WSOP has disallowed media credentials for players who are also media
I have had a WSOP media credential since 2009 -- first with Donkdown, and then starting in 2012 with PokerFraudAlert.
It's not a huge deal, but it does get you usage of the media room and some access/perks which are nice to have.
You have to apply each year, and aside from one year awhile back where it was first denied by a new employee and then later force-approved by upper management, it's been a very smooth approval process each year.
That's why I was surprised when this year's application was...
:denied
Even more perplexing, it was denied by a longtime employee who had been approving me for the last several years. So this one was no mistake by a noob.
I asked for further clarification from management, and I was given a detailed answer.
In a nutshell, they've decided to refuse all media credential requests from WSOP players.
So if you're playing in any open bracelet event, you're not getting a media credential.
Why?
Apparently there were "issues" with certain player/media types last year (not me), and it made them review the entire matter for 2019. The decision was made to restrict media credentialing to full time media companies. People at the WSOP both to play AND be media will not get a credential this year.
I was assured that none of this was aimed at me personally, and that I had done nothing wrong to cause the denial.
While it is the WSOP's right to set whichever credentialing policy they choose, this is disappointing to me. I enjoyed being credentialed media, and it was one of the things which made the WSOP an enjoyable yearly experience for me. I'll still enjoy it as a player, but I feel like something is missing now.
Before you laugh at PFA getting a media credential, keep in mind that we really are poker media, and we really do cover the WSOP in depth, especially on the radio show during those months. In fact, PFA articles are often linked and quoted on Pokernews and other larger sites nowadays.
The PFA coverage is also very fair and unbiased. I'm not a shill and never sugarcoat mistakes they make, but at the same time, I've defended them many times when bitter/delusional players unfairly attack the WSOP on social media.
Unfortunately, the rise of vloggers and other player-media hybrids has made them reevaluate the player-media credentialing, and this was sadly the result.
RIP PokerFraudAlert media pass. You will be missed.
