Comments on: WSOP November Nine Media Guide All the stuff you wanted to know about the Nov. 9, but didn’t care enough to ask

By: DanM

DanM — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:50:38 +0000

***Methinks a billion-dollar publicly-traded corporation with $16 million could get a better deal that lil â€˜ol me can.***

Just for the record, Harrah’s is no longer a public company. So all this fund stuff could go on in private.

By: Kevin Mathers

Kevin Mathers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:46:54 +0000

Considering Chainsaw started a thread on 2+2 less than two weeks ago upset about there was a “three day delay” between the final table and its conclusion…

By: Mean Gene

Mean Gene — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:57:36 +0000

I am both astonished and disappointed that he wasn’t the first to pick up on it. It makes me worry about myself.

By: Kevin Mathers

Kevin Mathers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:30:20 +0000

When Chainsaw discovers this news and posts about it on Sunday, then it’ll be talked about.

By: Mean Gene

Mean Gene — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:26:14 +0000

That makes sense, though I would still think that Harrah’s could find a better rate in a product that would still be extremely low-risk. I’m also surprised that they didn’t mention in the media guide that yes, they know the interest payment was low and here’s why. Then again no one seems to be talking about this so maybe I’m just tilting at a windmill.

Last year I said that Harrah’s should have an endorsement deal with the company they invest the November Nine money with, have a hand during the ESPN broadcast that’s something like the “Lock of the Week!” where some player has the nuts and bets out and Lon and Norm say “That pot is as safe as if it was invested in a Fidelity Institutional Money Market Fund – Treasury Only Portfolio!!!”

Maybe this year they should look at other marketing oppotunities–they could sit the November Nine down and say, “Look, we COULD invest this in a Treasury Only product, but you’d only make about a grand in total. Or, we could put it in munis…bonds…tech stocks…” These guys are gamblers, putting the money in the safest, no-yield investment product seems so wrong. Then again Ivey would probably want to put it all on the Don’t Pass line.

By: Fifth Street Journal

Fifth Street Journal — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:10:02 +0000

Short-maturity t-bills are the lowest risk (and lowest return) investment. It’s just what you’d expect them to choose, and the same thing they invested in last year. Interest rates are down, that’s the only difference. I was an investment banker earlier in my career, and there really isn’t anything unusual about it… other than the times we live in.

By: Mean Gene

Mean Gene — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:46:21 +0000

Maybe someone in the investment/banking industry can ‘splain the paltry interest payment, but something seems wrong here, very very wrong. Some calculations using my fingers AND toes:

The prize pool available to invest this year is about 64% of last year’s ($25 million to $16 million).

If this year’s funds were invested in the same fund as last year paying the same rate you’d expect a return this year of approximately $63,000.

Instead it paid $1,321, which is only 2.1% of that $63,000 figure.

Now I know that the interest rates are low right now…but my interest-bearing savings account is paying a mighty 0.10% right now. And THAT is higher than what Harrah’s is saying they earned on the $16 million they brought to Goldman. I’m being serious when I say that someone at Harrah’s could’ve handed me a $16 million check, I could’ve deposited in my savings account, and 110 days later I would’ve returned with a little less than $5K in accrued interest. Methinks a billion-dollar publicly-traded corporation with $16 million could get a better deal that lil ‘ol me can.

By: Fifth Street Journal

Fifth Street Journal — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:59:58 +0000

Found one error re. “the WSOP has been in existence longer than:”

“The modern Lego brick was patented on January 28, 1958; and bricks from that year are still compatible with current bricks.” according to Wikipedia.

By: Fifth Street Journal

Fifth Street Journal — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:28:34 +0000

We’ve experienced 1.3% deflation year to year, the Fed’s target interest rate is 0 – .25%… so yes, the shortest t-bills currently yeild .035%.

By: Kevin Mathers

Kevin Mathers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:11:02 +0000

Nolan (or whomever wrote that) summed it up succinctly.

By: anonymous

anonymous — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:08:56 +0000

I love how in Shulman’s bio, it says that he “remains a vocal wsop critic despite his participation and success”

By: Mean Gene

Mean Gene — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:56:45 +0000

I’m not exaggerating when I say that $1,321 wouldn’t cover the Jack’s Links Beef Jerky tab for Media Row for one week during the WSOP.

By: Kevin Mathers

Kevin Mathers — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:57:37 +0000

As you note, last year added nearly $100,000 to the prize pool, when it was put into a fund paying out .9% I'm trying to find out what the rate for this year's fund (noted at the bottom of page 5 as the "Goldman Sachs Treasury Only #506 Money Market Fund", I found something close from Goldman Sachs that has a .04% yield.

By: Mean Gene

Mean Gene — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:43:28 +0000

Sorry, was so incredulous that I hit the enter key by mistake. Last year there was nearly $25million left for the November Nine and during the hiatus is accrued $98,171 in interest. Now I know that there’s been this global economic meltdown (not that Goldman seemed to suffer much) but there is no way, NO WAY, that $16million would only accrue $1,321 in interest in nearly four months. Jesus, I can walk to my bank with my $10K Main Event entry fee and open a money market account paying .55%. This has to be a typo.

By: Mean Gene

Mean Gene — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:29:41 +0000

Wait a second.

There’s $16 million in prize money to be awarded. This was placed in a “risk-free Goldman Sachs Treasury-Only Money Market interest-bearing account”. It was held there from July 16th until today–that’s 110 days.

And Harrah’s is saying it only accrued $1,321 IN INTEREST???