Make WSOP Great Again: Poker Players Suggest Changes for 2026

Hold a Post-WSOP Player Summit

This idea, proposed exclusively by Melanie Moser on X, suggests hosting a post-WSOP Player Summit.

According to her proposal, 10–12 players—selected by the community and representing all stakes, including women and non-U.S. pros—should meet with WSOP tournament and operations leadership, some floor staff, and dealer representatives for a broad discussion.

Players are the WSOP’s customers & ambassadors. Their insight is priceless, and investing even 2 days a year in listening & improving would pay for itself many times over—in goodwill, better press, higher satisfaction, and long-term growth for poker.

The two-day Summit would be divided into clear goals:

• Day 1: The Honest Recap
• Day 2: The Roadmap

On the first day, WSOP leadership would present player numbers, complaints, incident reports, survey feedback, and other data. Players and staff representatives would also share major issues from their perspective. Together, the group would select 4–5 key topics to focus on.

On the second day, Summit participants would break into mixed groups to brainstorm actionable solutions. Afterward, the groups would reconvene to prioritise the most realistic changes for future implementation.

For the Summit to have a lasting impact, WSOP management would need to be held accountable to the roadmap. And that accountability, players say, will only happen if both players and casino staff push together for lasting improvements.

Update PokerGO Coverage or Shift to Another Host

While the WSOP Main Event final table stream was fairly enjoyable — thanks largely to the players’ personalities — it was only accessible to those who could afford the $20 fee. Meanwhile, coverage of the other Main Event days and most other WSOP events did little to attract newcomers or recreational fans.

Here’s what players criticized about PokerGO’s 2025 coverage:

• Paywall blocks access to the best content.
• Excessive promotion during every broadcast.
• Boring and forgettable free previews on YouTube — sometimes with baffling camera work (shoutout to Stephen Chidwick’s shiny bald spot).
• Dull, washed-out visuals with poor lighting that obscured players’ faces.
• Weak direction: cluttered frames, awkward camera angles, disorienting movement.
• Inconsistent tone and commentary: oscillating between “too much GTO” and “completely off-track.”
• Frequent video resolution drops, sometimes down to 480p on various devices.

Players generally see two solutions.

The radical camp wants PokerGO out — suggesting a return to ESPN or a handover to someone with more sports broadcasting savvy.

More moderate voices, like Collin Capone, want GGPoker to pressure PokerGO to improve, including offering more content for free — especially the Main Event final table:

Improve the Dealers’ Situation

The issues with WSOP dealers in 2025 were widely discussed—and not just by players. The problem has lingered for over a decade, affecting everyone from frustrated players to competent dealers whose efforts are overshadowed by poor-performing colleagues.

Interestingly, players don’t fully agree on the root cause.

Ian Simpson, for instance, points to staff apathy:

Barny Boatman, on the other hand, believes the issue stems from underpaying dealers for incredibly demanding work.

Both suggest solutions: Ian calls on WSOP to invest in hiring and retaining top-tier staff, while Barny urges WSOP to use some of its hefty rake (an estimated $47 million in 2025 alone) to fund dealer training and ensure a competent, motivated team.

Allow Deal-Making at the Final Table

The biggest scandal of WSOP 2025 came in the Millionaire Maker, when two finalists made a private deal to split the $1,000,000 ClubWPT Gold bonus — resulting in one player soft-playing and chip-dumping to the other.

Both were later banned from Caesar’s properties, and the WSOP officially declared the event concluded without a winner—naming both players as runner-ups. But in the end, it was WSOP that took the biggest reputational hit.

Many players argued the collusion stemmed directly from the rule prohibiting final-table deals. With the ClubWPT Gold bonus only awarded to the winner, the two players were effectively backed into a corner. Who would turn down a million-dollar bonus just to comply with WSOP’s stance against deal-making?

That’s why Ian Simpson and others are now calling on WSOP to allow deal-making at final tables — ideally in a transparent, regulated way to avoid similar incidents in the future.

React Faster and Stricter to Controversial Behavior

While Martin Kabrhel managed to annoy plenty of players and viewers during WSOP 2025, he was still upstaged by Will Kassouf — who made WSOP history in the worst possible way.

Kassouf aggravated opponents so persistently that he was repeatedly put on the clock, had the floor called on him, got suspended mid-series for excessive chatter, and was ultimately banned for the remainder of the festival.

After his departure, many players breathed a sigh of relief—though some even pushed for a multi-year ban. As David Bach put it:

A small but vocal group, however, expressed disappointment. To them, Kassouf was “the biggest attraction” in the broadcast.

Regardless of which side you’re on, both the Kassouf and Kabrhel incidents reflect poorly on WSOP’s sluggish and inconsistent response to bad behavior — whether it’s trolling, self-promotion at the table, or excessive tanking meant to frustrate opponents.

Photo Credit: Rachel Kay Winter

Even worse, the extended airtime given to these players during coverage sent the message that this kind of behavior gets rewarded with attention, reactions, and screen time.

That’s why many in the poker community now urge WSOP to establish stricter conduct rules, apply punishments more swiftly, and stop spotlighting players the public overwhelmingly sees as toxic.