chose.
Yesterday afternoon the head of the Board of Directors for the TDA, World Poker Tour Executive Tournament Director Matt Savage, announced over his Twitter feed pertinent information regarding the next TDA Summit. “The 2015 TDA Summit will be held June 16-17 at the Venetian Las Vegas,” he wrote. “Registration details to follow shortly. Send your local TD please.” Virtually as soon as his announcement hit the Twitterverse, outrage from the poker community followed for an obvious reason.
The Venetian, despite having one of the finest poker rooms in Las Vegas, is a part of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation (LVSC). At this point in time, the LVSC and its owner, billionaire anti-online gaming and poker advocate Sheldon Adelson, are essentially persona non grata in the poker community due to Adelson’s drive for a federal ban on internet gaming and poker. For many in the poker world, the announcement by the TDA to hold their conference in the “belly of the beast” is a smack in the face as the ongoing fight against Adelson continues.
European poker journalist Remko Rinkema responded to Savage over Twitter, “I can understand playing there because (players) want to make a living, but the TDA Summit there? Unbelievable.” Daniel Negreanu, never one to not let his opinion be known, chided Savage also on Twitter, saying, “This is the most EPIC and elaborate April Fool’s Joke of all-time…you got everyone riled up with this one, am I right?” Former World Champion Ryan Riess joined in on the conversation, suggesting over Twitter that the TDA could hold their conference “at my house” rather than the Venetian.
Facing a mounting and visceral reaction from the poker world, the TDA and Savage pointed out that, much like their conference is 2013 (which also drew some criticism, albeit not as loud as this year), the Venetian and the LVSC comped the conference areas, audio/visual equipment for presentations and reduced rates for conference attendees in 2015. This, the TDA states, is important for keeping the conference free of charge so that tournament directors from around the United States at least (but foreign tournament directors often are a part of the proceedings) can keep their expenditures to a minimum.
Leave it to the head of the Global Poker Index, Alexandre Dreyfus, to enter the scene to try and correct matters. Citing that the Venetian’s poker room is no longer helmed by Women in Poker Hall of Famer Kathy Raymond, Dreyfus commented on Twitter that holding the TDA conference at the Venetian “makes no sense.” “I know that the poker room management are great and very supportive (at the Venetian), but groups like Aria should support the TDA,” Dreyfus typed over Twitter.
Dreyfus’ next move has offered the TDA a way out of the situation that they had created for themselves. On his Facebook page this morning, Dreyfus and the GPI “offer to support the costs” for the TDA Summit, provided that it was moved to another location in Las Vegas. As of this moment, there seem to be discussions between Dreyfus and the TDA that will result in some agreement being reached that would stave off the anger of the poker world against the TDA by removing it from the Venetian.
For his part, Savage states that he was simply the messenger on the information and didn’t make the decision singularly. In a statement to PocketFives’ Dan Cypra, Savage noted that no one else was offering what the Venetian was looking to give for free. Now, with the efforts of Dreyfus and the GPI, perhaps the TDA will make a move that should emphasize poker’s dissatisfaction with the LVSC and Adelson.
