What Makes the Hollywood Poker Open Stand Out from the Rest?
PokerNews' Brett Collson recently had the opportunity to talk to Bill Bruce, Director for the Hollywood Poker Open, on how he came into working for the HPO, landing Chris Moneymaker as the tour's ambassador, and what makes the HPO stand out from other events on the circuit.
Here's a sample of that interview:
First of all, how did you get started with the Hollywood Poker Open?
Last year, I was contacted to organize additional staffing to support a couple Penn Gaming properties that were going to run some 10-day tournaments. They were also developing a promotion across all their properties to send players to a "Championship" type event at The M Resort in Las Vegas in June.
Chris Moneymaker is the new Tour Ambassador. What does it mean to have a world champion and poker icon representing the series?
It��s fantastic to have Chris on board with the HPO brand. I couldn��t ask for a better name to have associated with the tour. Chris really takes his role seriously, and it��s been a pleasure to have him promoting the stops and committing to playing in the Regionals. It should signal to the players that Penn Gaming and the Hollywood Poker Open are serious about poker. If you look at what the HPO is doing, it should be evident that this is something that poker players are going to want to participate in and even promote.
Chris played every day at the recent Tunica stop, including the $1,800 HPO Regional Main Event. How has the response from players been when they sit at a table with Chris?
Chris is such a gracious host. He is not just playing in all the events, he is engaging the other players and interacting with them on and off the tables. If he happens to get eliminated from an event, you can find him in the poker room playing all day. It��s like a big home game and Chris is just one of the guys. He just happens to be a world champ.
Is there a central place where players can find out information on the HPO Championship seat give-away promotions?
Yes. On the HPO website there is a tab, which is a link, named 'Local Seat Promotions.' If you go there, it will have links and descriptions of promotions from the various Penn and Hollywood properties.
Tell me about the dinner break for the Main Event in Tunica.
It was crazy. We had a private banquet room set up for the players during the dinner break on Day 1. Full spread, tons of choices, all you can eat, all compliments of the house. If you get a chance, check out all the pictures everyone was posting on social media about it. It was impressive.
Here��s the deal. The HPO is serious about being a presence when it comes to poker. We have gone out and hired one of the most recognizable names and face in the game of poker in Chris Moneymaker, we have brought in PokerNews to give players the best possible onsite live reporting, the fees are less than other events, and the structures are amazing. I hope everyone will play the nearest HPO regionals when they have the opportunity.
To read the interview in its entirety, please click here.