Way to go Jeremy! We were so happy to hear this great news. We know how much skill it takes for this win so congratulations! May the luck of the Irish be with you in Vegas.

Kurt and Helen

The World Series of Poker has a group of professional players and other experts that review their payout structure every single year. You may have read on the internet or elsewhere that they felt in 2009 they had come close to perfecting it after many years of tweaking.

So we decided to follow the experts. The payout structure for the MSPT is based on the WSOP structure. They specifically suggest the 1-99 entrants and the 100-199 as the next level.

I spoke with several players this past weekend as well, some like to pay the top 30 similar to the HPT, others thought 18 was more than enough. It seems as if the players are 50% on each side of the fence regarding that issue. Thus as of now we’re deferring to the WSOP suggested payouts.

It is something we will continue to discuss going forward though and will probably always be a discussion topic. Thank you for your suggestions, they will be considered.

Bryan

On a different note – My wife and I recently played in some qualifier events at your MSPT Mille Lacs, Grand Casino. I won a seat into the main event but decided to sell my seat because of your payout irregularities. If the main event draws 99 players, 9% of the field will walk away with money. If the main event draws 100, 18% of the field will walk away with money. I was informed the main event would probably have between 120 and 140 entrants. At 120 entrants – 15% get paid. At 130 entrants – 13.9% get paid. And at 140 entrants – 12.8% get paid.

Now I realize that each entrant has the same percentage chance to win money. My problem with the setup is that it is statistically more difficult to end up in the money the more entrants after 100. To put it in a different way, at 100 players, I have to outplay 82 players to make the money. At 130, I have to outplay 112 players to make the money. If I come in 18th place under each scenario, I still only make 1.3%. I realize that the 1.3% paid will be be higher with 130 players rather than 100 players but I don’t believe that the increase in prize money compensates me adequately for having to outplay 30% more players.

(At 100 players, $1000 per head, 1.3% equals $1300 — at 130 players, $1000 per head, 1.3% equals $1690 — a difference of $390 dollars.)

This only gets worse as the number of entrants rises up to approach 199 entrants.

It is my opinion you need to stick with a straight percentage payout to the field no matter the number of entrants. That way, each entrant’s percentage chance of making the money equals the percentage of money paid out.

I suggest a 15%, 17.5% or 20% payout.

Please consider this change – ask other players. Keep up the good work. We’ll see you at Running Aces.