There are big and small poker stories, and quite often, some stories don’t get the attention they deserve. One of the largest players in the poker industry doing away with its entire editorial team is certainly important enough to talk about, even if it doesn’t have the click-bait quality of “poker scandals” we’ve seen over the years.
For some context, a couple of days back, Lance Bradley, (now leaving) Editor-in-Chief for the World Poker Tour took it to Twitter/X to announce that he and the entire content team were let go by the company.
While Bradley’s post did not go into detail on how this decision came about and what led to it, it was clear that it came from the WPT. It wasn’t the case of the team deciding to leave together, but rather, it seems like they are no longer needed, which certainly raises a few questions.
Is World Poker Tour Doing Away With Content?
Even the most casual poker fan knows the name World Poker Tour. While not all of us had a chance to play in one of their events, we’ve all watched their video coverage, read the articles, and come across WPT’s social media posts.
WPT has a huge presence in the poker space, and that presence is largely thanks to their content team. While they are a big brand, we all know the old “out of sight, out of mind” adage. To maintain any brand’s power, it is crucial to stay on people’s radars.
Yet, in one clean sweep, the company decided to get rid of pretty much its entire digital team — not only people involved with creating content, but also people working behind the scenes to coordinate things with players, poker media outlets, and hosting venue owners.
To stay in the minds of the poker community, these things aren’t optional — somebody needs to do them. Articles need to be written, social media posts need to be crafted, and live reporting has to be done by the people on the spot. And it seems that all the people who worked on these tasks for years were laid off.
It is hard to imagine that WPT would just stop creating content and just “go without.” In the digital age we live in, quality content is what drives engagement with the brand, and that engagement is essential in bringing new users, customers and poker fans.
Why the Entire Team?
It’s not uncommon for individuals to switch companies, leave their jobs, or get laid off. It happens in all industries, and poker is no exception.
If Lance was the only one leaving (and this is no shade on him), it wouldn’t be a big story. Maybe he and the company didn’t see things eye-to-eye, or he was simply ready for something new.
Getting rid of the entire team though, all the people who made sure things were done, is hard to explain. It begs the question of what happens over the next few weeks, at the very least.
The first event on the WPT schedule is set to start in Cambodia in two weeks. Who will be there to represent the tour and report from the venue? Will there be people to coordinate with representatives of other outlets and give them what they need to provide quality coverage?
These are all open questions and the ones that the WPT may already have answers to, but even if they have an entire fresh team coming in, it will surely take them some time to learn the ropes. And things will be that much more difficult with no experienced team members to help guide them through the process.
What Comes Next?
All the people who were let go by the World Poker Tour are already on the lookout for new positions, and Bradley deserves a shootout for taking the time to thank each of them personally and help them as much as possible with this next step.
These people are all experienced professionals who have been a part of the poker industry for years, so they’ll surely land on their feet.
It would be an overstatement to say it’s an end of an era, but it is certainly end of a big chapter. This was the team responsible for bringing us many great, exciting, and often heartwarming stories over the years, enjoyed by poker fans across the globe.
Whoever steps in will have big shoes to fill and very little time to adjust, and the poker world may be left shortchanged.
The World Poker Tour has its reasons (whatever they might be), but looking from the outside, it’s certainly not a great look. And while we can’t change anything after the fact, we can wish our poker media colleagues the best of luck and say that we’ll be looking forward to their future content, whatever brand that content comes under!