Well, the only information on costs we have is certainly second-hand at best. I was told by a person in the position to know that the room at the Venetian cost KT $1,000,000 for the week. The Venetian does not need to give away ballroom space.
The Grand Sierra does. I was told the ballroom there was comped in exchange for the room nights and the possibility of the increased gaming drop. This is why I was also told that the event at the Wynn in December will be moved to the Grand Sierra, in order to reduce the costs and because the players liked the room at the Grand Sierra being close enough to their hotel rooms to rest between matches. Also makes sense in that Ho and Wynn have been known to be at odds in the past. We shall see, as all of this is only RUMOR until proven, which I have not.
As for the BCA event at the Riv, the Riv does comp the ballrooms in order to gain a full hotel and a lot of increased gaming drop. The amatuer event draws in thousands of players and their families and they are all there on vacation and they do gamble. Plus, the BCA gets a handsome share of the quarters that are used to play the amateur event. The BCA makes money on the event. I do not have current figures but it used to be the number two money-maker, behind the trade show. When you add in the income from the weekly local tournaments that all lead up to the showdown at the Riv it becomes a proper financial undertaking. Again, I have not seen the books on this since 1998, but at that time the profit was substantial. The Pro event held that same week pulls in a fair amount of gate receipts from all the amateurs in the next room who want to see professional play. I do not remember whether the BCA pays ESPN for the coverage or if the WPBA does or if it is shared. Either way it is not a major hit to the overall income for the week.
I only post the above info for what it is. I was told the items about the IPT by someone I trust but I have no way of knowing that their source is either reliable or acccurate. While I have tried to verify the move of the Wynn event I was told by KT (in Reno) that there would be no move and by more than one of his staffers and several players that the move had already been negotiated and finalized (also in Reno). I see no reason for either side to purposefully deceive on this issue, see no profit in it, and time will tell who was correct. Frankly, if it has been moved, I do not understand why KT would not want that info out there so fans and players could make travel arrangements.
