The WSOP to Institute Olympic Style Ceremony for Bracelet Winners

Bracelet Winner by pokerguru on May 9, 2009

Imagine that you had played poker for 4 or 5 straight days and then at the end of a marathon 14 hour day, you finally win your first bracelet. You have been waiting for this your whole poker playing and as you snap the bracelet into place, you hear the thundering applause of all 10 people that stayed up to watch the tournament until 3am.

The WSOP is finally addressing something that has had many people scratching their heads since the poker boom. Tournaments have lasted longer and longer into the night and bracelets were being won and there was barely a picture to capture the moment.

When the WSOP gets rolling later this month, the bracelet ceremony will now be conducted under all of the pomp and circumstance of the Olympic Medal Ceremony. At 2:20pm on the afternoon after the bracelet has been won, there will be a brief ceremony to include the playing of the National Anthem of the winning player.

The players will now be brought to the forefront and presented with an opportunity to get some pictures taken and take any questions that the press may like to ask. In essence, their 15 minutes of fame is going to get extended by a few more minutes. It is a nice touch and allows the players to get a little more exposure with the media to acknowledge their achievements.

Some will say that they may be taking things a little too far, but those individuals have probably never sat in a chair for 14 hours a day, 5 days in a row trying to play cards. No, this is not the Olympics, but it is a special accomplishment and should be treated as such at the venue. It will make winning the bracelet all that more exciting!