WSOP final table member and Card Player magazine COO Jeff Shulman sounds off on WSOP

Most people in Jeff Shulman’s position would be doing some major brown-nosing for the WSOP –Shulman is one of nine remaining players in the WSOP Main Event (set to reconvene in November) and guaranteed $1.2 million with the possibility of earning $8.5 million. Instead, Shulman told members of the media he would ‘throw the Main Event bracelet in the trash if he won.’ Word is Phil Hellmuth will be attending the Final Table in November holding a trash can, looking to capture his 12^th bracelet.

Shulman, who is the President and COO of Card Player magazine, has decided to use his success at the WSOP to take the tournament, and more precisely some of its higher ups, to task. In a recent Card Player column Shulman explained his comment, and his motivations behind making such a bold declaration.

“Look, I love poker and entered with the hopes of winning,” Shulman stated. “But, more importantly, I support making the industry stronger and better for the players, and to do this, there needs to be some major changes to the way the World Series is run at the highest level.”

“Hopefully, by doing something like this, people will start talking about those changes.”

Shulman who is a long-time media member (the former editor, and now President and COO of Card Player magazine) is at odds with the way the current incarnation of the WSOP is run; form the top. Shulman cited some specific examples from this year’s WSOP:

“This year, the WSOP locked out players who flew in from around the world to play in the main event, charged nearly $3 million in entry fees for the main event alone, continued to create an uneven playing field by giving special treatment to some, and, in general, display bad attitudes and make inaccurate decisions.”

At the top of Shulman’s list is the plight of the 500 or so players who were unable to register for the tournament, and were turned away. This is not the first time Shulman has been at odds with the WSOP brass: In 2005 the WSOP started offering exclusive media rights to the highest bidder, a practice that Shulman disagrees with. Shulman’s position is that the WSOP should be open to all media outlets.

“Card Player and the World Series had a media deal in 2005 and 2006. Our opinion was that the event should be open to all media, but the World Series made a decision that only one media company would get access, and that company would have to pay for it.

“Card Player and the World Series had disagreements on the media coverage from day one, and we chose not to even bid on the deal in 2007. It wasn’t worth it, and they sold it to someone else. We were glad to get rid of it.”

Shulman has decided that throwing the bracelet in the trash would be pointless, so he has come up with some alternative ideas that he will mull over until November:

1. Auction off the bracelet and give the money to charity
2. Hold a tournament for all players shut out of the main event and award the winner the bracelet
3. Give the bracelet away in a SpadeClub.com tournament
4. Give the bracelet to Stephen Colbert

Personally, I like the 1^st idea, auctioning off the bracelet for charity, but how about giving it to Barney Frank for his upcoming battle in Congress over the legalization of online poker? Maybe it will bring him so good luck!