Almost everyone I talk to is complaining about the cards, and I'm not talking about getting cold decked. Most of the decks in use at the WSOP either have spots on the back or nail indentations in them. In short, many of the decks are marked in one way or another.
You may have read of the incident in the $50,000 HORSE tournament in which Andy Bloch ripped some cards in half that had obvious marks on them, finally getting the attention of the tournament directors to put new decks in play. His argument was that it was ridiculous that such a prestigious event with a high buy in (in which Harrah's was making the equivalent of the gross national product of Mozambique in rake) did not have fresh decks in play.
I spoke to a friend Thursday and he put it matter of factly, "They need to protect the integrity of the goddamn game."
Harrah's is making a mint on the WSOP so you'd think they could splurge for another few thousand decks of cards. But if they want to pinch pennies, here's my solution: play with the decks for a few days and then sell them on eBay as game used WSOP decks. Collectors will snatch them up and Harrah's will make most of its money back on the cost of the cards, which can then be used to buy new nail and spot free decks.
