Is the WSOP Europe Stagnant?

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Not entirely.

But the WSOP Europe can’t seem to grow its numbers. Amazingly, two of this year’s London events had the exact same number of entrants as in 2007.

2007 HORSE – 105 players
2007 PLO – 165 players
2007 NLHE main event – 362 players

2008 HORSE – 110 players
2008 PLO – 165 players
2008 NLHE main event – 362 players

The only major difference is that there was on additional event at the 2008 WSOPE in the form of a NLHE tournament that drew 410 players. With that extra event, one could say that the overall turnout for the WSOPE grew, but that’s not the real story. THE story is that the World Series of Poker has had such high hopes for the growth of its brand, even throwing out the idea of expanding to Latin America and Asia in the coming years, but the first two years of the WSOP Europe haven’t indicated that there is a real public demand for it.

Are there simply too many tournaments out there? Is London just too expensive for players to afford, considering the high buy-in (£10,000) for the main event and the general cost of living? Would European players rather play the outrageously popular EPT events because they’re so well organized and publicized? Is the US economy, and thus the world economy, finally having an impact on the poker tournament circuit?

Many thought that 18-year old Annette Obrestad’s victory at the inaugural 2007 WSOPE main event would bring more players to the tournaments this year, but that didn’t seem to happen. Personally, I thought it would grow this year, but when I considered making plans to cover it, it was suggested to me by more than one fellow reporter that any money spent on a London trip would be better spent to cover the EPT event rather than the WSOPE, mainly due to the cramped media quarters and the expected turnout difference between the two events.

While the 2008 WSOP in Las Vegas set records and saw an overall increase in players, even in the main event, the WSOPE can’t seem to gather that same momentum. We’ll have to see who wins the main event this week in London…and wait for the 2009 WSOPE plans to be announced next year to see if they believe in this enough to keep it going and what Harrah’s might be able to do to grow it.

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