We Cannes Do This, Says WSOP Europe

Poker News / Short-Stacked Shamus / 14 October 2011 / Leave a Comment

Outside the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette (Photo credit: PokerNews)

The move to Cannes appears to have been embraced by many players, with numerous favorable comments being reported from France about how the WSOPE has gone thus far.

If you think about it, the World Series of Poker has always been kind of clever with the naming thing. Going back to 1970 when Jack and Benny Binion decided to name their humble gathering of mostly-Texan gamblers a "World" Series, that was kind of a bold move. But it might also be considered an example of forward-thinking. After all, it afforded the potential for unlimited growth. And later, when the idea to expand the tournament series to another continent was proposed, the move to call the supplemental series the World Series of Poker Europe was also somewhat inspired.

Calling it such meant the WSOPE wasn't necessarily bound to any one European country, should organizers decide a future move was in order. And so, after four years at the Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square in London, England, the Series made a move over to Cannes, France for 2011.

The story of how the WSOPE came to be goes back to Harrah's purchase of the WSOP from Binion's Horseshoe in 2004. In late 2006 the gaming corporation acquired London Clubs International and its casinos, Harrah's first venture outside of the U.S. It was this acquisition that helped make it possible for Harrah's to expand the WSOP to a non-Vegas setting.

Under the stewardship of then-Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, it was announced in February 2007 that the first WSOPE would take place. At first the word was that events would take place at various LCI locations in the U.K., although ultimately all would take place at The Empire.

In interviews at the time, Pollack suggested the intention to make London a permanent home for the WSOPE. There were also intimations made then that we would soon see a World Series of Poker Asia or some other variation on the theme in the coming months, although that development has yet to occur.

Over the next four years the WSOPE successfully staged numerous bracelet events at the Empire, with increased participation and tournaments added from year-to-year. Here's a look at the numbers during those first four years (winners noted in parentheses):

2007
Event No. 1: £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. -- 105 entrants (Thomas Bihl)
Event No. 2: £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha -- 165 (Dario Alioto)
Event No. 3: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- 362 (Annette Obrestad)
total 2007 buy-ins: 632

2008
Event No. 1: £1,500 No-Limit Hold'em -- 410 (Jesper Hougaard)
Event No. 2: £2,500 H.O.R.S.E. -- 110 (Sherkhan Farnood)
Event No. 3: £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha -- 165 (Theo Jorgensen)
Event No. 4: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- 362 (John Juanda)
total 2008 buy-ins: 1,047

2009
Event No. 1: £1,000 No-Limit Hold'em -- 608 (J.P. Kelly)
Event No. 2: £2,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em/Omaha -- 158 (Erik Cajelais)
Event No. 3: £5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha -- 154 (Jani Vilmunen)
Event No. 4: £10,000 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- 334 (Barry Shulman)
total 2009 buy-ins: 1,254

2010
Event No. 1: £2,650 No-Limit Hold'em (6-max.) -- 244 (Phil Laak)
Event No. 2: £5,250 Pot-Limit Omaha -- 120 (Jeff Lisandro)
Event No. 3: £1,075 No-Limit Hold'em -- 582 (Scott Shelley)
Event No. 4: £10,350 No-Limit Hold'em Heads-Up -- 103 (Gus Hansen)
Event No. 5: £10,350 No-Limit Hold'em (ME) -- 356 (James Bord)
total 2010 buy-ins: 1,405

As you can see, numbers were increasing, and The Empire began to experience some of the same problems Binion's did during the WSOP "boom" of 2003-2004 when limited space for staging events made it difficult to handle the growing fields.

In November 2010, Harrah's was rebranded to Caesars Entertainment (which it had acquired back in 2005). The move was thought by many to reflect a more international approach given the wider, global recognition of the Caesars name. At that point the company represented the world's biggest casino operator with more than 50 casinos in six different countries.

Soon after the rebranding came the news that Caesars had made a deal with the Lucien Barrière Hôtels & Casinos to move the WSOPE over to the Casino Barrière de Cannes Croisette. In a statement regarding the decision, Caesars spoke of the company having been seeking "a strategic opportunity to enter the French market," spurred in part by the increased participation of French players at the WSOP in Vegas.

Along with that announcement came word that the WSOPE would be expanded to seven bracelet events (with a non-bracelet ladies event subsequently being added) and moved forward a bit on the calendar to October.

Thus far the move appears to have been embraced by many players, with numerous favorable comments about the staff's management of registration and the events, Cannes' relatively lower cost when compared to London (although still expensive), and the chance to experience the inviting climate and views afforded by the south of France.

The WSOPE Main Event begins tomorrow, and most observers are curious to see how many turn out to play in the €10,400 buy-in event. But if the six preliminary events are an indication, we may likely see a larger field at the 2011 WSOPE ME than in years past:

2011
Event No. 1: €2,680 No-Limit Hold'em (6-max.) -- 360 (Guillaume Humbert)
Event No. 2: €1,090 No-Limit Hold'em -- 771 (Andrew Hinrichsen)
Event No. 3: €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha -- 180 (Steve Billirakis)
Event No. 4: €3,200 No-Limit Hold'em Shootout -- 258 (Tristan Wade)
Event No. 5: €10,400 No-Limit Hold'em Split Format -- 125
Event No. 6: €1,620 Pot-Limit Omaha (6-max.) -- 339
total 2011 buy-ins (thus far): 2,033

Safe to say, all appears ça va bien thus far.

Check back in here at Betfair Poker for continuing reports on the WSOPE from myself and our friend YorkyPud (a.k.a., Matthew Pitt) who is there in Cannes with the PokerNews team.

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