In the last edition of Card Player Magazine that I may receive (canceled the subscription after his initial WSOP comments), November Nine member Jeff Shulman takes the sly opportunity to make another unclear accusation point about the WSOP and Harrah\’s.
To refresh memories, Shulman was headed for the final table of the WSOP Main Event in July and made some comments regarding the possibility of winning the bracelet, namely that he would throw the gold in the trash. Two days later, CardPlayer.com published a story allowing Shulman to clarify his feelings. He noted therein that he was disappointed in how the WSOP is run, and that it is no longer run by people who care about poker or have the players in mind. Some of his comments:
Look, I love poker and entered with the hopes of winning, Shulman stated. But, more importantly, I support making the industry stronger and better for the players, and to do this, there needs to be some major changes to the way the World Series is run at the highest level. Hopefully, by doing something like this, people will start talking about those changes. I am going to stand by my commitment, but instead of pointlessly throwing it in the trash, I have come up with a few ideas.
Jeff Shulman’s alternative bracelet ideas:
1. Auction off the bracelet and give the money to charity
2. Hold a tournament for all players shut out of the main event and award the winner the bracelet
3. Give the bracelet away in a SpadeClub.com tournament
4. Give the bracelet to Stephen Colbert
As the Card Player Media President and COO, Shulman has the magazine at his disposal in which to write a lengthy explanation of what is so wrong with Harrah\’s and how he could fix poker. Instead, though, a page in the September 1 issue is dedicated (as always) to the Card Player TV show entitled \”The Scoop with Adam & Diego,\” and this time Shulman was the guest and excerpts were printed from the interview. Right off the bat, Diego Cordovez asked a question that baffled me coming from someone in the poker press:
\”Now, the last couple of days, the poker press, what there is of it, has started to quote you and stir up controversy, which you initiated…\”
Anyhooo, his answer? \”…I\’ve had a lot of people come up to me and say that somebody\’s got to do something about it. I\’m not sure I\’m the right guy, being that I\’m in the industry, but it\’s not like we have some special relationship here. They hate us, for whatever reason… I think they hate anyone who\’s not a celebrity, or maybe it\’s just that they treat the celebrities so much better than everyone else that they have special rules, they don\’t get penalties. I\’ve never seen anything like it. If we really want to take poker to the next level, you can\’t have different rules for different people.\”
Evidently, by disrespecting the WSOP bracelet and Harrah\’s (and all the players who would do anything to be in his final table position), he plans to take poker to the next level. Would that be the rude and insulting level? Would that be the vague and evasive level? Would love to hear some thoughts on this issue…
(The opinions/insinuations herein are Cali Jen\’s views and not necessarily those of Pokerati or Pokeratizens.)
