Is The GPL Losing The Interest of Poker Fans?

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Tuesday, September 6th, 2016 | Written by Charles Washington

Last year, Alex Dreyfus announced to the world that he intended to turn poker into a spectator sport with the launch of his Global Poker League (GPL). With a draft that included flashy team names, an all-star lineup of professional players, and wildcard picks such as Aaron Paul of “Breaking Bad”, the new competitive poker league appeared to have all that was needed to take the world by storm. After officially getting underway in April, however, the Global Poker League has created only a limited level of interest, rather than the rainstorm of attention its creator originally intended.

A Major Change in Plans

After coming off its summer break, poker fans were expecting the GPL playoffs to take place in California during TwitchCon 2016, with the finals subsequently held in front of a packed crowd at Wembley Arena in London, UK. In mid-August, however, Dreyfus broke the news that there would be a major change in his plans.

The competition is now being moved to Las Vegas, and explaining the rationale behind this, Dreyfus pointed to the fact that 40 percent of the GPL’s fan base is in the States. Nevertheless, he also conceded that the league wasn’t quite ready to deliver the sort of fan experience that would warrant a star billing at TwitchCon or that would fill Wembley Arena.

What Went Wrong?

So why is the GPL not generating the same level of buzz that its initial draft caused? Here are some possible pointers:

1: Game Play Isn’t That Exciting. So far, watching the Global Poker League isn’t much different than watching six people go head to head at an online table.

2: Bad Timing. The Global Poker League premiered during the World Series of Poker, and poker fans seemed much more interested in the WSOP than the league play.

3: No Merchandise. There is a reason why the professional sporting leagues license logos for merchandise–it’s a great source of revenue. While the Global Poker League had logos and shirts designed for players, they failed to produce any merchandise that might help to build their brand and bring in some money.

4: No Tickets. The Global Poker League didn’t do anything to bring in live spectators to their matches in Las Vegas. Even a ticket giveaway could have spurred interest and helped to increase excitement about the league.

5: No Marketing. During the same interview where Dreyfus broke the news that they were changing the championship’s location, he confessed that the league had not spent any money on marketing. This raises the question as to why the GPL only relied on Twitch and free social media promotions to try and build a fan base.

Unlikely to Call It Quits

Even though the Global Poker League is smoldering rather than setting the world on fire, you can be certain that Alex Dreyfus is going to continue to try and make his league viable for as long as possible. After all, a huge amount of money was spent on the league. He invested $300,000 just for the player cube where the opponents face off inside.

With so much on the line, Dreyfus is likely to do everything he can to try and turn things around, but only time will tell if the Global Poker League will ever become a mainstream sport in the way it was billed.

Dreyfus Called Out For Late Loan Repayment

In the meantime, Alex Dreyfus and the GPL attracted more negative publicity this month after three professional poker players revealed that the GPL creator failed to pay back some money he borrowed off them earlier this summer.

According to the story which appeared in the Two Plus Two forum, German pro Fedor Holz was asked to provide a currency exchange of $10,000 by Dreyfus during the 2016 WSOP in Las Vegas, but after checking his accounts 5 weeks later he realized that the money was never paid in. Another player by the name of Hendrik Latz also subsequently came forward with a similar story, in his case worth $20,000, while yet another player claims to have experienced the same late payment concern.

While Dreyfus did eventually pay all three pros plus interest for the “loans”, his conduct has still raised concerns amongst the poker community, not least because Holz is actually a participant in the GPL. As Holz later explained:

“He represents poker to the outside (world), so he represents us as a community to the outside. I think the story above is very questionable as a serious entrepreneur and a showing of missing integrity. I really do hope that this was a single misstep.”