Commissioner of WSOP resigns

Jeffrey Pollack, the Commissioner of The World Series of Poker has resigned his position. This comes just three days after the tournament finished with its second-most profitable competition in its 40 year history.

The 45 year old Pollack said his plans include exploring challenges in new business ventures. Pollack was commissioner of the WSOP for four years, and was a driving force in the success of the series.

Harrah’s Entertainment owns the WSOP, which is now an international event spectacular. Many circuit tournaments are conducted at various Harrah’s properties throughout the U.S. There is also a European WSOP, which has been held for the past two years in London.

This year’s WSOP had over 60,000 players from 115 countries. All were competing in a prize pool of $174 million dollars spread across the winning players. This years WSOP held 57 events over a 50 day period.

Anywhere between 4 and 10 percent of the entry fees are retained by Harrah’s. They collect 6% of fees to enter the main Event. This years Main Event drew almost 7,000 players.

During the four years of Pollack’s tenure, the WSOP awarded more than $675 million dollars, almost double that of the previous 36 tournaments.

Pollack is credited for forging the partnership between the WSOP and cable-sports network ESPN which has brought the event to a worldwide audience. ESPN has 1 contract with the WSOP and Harrah’s for the next 12 years.