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Copyright © 2006 Poker Mag.
HEADLINE:
Foxwoods Aces On Poker: Room Gets Tour Branding
Body:
Four years ago last month, Steve Lipscomb went knocking on Kathy
Raymond’s door at Foxwoods Resort Casino. The founder of
the then-unheard-of World Poker Tour, Lipscomb had a vision for
turning no-limit tournament
poker into the ultimate sports fantasy: a game where Vegas
meets Hollywood; where the prize money is unimaginable; and where
any Joe who’s ever sat down with a rack of chips has a legitimate
hope of making the final table alongside the best in the world.
Raymond, the longtime head of poker operations at Foxwoods, and
the rest of the casino’s top management needed just half
an hour to act on Lipscomb’s pitch. “We’re about
to launch a new sport,” Lipscomb recalled telling the Foxwoods
executives in his introduction to poker legend Mike Sexton’s
2005 book “Shuffle Up and Deal.” “It will change
the poker world,
but more important for you, it will promote the heck out of your
casino and bring people streaming through the doors.” Raymond
called Lipscomb back on his cell phone after the meeting.
They were in. Fast forward to last Thursday, and it’s as
sure a thing as pocket aces that Foxwoods’ little gamble
on the World Poker Tour has paid off big. Hollywood starlet Carmen
Electra provided plenty of eye candy at the opening of the casino’s
WPT-branded World Poker Room. But the crowds were there for one
reason: to play cards. The casino’s card room has grown
to 114 tables, with around-the-clock tournament play and a steady
stream of visiting poker stars.
The WPT just added a second annual event to Foxwoods, giving
the casino even more global exposure. Lipscomb’s creation
has morphed into a national TV success and cultural phenomenon
thanks to the WPT broadcasts on the Travel Channel. And while
he’s got no monopoly on no-limit Texas
hold’em - copycat shows are everywhere, and the World
Series of Poker is still the biggest event of the year - the branding
power of WPT may be unrivaled.
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