Matt Savage at WPT Prime Liechtenstein: I Want to See the Game Grow Globally!
7 minutes
Last Updated: September 6, 2024
Grand Casino in Liechtenstein is buzzing with poker action as players are flocking to the Championship event, and it’s always exciting to be in the middle of the action and observe such a big and well-organized tournament unfold.
There are many people working tirelessly behind the scenes to make it all happen and provide players with an enjoyable experience through and through.
One man in particular, however, carries a big chunk of that responsibility on his shoulders – the WPT Executive Tour Director Matt Savage.
In addition to being the absolute master when it comes to setting up and running massive tournaments, he always finds time in his busy schedule to answer a few questions and share some insights not just about the event at hand but about the poker world in general.
Q: Hi Matt, nice to meet you again, in Liechtenstein of all places this time around. The WPT has stops all around the world, but Liechtenstein doesn’t exactly strike like a go-to place for poker, so why go here?
Matt: It’s such a great location; it’s right next to Switzerland, Austria, it’s next to Germany, Italy… And the location and the property are so beautiful that, to me, it’s the perfect destination. You can get here from just about anywhere.
Q: That’s true, it is really nice here. Last year, you had amazing numbers, it was like 1,664 entrants, right, and this year is already off to a great start. Are you expecting to beat that number?
Matt: I do expect we’ll beat it, and we’ll come very close if not. The poker market is so crowded at the moment, so it’s still nice to know that when you come here, you’re going to have 1,000,000 CHF guaranteed and easily eclipse that, which we will again this time.
Grand Casino and Cino Dündar do such a good job going out and bringing players to this event from the local markets. It’s more work for them, but they really know how to bring those players into this casino in this part of the world.
Q: I’d definitely say so based on the results. I also wanted to ask about side events, it seems like the offering is a bit slim. Is there any particular reason why you don’t have more side event?
Matt: I’m not really sure. I think that they are really focused on the Championship event and getting people in there. I know they’ve been running satellites every day. I’m not quite sure why that would be the case, we can ask Cino more about that, but I think the focus was on the Championship, and we also had to move the dates around a little bit to fit it into the poker schedule.
Q: Talking about tournament poker in general, you’re obviously the go-to person on X (Twitter) when anything related to rules happens. So, I wanted to touch on a hot topic of sorts regarding using solvers while playing and in the tournament area.
Matt: I don’t think they should be in the tournament area whatsoever. I know that a lot of poker players are out there trying to learn, trying to become better, and I’m all for that. I believe that studying, coaching, solvers, all of that have a place, but that place isn’t inside a poker room.
I care more about recreational players. Those are the players that are life blood of our industry, so I wouldn’t want anybody to feel intimidated or feel at some kind of big disadvantage by somebody using a solver at the table.
Our rule that we discussed as TDA was that you are not to use them at the table. In the places where I run tournaments, the rules will be a little stricter, and you won’t be able to use them in the tournament area.
I know that Ryan Beauregard at the Wynn in Las Vegas has said as much, and it’s written in their rule. I like the rule that they have there that you can’t use graphs or solvers in the tournament area. I’m fine with that, and that’s the way I’d like to have it.
Q: It’s nice to have it actually specific and framed properly!
Matt: Exactly. Last year at our World Championship final table, we even took the laptops out of the final table area, we did that automatically. That rule is already in place at the Wynn and other places that the World Poker Tour and I are involved with.
Q: Any other specific rule changes, or anything you’re considering to make it a more pleasant environment for everyone?
Matt: The TDA is always about making standard rules that we use around the world. We had one big discussion this year about does the ante come first or the big blind come first when you’re all in for less than the big blind amount.
People were doing it different ways. The WPT was doing it ante first, the WSOP and the EPT were doing it big blind first. I really thought to push to make it same for everybody.
There was a lot of people who said that it should still be ante first, I myself probably agree that’s the correct way, but for us to do it all the same all around the world is more important, it’s better for the players so that when they go from casino to casino, it’s consistent.
Q: It seems you have your hands full with everything here – a lot of things going on. WPT has events all over the world, all the time, increasing the number of players and even stops. Does it make your work much harder?
Matt: No, my goal has always been to expand the game and make it more global. I know there are some people in the US saying why aren’t there more events in the US? My response is, we are the World Poker Tour – we go all over the world!
I’ve been here in this room, and from last year, I see a lot of familiar faces, but I don’t know these players. These players are from Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. They’re from areas around here, and I don’t really know these players, so it’s exciting for me to see so many new faces.
We just had an event in Cyprus where there was a lot of players that I hadn’t met before and had the opportunity to meet them for the first time as well. I know the game is growing globally and that’s what I want to see.
I think it’s more important for the game itself to grow all over the globe, so if we don’t have as many events in the US, that’s okay. This is something that I’m excited to see on the World Poker Tour, and I love it. I love the travel, I love to meet new players, and see that the game continues to grow.
Q: Do you visit every single stop there is?
Matt: I don’t go to every stop. I usually go to the stop for the first time. A new stop that we had was Chamada in Cyprus, I’ve never been there. Of course, I was here last year as well.
I have such a great relationship with our partner casinos. I enjoy going back, seeing those people, seeing old friends, and being a part of these big events.
Q: Thank you for these answers! Just one more thing to wrap it up. There isn’t much info about the WPT World Championship in Las Vegas. Can you reveal any details or spice things up a bit?
Matt: Well, the dates are out, it’s 3 – 22 December. We also know that we are going to be moving into the ballroom space on the 8th, so that’s another exciting thing that we know. Some of those bigger events are going to be starting on those dates and such.
The schedule is coming out! It should be out any day, and it’s quite packed this time. There are more events than there were in the past even though we have a shorter window for the Championship this time, so I think that people will be very excited to see what’s coming up.
Alright, holding my breath for that one. Thanks a lot for your time, it was a pleasure as always, and I’m sure we’ll have an opportunity to talk again soon!
