Doug Polk wants odds of 20:1 that Caesars Entertainment Corp., will cancel the live component of the 51st World Series of Poker (WSOP) due to the Coronavirus.
Chips.
Mucky things.
Mike ‘Timex’ McDonald agrees with Polk, and is looking for someone to lay odds of 12:1.
How about you?
While Polk and Timex consider this terrifying threat to the 51st WSOP, most of us are more fearful of the registration and payout lines.
The WSOP has a plan, man.
The Loyalty Card
The Caesars Rewards loyalty card is once again pivotal to the whole shebang.
You cannot enter a WSOP event without one.
If you need a new card, then pick one up at the Rotunda area in the Rio Convention Centre. If you previously registered but the dog ate it, then don’t register for a new one, ask for a replacement, or use the re-print kiosks available in the Rotunda.
You will need your driver’s license or passport.
Registration
The registration area continues to be the Tropical Ballroom (opposite the Amazon Room), right at the back of the Rio. There are cages for VIPs and mere mortals. This year, there are more cages than a chicken concentrated feeding operation (CAFO)
You can take a furtive peek on Tuesday, May 26, at 9 am. It remains open 24/7, until July 14.
If you register this way, ensure you have your loyalty card and picture ID in the form of a passport or drivers licence.
Here are the payment formats:
1. Cash
2. Credit/Debit Cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover or AMEX)
3. Wire Transfers or Cashier’s Checks
4. Rio Gaming Chips
5. Rio Tournament Buy-In Chips
If you choose option 2, know there will be a side charge, and you’ll need a photograph ID that matches the details on your flexible friend.
Payouts
Payouts and registration areas are separate for the first time.
The Payout Office switches to the Palma Ballroom (previously the media centre). Once again, you’ll need your loyalty card and relevant photo ID. International players, applying for an ITIN need to bring a second form of ID such as a bill or anything showing proof of address.
Payouts options:
1. Cash
2. Wire Transfer
3. Casino Chips
4. Check.
5. Personal Tournament Account (see below).
Ok, so those are the options for people who are aged 100+ or don’t use computers or mobile phones over fears that Wi-Fi rays will create the need for premature funeral arrangements.
Now, for the rest of humanity.
Kiosks
The WSOP is providing 20 kiosks scattered throughout the WSOP’s stronghold on the Rio so players can print their seat cards, removing the need to queue for anything other than the kiosk, a pee and a latte at Starbucks.
You must have registered and paid for your event via the Online/Mobile Registration System. You need your loyalty card to use the kiosk.
The WSOP uses the Bravo Poker Live system to manage online registrations. To avoid the sirens that drag you crashing into the long lines of angry and frustrated poker players, then you must visit the WSOP cage, and sign-up (take loyalty card, photo, yadda, yadda, yadda).
In 2019, 38,565 entrants came through this system, 20% of entrants and the WSOP has a goal of hitting 80% one day.
Online registration begins in April.
WSOP Tournament Account
The other option is to set up a WSOP Tournament Account.
In 2019, 1,523 players avoided the lines this way, including Daniel Negreanu, who told all and sundry in a press release that the decision is a “no-brainer.”
Once again, you have to visit the WSOP cage at least once to set up the account. You can then use the online/mobile registration system, and the funds come out of your WSOP Tournament Account. You then pick up your seat cards at one of the kiosks.
Additional Support
The WSOP is also setting up a dedicated on-site support system to help people who have registration or payout problems. No bots, only humans. Earmarked for this purpose is the Belize Ballroom (north of the Rotunda, on route to the main casino).
There will be a separate system for managing the flow of the Big 50, the $500 buy-in, 50,000 starting stack, 50-minute event that opens things on May 28, 29, 30 and 31. The WSOP will provide word on this in due course.
The celebrated naturalist, Charles Darwin, once said, “a man who dares waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” The WSOP is doing their best to give us back that hour. If the Coronavirus doesn’t wipe us all out, then it’s up to us to take advantage of the systems they are putting into place. Unless Polk is right, and we end up playing the entire festival online from a hospital bed in either Nevada or New Jersey.