Is it a real competition or just a reality series about Blackjack? I don’t know who the competitors are for the upcoming season of WSOB, except for those that qualified at the super satellites in Vegas. I did a little searching about season 1-3 and found a neat site on TV.com. The names of the earlier contestants – WOW. I could list them all here but most of the regulars already know about them as evidenced by the WSOB discussions. For newcomers to the TBJ world like me I was shocked to see some of the regular members here, Rick Jensen, Rick Swogger, Joe Pane, Ken Smith, Skip Samad, Kevin Blackwood, Robert Blechman, Anthony Curtis and others were on the show. What got me started on this is American Idol and Sanjaya. My wife is extremely upset that Sanjaya hasn’t been given the boot. I keep telling her that American Idol ISN’T a singing competition. It’s a reality TV show based upon singing – that’s why the best don’t always win. (She doesn’t care and it’s hilarious to see her get upset on Wednesday nights!) Well with the WSOB – is the same true? Is it a real competition or a reality show based upon BJ? Second thing about WSOB. With Baseball and football and all other professional sports the World Series/Super Bowl/Finals, implies some earlier competition to get to that level. In fact they plug the baseball World Series in August and September when it isn’t held until October. Look at basketball – they’re plugging the 40 days of playoffs now (I see the ads on USA, TNT, etc. and I don’t watch basketball) What about the WSOB? Where’s the advertising, the hoopla the “buzz?” Back to my point – If a few people can keep a hasbin like Sanjaya on American Idol (Howard Stern and VFTW.com) I wonder if we can do the same for WSOB? I mean promotion-wise. Why would you bother – what’s in it for you? Comes the voices from the peanut gallery. Simply this – if the WSOB were to become an OPEN competition for the next season it would give me an opportunity that I haven’t had. If the WSOB succumbs to poor ratings and goes the way of Three’s Company (cancelled shows) then there’s another lose tourney opportunity. Furthermore with a big viewer ship maybe it could convince certain individuals/corporations to package WSOB with the WPT thereby having cross over marketing – hey it worked for UBT in Aruba. Ok maybe I’m putting the cart in front of the horse but somebody’s gotta take the first step don’t they? Am I losing it AGAIN?
wsob Since You Were Here In March Of 06 I Would Have Thought You Would Not Have Missed All The Post On The Wsob 07 Which Will Not Be Aired Untill June Are July And The Wsob 08 Qualifyers Will Start In November I Believe-depending On Your Bankroll You Will Probably Have Two Ways Of Qualifying 1. Small Tournys In Casinos Across The Country-you Usually Need To Win At Least 2 Tournys To Qualify To Be Sent To The Wsob 2.if Your Pockets Are Deep Maybe A Super Event In Vegas Right Before The Wsob In December (this Year Could Be Different) Entry Fees I Think Were 1000 And 2500 Search The Site For More Info On The Wsob 07 Here it is! Here's the fastest, easiest way you can win a seat into World Series of Blackjack IV. WSOB 07 On January 23rd, there will be four satellite tournaments at the Las Vegas Hilton. Each one is limited to 6 players. The buy-in is $2500 (with a $50 entry fee). Win one table and you're in as one of the 40 players competing for $1 million in prize money in World Series of Blackjack IV! On January 24th, there will be two satellite tournaments at the Las Vegas Hilton. These are limited to 18 players each...where three tables of 6 will compete with the top two finishers advancing to a final table. Win that final table and you advance to the World Series. Buy in for these tournaments is $1,000 (with a $25 entry fee). To pre-register and pre-pay, call Las Vegas Hilton Casino Marketing at 1-800-457-3307 and ask for World Series of Blackjack Super Satellite, promotion code ZWS2500 for the $2,500 event and ZWS1000 for the $1,000 event. Call hours are 7am-10pm PST daily. The last day for pre-registration will be Sunday January 21. You may sign up for one event each day. If you qualify in one of the $2500 events and have pre-paid for a $1,000 event, the $1,000 buy-in would be refunded since you can only qualify once. Space is very limited, so call now! Those of you who track these things can do the math and realize what a tremendous value this offers. World Series of Blackjack IV player events get underway on January 25 with the competition itself kicking off on January 27. The winner of World Series of Blackjack IV will be crowned on January 30. I'm happy to answer any questions here, through a private message or you may email me directly at KBelinkoff@GSN.com. Thanks and good luck....hope to see all of you at the Hilton!
Thanks Maxwell - I WAS there - just not very long :sad: I did both the single table SNG - I was at the table that HD won - I came in second In the MTT format I made it past the first round and ran into a brick wall by the name of Rick Jensen who knocked me out on the final hand of the final table for another second place finish :sad: What do they say? Always the bridesmaid....
Why WSOB over UBT? Someone asked me the above question. I don't want to give the impression that I'm choosing sides or pitting on against the other. In fact, why does a person have to choose? I don’t believe in one or the other but rather it can be all/both. I think the market is big enough for both shows to succeed. I’m in favor of more BJT’s period. Whether they be the 1.00 buy in for Barney or the 10,000 buy in for Joe. I’m for both and everything in the middle. So let’s get that out of the way. The reason I started this thread and asked the question is that the way I see it, there are several reasons to promote WSOB: 1. Proven track record – Four seasons under its belt and the prize has increased from 250,000 to 1,000,000. By far the largest TBJ prize pool that I’ve seen. 2. The producer of WSOB is also a member here at BJT.com who, while not very active in his posts, does read this board and his responses are, in my opinion, very valuable and he shows an interest in the players. 3. They have demonstrated a willingness to try different things: AOL sponsorship in the past, super-satellites, World Blackjack Tour (well ok 2 shows) but they aren’t stuck in some mold that they don’t break out of 4. They’ve solicited other casino’s for satellites thereby reaching out to a greater audience 5. Most importantly – they have a representative to announce and talk about things with members of the blackjack tournament community. 6. It’s ready to go National. The product is there (I can’t comment on the content) and the past “quality” was good. They just need an audience.
I wonder who owns the game WSOB? I see GSN is owned by Sony Entertainment and Liberty Media. Im not sure how many shows GSN actually owns and how many are syndicated, but if WSOB is owned by GSN it could be proven a valuable asset. A good example of a trademark making big is the WPT brought on the stock symbol WPTE which is worth over 100 million in market cap.
As long as it remains a limited open game then it can only be a reality game show...or maybe a BJ Stars special at best... When certain people qualify to play simply based on invites then how can it be a true world series...? They use that name simply as a tag line... Now 2 years ago they had a more open event than last year and even last year was more open than the early years... I think the year KenE won and Rick played also that year it was a 100 % invite event with no open compitition at all... So which shows stood out??? None of them really and in fact the most open event that had players from casinos all over USA was a fairly boring show... I still watched them all ...especially because I played in the sat games sponsored by my local casino and missed a free trip and seat by a lousy final table BJ ...dealt to the 2 who went while I sat stiffed up against a dealer ten...lol But the fact of the matter was that the non pros or people who earned their way rather than an invite didnt create a better show...not their fault in IMO though.. None of these shows UBT,WSOBJ, etc do a very good job of packaging the drama...explaining the game and the keys to success or what it takes to win... why one move is good while another is a loser.. Also these two main perveyors of TV tournament BJ are basically at each others throats ...with lawsuits etc...when if they were smart they would get their heads together and develop and share a winning package of TV events that are shown right after the Poker events or B4...(hear that GSN??? play reruns of WSOBJ right after Poker...cards players watch card playing...any kind!) Think about it....when Pokers on ....Do care if its World Series of Poker or any particular franchise ?? I dont ...I watch em all...even Poker after Dark which has the big names but is actually the most boring of shows.. I applaud these guys for trying to jazz up the TV productions and make this work...and in fact they have made great advances at making the game more TV exciting what with elimination hands and Burger chips...but they need to keep refining ....maybe make it even more cutthroat or whatever along with slick commentators (missing now) who know and explain the game and can tell a joke or two... I dont know if you will get an open event anytime soon Fred....I will say these shows have to soon realize the public is gonna start noticing the same old invited faces showing up year after year... How to chose a good and exciting field of players is still a issue these shows need to refine. Hopefully they make profits and continue to grow!
Therein lies the rub or the ultimate question: Do you watch those poker shows because of the recognizable faces, Phil Helmuth, Annie Duke, Mike Matesow, etc.. or do you watch because of the game? It is my PERSONAL opinion that these smart, and clever TV guys believe it is because of the familiarity of the "stars" that people tune in to watch. I agree with that TO AN EXTENT. Take my analogy with American Idol (AI) for example. What faces do we know in the beginning episodes? It's nothing more than the "Gong Show" (remember that one?) Only AFTER Hollywood week do we see the same faces as the field is parred down from 24-20-16-12-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1! You get the idea. That's where, in my opinion WSOB has an advantage OVER UBT. With familiarity comes some "bonding". So I understand the invites, especially the TV friendly faces, the TV personalities and such. Other things I personally believe that they could do to make the TV BJT more viewer friendly - deal the cards down, like in poker. People LOVE to think they know more than the players on TV. Secondly - have "try-outs". When I lived in LA I tried out for Jeopardy. Toughest damn show. 100 question that were all 1000. You needed to score 75% and above to get to the next level. From there it was a screening test for TV "acceptability". Unfortunately I didn't make the first cut - Over 10 freaking Shakesphere questions! I don't have access to the ratings but those that do make the rules. I've got lots of ideas about HOW WSOB could be promoted and I'm just wondering if another else cares? I mean lets face it if a bunch of internet geeks can get a dumb movie like Snakes on a Plane made (for over 30 million) can't WSOB be promoted and the general public educated about TBJ? Bueller.....Bueller....Bueller...
FGK 41 and a half: I'd say I fairly accurate smacking of the nail on the head. Let's keep Bernie "cooled" and keep partying with him, at the house at the beach and soon in space.
