INTERVIEW: Jack Effel, WSOP Tournament Director

Running the World Series of Poker is a tough job, but someone's gotta do it

July 5, 2007

By Jason Brough
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

Jack Effel can never escape. He can hide in the bowels of the Rio Hotel and Casino to do an interview, but his Blackberry never quits. Fires need dousing. Complainers need appeasing. Such is the life of tournament director at the most high-profile poker event in the world.

"The World Series of Poker is so big now," Effel says just as his phone rings. It wouldn't be the last time his attention was diverted during our chat.

As the general in charge of over 800 troops - including dealers and other staff - Effel has a lot to keep his mind and body busy. Above all, though, he understands that the quality of his personnel goes a long way to determining the success of the WSOP. That's what he's most eager to speak about...right after he takes this call.

Dealing With the Dealers

If you think it's tough to find a good poker player, try finding a good dealer, one that understands the rules of the different games, can read the hands correctly and doesn't get frazzled in sticky situations.

Of the 750 dealers Effel hired for the 2007 WSOP, only about 625 are left. Effel didn't break down how many quit of their own accord or were fired for incompetence; however, by the classifications placed on each of them - A's being the best, followed by B's and C's - there's no doubt how closely they're watched.

"If a dealer wasn't recognized as an A or B from last year, they had to come in and audition this year," he says.

Jack Effel (middle) is interviewed on television along with WSOP commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

Effel thinks there's been a decent improvement in dealer quality in 2007. If last year was an eight, this year's been a nine. That said, he recognizes a constant need for improvement.

"It's hard to take 800 people and train them over a week and say, 'Okay, you're going to run the largest sporting event in the world over the next seven weeks and this is how we want you to do it', and expect them to be perfect."

You get the feeling he's thinking about some less-than-perfect dealers as he speaks.

Spreading the Responsibility

In 2003, the main event of the WSOP featured 839 entrants. That number jumped to 2,576 in 2004 and 5,619 in 2005. Last year, it was 8,773, more than a 1,000 percent increase from 2003.

Effel remembers a few years back when the proper processes weren't in place to handle all the issues that arose out of the phenomenal growth.

"We had so few bodies that we were doing everything," he recalls. "We were working 17 or 18 hours a day. My phone would ring until four or five o'clock in the morning and then I'd finally get to sleep for three hours and I'd get up and do it again. And I did that for 47 straight days. I was beat up at the end of it"

Like with any growing company, the CEO can't do everything forever. Eventually, he needs to delegate responsibility.

It takes an army to direct the thousands of players at the World Series of Poker.

"I've created this infrastructure where you have myself as tournament director and then I have three assistant tournament directors, who basically oversee the operation" Effel says. "They're my eyes and ears for everything. And below those three, I have ten tournament supervisors who oversee 37 assistant tournament supervisors."

Effel says he now spends about ten hours per day at the Rio during the WSOP, though his Blackberry is a constant companion wherever he goes. Even with a solid team below him, there are still important decisions that fall on his shoulders.

"You've still going to have the guy that turns his hand up, nobody sees it at the table, he says he gets half the pot, the dealer misread the hand and killed it and nobody else could verify it and the surveillance tape came back inconclusive and you have to make a decision."

A Desire to Get Better

If there's one thing Jack Effel emanates, it's an enthusiasm to improve. "We're constantly taking notes and looking at better methods and better procedures," he says. "If we make one mistake and I don't do anything about it, I'm not doing my job. You try to learn. You try to get better and be proactive."

That should be welcome news for players who were forced to wait in long registration lines early on in the tournament, an issue that Effel concedes then puts into perspective through an analogy.

"The one thing I'll say about the World Series of Poker - it is a beast. But it's like being at a Rolling Stones concert where the lines are long, it takes hours to get to the concession stands, you try and get in line for a t-shirt and your size is sold out, but it didn't matter what you had to go through, when you saw the show, the show was phenomenal."

TOP PHOTO: Jack Effel is the tournament director for the 2007 World Series of Poker. (Bodog Nation photo)