OPT Main Event reduces guaranteed prizepool to 18k

[Doctor Straight]

You won't get poker on TV unless it's a boffo celebritycomedian show ("Joker Poker") or the dollar amounts involvedare substantial. A $200 entry/$8000 first prize is great forthe players but probably still not big enough for TV. A lotof game shows on TV, people just watch for the money. Whereas a $24,000 season final with a first prize of $10,000or so starts to be in the ballpark of what TV would beinterested in showing. Having the players involved beingleague-leaders and winners of the $200 games means that theywon't be star-struck qualifying luckboxes and they shouldbe able to handle themselves at a TV table.

[PokerDome Group]

Dr we have the prize money under written and it will be for a lot more than people will expect.

[PimpedHerOut]

PokerDome Group,I understand that the 18k is only a guarantee and that if numbers are up it will probly be higher than that figure. But the fact remains that you will be deducting 2000 from each weekly prizepool in addition to the 10% rake. This spells less value for players on a weekly basis. If I have misunderstood this aspect then plz feel free to correct me on it.It is my opinion that this is a step backwards. This season you had the 10K for the top ranking players of the season and I suppose that money has come directly out of the rake that u made during the season. This upcoming season tho u have decided to tax the weekly prizepool by an additional 2k and thru flowery speech have tried 2 make it look like its an improvement. I just don't see that it is.I understand that u need the season to culminate in a final event of sum sort for it to have wide appeal for television audiences, but does this have to be at the detriment of the weekly prizepools? There are many players who can't devote every saturday to poker. They might be able to play only once or twice a month and for them they are unlikely to realise any of the benefits of the televised finale but they still get a lower prizepool when they decide 2 play the weekly events. I would imagine that if it is gonna be televised that there is considerable commercial value in it for you. Therefore it would be possible to put on a finale event for the consistent performers without funding it via the weekly prizepools. Maybe u have already considered this as a possibility, I personally think it would be more of a success with the players if it was done this way but u have obviously done your research.

[PokerDome Group]

Pimped with weekly production costs in excess of $50k, funding the grand final is out of the question.Just trust me that we will get more runners than ever before and that the prize pool relative to the grand final portion will be no worse off than this season. We did not make this decision lightly and took many factors into account that we won't discuss here.We will not directly make anything from the TV and you would be shocked if you knew just how much we subsidise the Main Event for at the moment and I don't expect you to understand that for one second.Our goal is to provide Australian players with something the likes they have never seen before and the next few months will tell if we are truly up to the task. Stay tuned and don't write us off because when it happens I know you will be happy.

[PimpedHerOut]

"Just trust me that we will get more runners than ever before"Sounds good 2 me, although it don't explain why the guarantee was reduced. If anything it would suggest that the guarantee could have increased. You could easily keep the 20k weekly guarantee in place and still get enough runners to cover the 2k excess.In any case I won't be writting u off LOL. To be honest I don't like the change at all but I will still come and check it out in the hopes that u prove me wrong

[Baron Vo Mandor]

I note with some dismay that the question about how this benefits semi-regular players was avoided..... Will wait and see anyway about these changes like with 99% of the poker players population will reserve my judgement and hope to be proved wrong.

[Andre28]

Its unfortunate more money will be taken out of each weekly prizepool. Sure it might result in more players attending, but that just means your odds of winning are reduced, so week in week out it is not better value for the casual player.Im sure the final will be excellent though.