WSOP Vice President spoke about plans for 2023

27 December 2022

In 1997, Jack Effel worked at Horseshoe as a manager, and 25 years later, he returned to this institution as one of the most recognizable faces in poker. So the return of the WSOP to this casino was a special event for the vice president of the series. Before Christmas, Effel gave an interview to PokerNews. The WSOP Vice President spoke about plans for 2023 and much more.

WSOP Vice President spoke about plans for 2023 1

“Obviously, rebranding is a cool thing. I started my career at Horseshoe, and I will finish it here. Caesars is a large company with casinos worldwide, but it’s nice seeing WSOP return to its home. WSOP and Horseshoe have more than 50 years of common history,” said Effel.

The original Horseshoe Casino was opened in Las Vegas in 1951 by Jack Binion. Later, in 1970, his son Jack founded the WSOP series in the institution. The casino held the series until 2005 when the championship was moved to Rio. This year, Bally’s Casino decided to return to its former name — Horseshoe.

“Horseshoe and WSOP together again is a very sentimental thing, and at the same time, historical. This is a bright event for our brand and us. It’s great to be back at Horseshoe and have the WSOP there,” added Effel.

Last month, as part of the rebranding, the casino opened a new poker room, which was named Hall of Fame, which, according to Effel, should become the best in Las Vegas.

“The poker room itself is beautiful. There are other things that we are currently developing and planning to implement. It will be a place where you can come at any time of the year to see the Hall of Fame and the Gallery of WSOP champions with all the winners of the main event. We think it will be one of the best rooms in the city, and I am excited about its future,” Effel said.

The WSOP organizers decided to share the schedule of the series in two stages

This year, the WSOP organizers decided to share the schedule of the series in two stages. This is done so that players can take care of trips to such popular events as Millionaire Maker, Monster Stack, and a new tournament called Gladiators of Poker in advance.

“Something big happens every week, and we know that events for women and older people are important for people who attend one tournament yearly, so we announced the dates in advance,” added Effel.

The Gladiators of Poker tournament mentioned above will be held for the first time in the series and, according to Effel, will lead to a record turnout. The tournament will have the lowest buy-in in the history of the WSOP – only 300 USD with a guarantee of 3,000,000 USD.

“We expect Gladiators of Poker to become one of the largest events in terms of attendance. Access to the bracelet can be obtained by people who did not have the opportunity to win it. At this event, you will see the full range of poker players — from amateurs to professionals,” Effel said.

This year, the main event of the series was a little short of breaking the attendance record. Next year, the tournament will begin on July 3, and the organizers hope that they will be able to exceed the record figures of 2006.