Want to jump ahead of everybody in cash game lines at the WSOP? Caesars is willing to accommodate

[PLOL]

Caesars properties are implementing a new rule, which I think is terrible. I don't know for sure if it'll apply at the WSOP, but I assume it will. Previously there was a rule where 7 Star members could jump lists in cash games. So if there's a bunch of people on the list for a game you want to play when you show up, you can just show your 7 star card and you'll be next up for the game. I'm actually in favor of this rule. Most 7 stars are big whales as it's very hard to get 7star status, and it's impossible to get it from just playing poker. Most 7stars are pit degens and are also big time losers at poker. Getting these people in to the game as quickly as possible is good for the game, even if it sometimes screws you over when they're cutting ahead of you in line.

However, recently Caesars rooms are implementing a new rule where Diamond members can also go to the top of the list. I assume this is being implemented at all Caesars properties. I know for sure they're doing it at the Horseshoe in Hammond and the supervisors says the rule was handed down from corporate and if we don't like it we need to make a complaint to corporate. This is a horrible rule, and a huge inconvenience to non-diamond members. Unlike '7 star' status, Diamond status is much easier to get. In fact, it takes 10 times as many tier credits to get 7 star than it does to get diamond. You can get Diamond status just from grinding poker (you would have to average just under 17 hours/wk in a year to get Diamond). This is a big inconvenience to recreational players who may only play on weekends or whenever they're off from work (or people who don't usually play at a Caesar's property). The two types of people you want in your game are whales and rec players. This rule benefits the grinders at the expense of the rec players. If they implement this for the WSOP and you're not a diamond member, be prepared to wait a long time to get in a cash game while others jump in front of you.... Or you could just go to the Wynn.

[Dan Druff]

Caesars properties are implementing a new rule, which I think is terrible. I don't know for sure if it'll apply at the WSOP, but I assume it will. Previously there was a rule where 7 Star members could jump lists in cash games. So if there's a bunch of people on the list for a game you want to play when you show up, you can just show your 7 star card and you'll be next up for the game. I'm actually in favor of this rule. Most 7 stars are big whales as it's very hard to get 7star status, and it's impossible to get it from just playing poker. Most 7stars are pit degens and are also big time losers at poker. Getting these people in to the game as quickly as possible is good for the game, even if it sometimes screws you over when they're cutting ahead of you in line.

However, recently Caesars rooms are implementing a new rule where Diamond members can also go to the top of the list. I assume this is being implemented at all Caesars properties. I know for sure they're doing it at the Horseshoe in Hammond and the supervisors says the rule was handed down from corporate and if we don't like it we need to make a complaint to corporate. This is a horrible rule, and a huge inconvenience to non-diamond members. Unlike '7 star' status, Diamond status is much easier to get. In fact, it takes 10 times as many tier credits to get 7 star than it does to get diamond. You can get Diamond status just from grinding poker (you would have to average just under 17 hours/wk in a year to get Diamond). This is a big inconvenience to recreational players who may only play on weekends or whenever they're off from work (or people who don't usually play at a Caesar's property). The two types of people you want in your game are whales and rec players. This rule benefits the grinders at the expense of the rec players. If they implement this for the WSOP and you're not a diamond member, be prepared to wait a long time to get in a cash game while others jump in front of you.... Or you could just go to the Wynn.

That is terrible.

And to be honest, despite being 7 Stars myself, I think this shouldn't be allowed for 7 Stars players, either. Sure, it's good for the game (for the reasons you mentioned), but still unfair. A poker waiting list should not give priority to anyone. It's great to get a fish in the game if you're in the game already, but it sucks if you've already been waiting an hour for the seat, and some 7 Star strolls up and grabs your spot.

I agree that allowing diamonds in makes it a lot worse, as tons of people have diamond status, and it will make it REALLY hard for non-diamond members to ever get into games.

BTW, this reminds me of a situation I had at Bellagio about 3 years ago.

There was a full 80-160 game running, and there were two people on the board. First in line was a big fish, and second was me.

The players in the game smartly decided to make the game 10-handed (it's usually 9) to let the fish in.

It took forever for someone else to leave. I was waiting for about 2 hours, playing NL which I find incredibly boring. Finally, one of the pros in the game left, and the floorman called my name.

I came to the game, and one of the other pros in the game told me, "Sorry, we are going back to 9-handed now. So there's not really a seat open." (The fish was still there, btw.)

I objected. I said that I had no problem with the game being 10-handed, but they can't pick and choose whether it stays 10-handed based upon who was coming to the game.

This wasn't something personal against me, but rather because they didn't want to keep it 10-handed unless the 10th player was an asset to the game, which I obviously wasn't.

Still, I was on the board waiting for the 10-handed game, and I didn't feel they had the right to change it back to 9 just to exclude me for a longer period of time. My argument was that they could only change it back to 9 once the waiting list became empty.

Some of the other pros were real assholes about this to me, until finally one of them spoke up in my defense. The guy said, "Look, he's right. We can't pick and choose who plays here. Someone left, he's next up, he should have the seat."

The floorman was called back over, and he forced them to let me in.

[Jayjami]

The preference is total bs. The cash games at the WSOP can be juicy, but there are good games all over town in June. The rest of the year it really won't matter. What are the best rooms in Vegas? Bellagio, Venetian, Aria, Wynn, Red Rock, and Mirage. None of them are Caesars properties. The best Caesars room in Nevada is not even in Vegas. It is Harvey's in Lake Tahoe, which is extremely well run. If you live in an area without other choices, that sucks for you, but it will only hurt Caesars in the long run. They should want to have their preferred members losing their money at the gaming tables, not the poker tables.

Overall, Caesars is doing a good job running the WSOP. Could they do better? Yes, but attendance hasn't dropped significantly, even after Black Friday, so people must be somewhat satisfied. However, Caesars sees poker merely as a vehicle to generate profits and they have found it in the WSOP brand. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. However, its competitors look at poker from a different perspective. Having a first rate poker room is a matter of prestige.

Who saved poker in Vegas? Benny Binion had a hand, but in my opinion it was MGM president Steve Wynn. In the late 1990s the Mirage was the best room in town, by far. Before the TV poker boom, almost all of the rooms in Vegas had closed down. The Mirage was a shining beacon, with the new room at Bellagio gaining ground. Steve could have made more money installing slot machines, but he understood the intrinsic value of a truly great and respected poker room. So does Sheldon Adelson. Look at how much floor space at the Venetian is devoted to poker.

Now let's look at MGM today. Do you think Bobby Baldwin, a living poker legend, is going to let Wynn or Adelson have the best room in town? No way. As long as The Owl is in charge, Bellagio will be number one. Even the Stations Casinos have their poker niche, Vegas locals, to attract people to its properties. Caesars is simply not interested in cultivating a long term cash game clientele in Las Vegas. Thus, protests against its policy will likely fall on deaf ears, unless players boycott the cash games at the WSOP en masse, which is not going to happen. Like I said, the games are often too profitable to pass up.

[PLOL]

The rest of the year it doesn't matter? It does it you regularly play at Caesars properties. Recently I was next up in line at a 5/10 game, and then some diamond asshole line jumps me and took my spot. So I had to wait an additional 45 minutes to get in the only 5/10 game that was running. Thankfully nobody else jumped me in that time.

[Jayjami]

The rest of the year it doesn't matter? It does it you regularly play at Caesars properties. Recently I was next up in line at a 5/10 game, and then some diamond asshole line jumps me and took my spot. So I had to wait an additional 45 minutes to get in the only 5/10 game that was running. Thankfully nobody else jumped me in that time.

It won't matter if you play in Vegas, because there are so many options. Now, when I go to Tahoe this summer, it is going to suck ass, because they have the only room up there.