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It’s hard to imagine anyone busier this December than World Poker Tour CEO Adam Pliska. A constant presence at the WPT World Championships (WPTWC), Pliska has been at the heart of the action at Wynn Las Vegas, engaging with players from all walks of life as they share their stories of how they arrived at the WPT’s flagship event.

From those at the top of the poker pyramid to those getting a taste of the action for the first time, Pliska consistently takes time out of his packed schedule to connect with the people who have made the WPT one of poker’s most iconic brands.

It’s this hands-on, player-first approach that has cemented the WPTWC as a standout on the poker calendar. The feedback from players has been overwhelmingly positive and reflects the festival’s success in delivering a world-class poker experience.

WPT Prime and ClubWPT Gold Freeroll Success

This year, the WPT Prime series has been a particular point of pride for Pliska. Described as the “Super Bowl of the mid-majors,” the series has become a staple of the WPT’s global calendar, offering players an accessible yet premier poker experience.

“What I love most is how accessible it is,” Pliska remarked.

“This environment is great—you can see the players feeding off each other’s energy. Watching the final table, you could feel the excitement in the room. I think the players are just feeding off each other."

“Watching that final table, you could see the enthusiasm that was around it. Even last year you see the 100% bump from the year before. I think people see that coming to the Wynn and playing the Prime is just a phenomenal experience.”

Pliska says that the numbers year-on-year give organizers a big indication that poker is in a healthy place.

“It’s good! Not just for the WPT Prime or the WPT in general. It’s good for all of poker. It’s a very good time to be a poker player.”

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Settling on a $5M Freeroll

In February, the WPT team convened to debrief and strategize, placing a strong emphasis on innovation. Moving away from focusing solely on massive guarantees, they opted for a freeroll structure instead.

“Originally, I think the discussion was what if we did a $2.5 million three-day event, and it just kept going up.”

Ultimately, they landed on the ClubWPT Gold $5M Freeroll Invitational, bolstered by additional prizes and opportunities for ClubWPT Gold qualifiers to earn their way into the event through satellites.

“We could really give back to the players through a mechanism that was not only give them a chance to really participate in something that was unique in the middle of the Championship festival, but also, you know, get the life changing money. It just injects a degree of enthusiasm into poker.”

According to Pliska, the energy in the venue was unmistakable throughout the event, bringing together amateurs experiencing their first major tournament and seasoned professionals. The shift from 2023 to 2024 was remarkable, he noted.

“Last year, I was sitting there sweating whether we would make the guarantee, and I had to deal with that. This year, I kind of knew we’d already spent the money.”

The $0 Bounty

As part of the freeroll, bounties were set aside for the final table, with Jason Christopher suffering the ignominious fate of drawing a $000,000 bounty. Pliska says players bought the bounty concept, with the gamification well-received by players.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “If you go back to Steve Lipscomb and his business model of putting poker on television, he always said he wanted to do a five-act play and that poker was a Greek tragedy.

“Somebody was going to win $1 million — that’s a story. And somebody else didn’t get anything. But it’s all part of the narrative. For the most part, it channelled some enthusiasm, and I think people are still talking about it.”

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“Setting the Canvas for the Future”

With fewer and fewer days in 2024 remaining, Pliska is in no business to be looking at the past. The conversation about the lack of guarantee has been discarded, with the future full of thoughts on how to capitalize on the success of this year’s WPT World Championship.

“I have been just so enthusiastically surprised by how well it was received,” said Pliska. “We got to figure out how to do it again. Not just professionals, not just amateurs — everyone is talking. Everyone is talking about how to try and win a passport.”

“It’s been a really fun series because you walk down the hall and talk to people about whether they won or didn’t. There was something different about this event and the entire WPT championship.

“You can feel it. That’s what people are saying. And we’re delighted. You know what? We can set the canvas. We can put it out there. The Wynn is a remarkable place, but everybody knows that this is a dream place to come and play poker. But players have to be receptive to it and they have to buy into the idea. Players bought into the idea, and it’s just worked out.”

More Ways to Qualify Than Ever

Pliska admitted that in the past, the WPT had no qualifiers. Now, with ClubWPT Gold, ClubWPT and WPT Global, the event has partners worldwide sending people to the WPTWC. Having been involved in the WPT for over two decades, first as a board member and as President since 2009, Pliska has overseen a huge period of transformation. Still, he’s also now able to recognize a renewed level of excitement for the product.

“I remember in those early days in 2003, 2004, that excitement. I feel like you have that excitement here, and in addition, you have the players who accept it — and that makes all the difference.

“We don’t always, we don’t always hit it out of the park, but I do think that players give us credit fairly. They give us credit for trying.”

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More Fun Still to Come

With a packed December schedule, Pliska says that marketing to poker players is all about competing for “the real estate of that people want to do” and that the WPT isn’t going to be resting on their laurels after this month’s success.

“Right now, it’s a good time. If I was a poker player, I’d be like ‘Wow!’ There is no tour that can rest on their laurels right now. Because you have to be thinking, if you don’t do it then there’s going to be another tour doing it.

“We’re at at time where we need to just be continue to be pushing forward and you need to, innovate, and we need to be working to get the real estate and earn that right, to get the real estate in the minds of the population

“And if we can tell people, remind people that you want to play poker. It’s great. It’s fun. And then we’re contributing to something, quite frankly just like some of the other tournaments, come in and remind people that poker is something this is all good.”

Watch the Full Interview

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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