ClubWPT Gold, the World Poker Tour-affiliated online operator, has announced a summer tournament series with $50 million in guaranteed prizepools and giveaways.
At least some of that 50 million will take the form of ‘Chips’. The distinction is due to the site’s repositioning last year as a poker training platform. Chips can be acquired by purchasing Hand Analysis credits, and can be cashed out at an exchange rate equal to the USD.
The Summer of Gold series runs from May 24 to June 28, in parallel with much of the upcoming World Series of Poker (WSOP) which starts on May 26.
If that seems like aggressive marketing, it’s no coincidence. As ClubWPT Gold’s announcement video says, “Let them have the Strip, we’ll take the summer.”
A de-escalation, or continued hostilities?
Schedulling a tournament series in direct competition with the WSOP may appear aggressive, but it would appear to be more of a de-escalation in the rivalry compared with last year. That saw the competition between the operators boil over into what PokerOrg correspondent Lee Jones termed “industrial sabotage.”
During last year’s World Series, ClubWPT Gold ran a promotion that offered a $1 million bonus for qualifying players if they won certain WSOP events.
That led to a situation in the $1,500 Millionaire Maker event where, with two players remaining, one would win an extra million dollars if they took the tourney down.
That player, Jesse Yaginuma, entered heads-up play at a significant chip disadvantage, but ended up winning the tournament due to what many deemed collusion with his opponent to ensure the extra million dollars would be won. Collusion that was directly incentivized by the ClubWPT Gold promotion.
The WSOP divided the remaining prizepool between the players but did not name an official winner or award a gold bracelet. They’ve since announced a rule change to prevent another similar incident.
A (now deleted) post from ClubWPT Gold celebrated the chaos caused last year — the impact of which is still being felt, not least by the two players involved, who we understand are now banned for life from the WSOP for alleged collusion.
What we know (and what we don’t)
The Summer of Gold series will run from May 24 to June 28 and promises $50 million in tournament guarantees and chip dumps. Six Gold Millions events, 76 Crown Series events, and four WPT events are mentioned.
Gold Millions tournaments traditionally have a 1M chip prizepool, while Crown events follow on from the site’s Crown Series festival earlier this year, awarding trophies and limited edition jerseys to the winners. The four WPT events mentioned could even be live, rather than online.
Live WPT events often run in Las Vegas, usually at the Venetian or Wynn casinos, and the possibility of a large live WPT tournament in Las Vegas — perhaps scheduled aggressively against a WSOP event — remains open. The schedule for the second half of the WPT live events is due to be announced soon.
While last summer’s $1M promotion affected the WSOP directly by design, explicitly influencing the way a tournament played out and therefore undermining its integrity, the new tack taken by ClubWPT Gold appears to be a more traditional business move.
Offering an alternative to playing WSOP events — whether live or online — ultimately gives players more choice, more opportunities, and more money to win.
While ClubWPT Gold is framing its tournament series as a continuation of the war, it would seem at first glance as if this summer’s inter-operator competition will be far less destructive.
But that’s assuming there are no more tricks up their sleeve. We’ll keep an eye on this one as both series grow nearer.
