Debbie Burkhead Interviews Jack Effel - Harrah's Director of Poker Operations

Jack Effel hails from Dallas, Texas, born November 25, 1975. Jack resided in Dallas until the age of 21, shortly after his birthday he moved to Tunica, Mississippi and took a dealing position with Sam's Town. Within a few weeks he was promoted to Dual/Rate Supervisor.

In November of 1997 Jack was given the opportunity to assist in the opening of a new cardroom and the position of Shift Supervisor at the Horseshoe in Bossier City, Louisiana, he relished the idea of being close to his birthplace of Dallas and accepted the position.

The room closed in January of 2000 and Jack was offered a Dual/Rate Supervisor's position at the Horseshoe in Tunica. He accepted the position and while holding down his job he was simultaneously attending the University of Mississippi where he received his degree in Real Estate.

In 2005 Jack was offered a position to travel with the World Series of Poker Circuit. He began the circuit at Rincon in San Diego, then to Las Vegas at the Rio, on to Harrah's at Lake Tahoe and ending the circuit with New Orleans. When the circuit events concluded he headed back to Las Vegas for the Grand Daddy of all, the 2005 WSOP.

When the Series ended the circuit events picked back up and he was back on the road again. First with the Grand Casino in Tunica and then on to Caesar's Indiana. When the Caesar's event ended there was a break in the schedule, due to the Tournament of Champion's at Caesar's in Las Vegas. Jack's duties did not include working the TOC but he attended the event and while in Vegas he married his finance, Elisha.

The two met at last year's WSOP where Jack was a Tournament Director and Elisha was the production manager for Image Masters. Since that time Elisha has taken a position with Harrah's as the WSOP Circuit Registration Manager.

Following the TOC and their wedding they were back on the road again heading to the Showboat in Atlantic City, then came the holidays and then on to the Grand in Tunica.

In February of 2006 Jack was recruited for the Poker Room Manager's position at the Horseshoe in Tunica. Two weeks into his new position at the Horseshoe he was called in to assist in the WSOP Circuit event in Atlantic City.

He returned to Tunica at the end of the event to resume his position of Poker Room Manager. His duties included restructuring, restaffing and streamlining the poker room.

Shortly after returning, Jack learned of a newly created position in the Harrah's Corporation that covered poker operations for Harrah's Brand and the WSOP. He decided to take the initiative to express his interest in the new position and wrote a very detailed letter describing his ability to fulfill the position. The letter prompted several screenings and interviews before he was offered the position of Director of Poker Operations for Harrah's in April of 2006. Following his new appointment he went to Indiana to run the Mid- West Poker Championships at Caesar's. At the completion of the event he returned to Tunica and packed up for his new home in Las Vegas. Along with his titles of Director of Poker Operations and WSOP Circuit Director, he also shares the title of Tournament Director of the WSOP with Robert Daily.

DB: This year's WSOP seems to have received noticeable sponsorship, how does this benefit the players?
JE: It's a great thing for both players and Harrah's. All sporting events require sponsorships to succeed. There are a lot of expenses with hosting a major event and added sponsorship assists Harrah's in making the experience a better one for the participants.

DB: This year's Casino Employees event drew 1232 entrants, that's twice as many as last year, is that a good indication of what's to come?
JE: Yes, we projected a 25% increase for all events but now I see we are already ahead of our projection. We have over 2000 entrants signed up for tomorrow's event and we are projecting a sellout at around 2750 players. Depending on where we are when we reach 2750, the decision will be made as to whether we can accommodate anymore. At 2288 we are full with 208 tables and 11 handed. We are prepared to take up to 500 alternates in each event.

DB: My understanding is that Harrah's is prepared to accommodate up to 10,000 entrants in the main event, is anyone in danger of being shut out of that event?
JE: Based on our projection of a 25% increase we are looking at 7,000 plus players, and again once we reach 8,000 we will have to make the decision as to how far we can go. We can actually accommodate up to 2,288 per day with alternates which would take us to 9,152 entrants. We hope not to turn anyone away but that would definitely be a good problem.

DB: Tell the readers how the alternate list works?
JE: Once we reach capacity we will begin excepting alternates. We are looking at a maximum of 500 alternates per event if needed with the exception of the main event which may require additional organizing.

DB: Why was there a $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event added to the schedule this year versus increasing the buy-in to the main event?
JE: The pro players want to determine the best allaround player and they believe to do that they need more games, more chips and more playing time to determine the best overall player. Raising the main event would not accomplish what they are looking for because it's only one game.

DB: How do you plan to continue making Harrah's and the WSOP the player's choice?
JE: We strive to provide the players a consistent staff, good tournament structures, consistency with accommodations and as much TV exposure as we can provide.