The World Poker Tour will host a $5m freeroll just before the WPT World Championship in December. [Image: Flickr.com / World Poker Tour]

Grushie!

Within the Celtic tribes, there was an old wedding tradition, whereby on the morning of the nuptials, the father of the groom would emerge from his home, gather his neighbors around him, and yell “grushie” as he threw a handful coins up into the air. Sometimes, a good natured “pile on” would ensue as the money was frantically collected.

Giving away money was an expression of generosity and the sharing of abundance.

The grushie signified not just prosperity, but the idea of paying forward your good fortune with the rest of the community. The Irish and Scots believed that investing in the whole clan, rather than accumulating for oneself, was critical for everyone’s health and survival. Giving away money was an expression of generosity and the sharing of abundance.

When I was a child, I never attended a wedding grushie, but it was commonplace in school for a kid to go out to the yard on their birthday and grushie a big bag of sweets. I have vivid memories of the excitement during what were not always good-natured pile-ons, as we would all scramble and scamper about, trying to get a piece of the bounty.

An auspicious start

In 2022, the WPT World Championship smashed its $15m guarantee, getting over $29m into the prize pool. It was an auspicious start for the poker heavyweight who found in the Wynn the perfect bedfellow to help it build the can’t-miss Winter poker series. The success of the 2022 edition was a product of many factors.

The WPT gave away almost 150 free seats which had a promotional value while also acting as an incentive to players who knew that there was some soft money in the pot. The online satellite schedule on WPT Global built steadily in the run-up to the event, creating a snowball effect, generating even more entrants and buzz as December approached.

There was a massive welcome party replete with celebrities, performers, and fun competitions with big prizes. There was a snazzy and comfortable VIP lounge with food, drinks and games – the perfect spot for breaks or to decompress after bust-outs.  Players appreciate being appreciated and it was noticeable how the big WPT names – talent, ambassador, and top brass – were always around to shake a hand, make an introduction and receive feedback. 

Stretch goal

Last year, the tournament made waves by putting on a record-breaking $40m guarantee for its $10,400 Main Event. It was a gutsy number which World Poker Tour CEO Adam Pliska called “a stretch goal,” a target that motivated his team to deliver value to the players. In relative terms, they narrowly missed the mark, generating $37.6m in buy-ins but in real money terms, that was still a $2.4m gift to the poker community.

We’re going to continue to make positive changes.”

“We knew the risks… and in my mind we’ve succeeded… We are growing this franchise and we want to make this something that lasts for many, many years,” said an emphatic Pliska, just as late registration was closing. “We’re not going any place. We’re building this up. We’re going to continue to make positive changes.”

Rather than lament the overlay, Pliska saw it as an investment in the company, future events, and the player base, calling the ongoing partnership with the Wynn “probably one of the great transformational chapters of the World Poker Tour.”

He was right to accentuate the positives, of which there were many. The tournament had garnered $8.5m more in buy-ins than in 2022 and the feedback for a festival that maintained the highest standards was all positive.

A $5m freeroll

“In order to receive, you need to give.” The Celts believed in that motto and so, too, does the WPT, which is looking to make an even bigger splash this December with the largest freeroll in the history of poker. In fact, it’s going to be so big that it will utterly eclipse the next biggest, which was an invitation only, closed door event all the way back in 2004 when the World Series of Poker launched its Tournament of Champions.

first prize in this $5m tournament will be a life-changing $1m

Today, in a press release, the WPT announced a $5m freeroll tournament that will be played just prior to the World Poker Championship. The freeroll celebrates the launch of WPT’s newest partner, ClubWPT Gold, and will run from December 13-15, beginning one day before the start of the $10,400 World Championship. First prize in this $5m tournament will be a life-changing $1m, while roughly another $1m will go toward 100 entries to the World Championship.

To secure a seat in this poker spectacular, players must win a “Golden Passport” via competitions, promotions, and giveaways on ClubWPT Gold, a new online poker product operating on a sweepstakes-based platform, similar to ClubWPT. A total of 2,000 Golden Passports will be awarded between September 23 and December 13 to players who have signed up for gold membership on ClubWPTGold.com.

This is great news for US players as ClubWPT Gold is a legal platform in the vast majority of states. Members can play poker games using a virtual “gold coin” currency that has no monetary value, but that corresponds to Sweeps coins, which can be used to play for cash and prizes.

Monumental investment

Pliska calls this freeroll “another monumental investment into the development and growth of not only the WPT World Championship, but the poker industry as a whole,” but with this incredible news, I have been reflecting on what Pliska said to me in an interview last year.

we’ve also done a great job for poker”

“We believe that the growth of good poker all over helps poker. We have a vision that transcends our own tournaments. If we can give people a great experience, then yes we’ve done a great job for the brand but we’ve also done a great job for poker.”

Nice words and sentiments are all well and good but when they are backed up by these kinds of actions, one is inclined to think that it is not hot air and blarney. Offer the inducement of a big guarantee and you might get showered, but do a huge giveaway and you guarantee yourself a bath and money in the pocket of your players.

Or to put it another way, this December at the Wynn, there’s going to be a $5m grushie.