The WPA announced today that Jesse Jones has returned to his status as Chairman of the Board of the organization in the wake of the resignation of Wendeen Eolis.
It came on strong. Jesse Jones started the World Poker Association with the best of intentions, and using his solid reputation in the industry and a goal-laden pitch about developing uniformity in tournament poker rules globally, the WPA energized the poker community. Integrity, worldwide, rules – all words that appealed to tournament players. Membership grew, especially with the WPA\’s strong presence at the 2007 WSOP. Joseph Hachem joined the board, players anted up to become founding members, and a solid base was built.
Time went by. More time went by.
Wendeen Eolis took over as Chairperson and Jones semi-retired as Chairman Emeritus. Updates from the WPA were sporadic, not-exactly-monthly newsletters came without much news, and interest waned. Certain active members of the poker community stayed involved and helped with a code of ethics and set of tournament rules, only one of which was implemented at the 2008 WSOP (albeit only in the WPA-sponsored mega satellite), and a new board was elected. Still, many in poker awaited something tangible, something to show for their membership dollars.
The lack of public interest carried over to the WPA booth at the 2008 WSOP. The set-up has been right next to the Poker Players Alliance booth outside the Amazon Room, and the PPA has been getting significantly more traffic, likely due to the importance of the PPA in this highly-charged political season and its role in trying to change U.S. laws in poker\’s favor. And the WPA booth was empty quite often… until a few days ago. Suddenly, a dapper Jesse Jones appeared and manned the area. He seemed to have a renewed energy about him, despite the oxygen tubes he wore around his face.
As it turns out, the day Jones appeared was the day Eolis submitted her resignation. And when she left, eight members of the recently-elected Board of Directors also left. (I would\’ve expected to see more cohesiveness with Jones at the helm again, but that is my opinion from the outside.) Eolis is said to have been offered a role in the upcoming presidential campaign – best guess from this writer is with the McCain campaign. Jones took over in an attempt to fill empty Board positions and reignite the lost excitement about the WPA.
With nearly 1,400 members, many hope to see the WPA rebound with fresh ideas and the reputation that it began upon. Time will tell.