The 2024 WPT World Championship festival is now underway at Wynn Las Vegas. For the third year running, legions of players from around the world will gather at one of the finest properties that showcase poker for three weeks of action and excitement at the felt. Ensuring that everything runs smoothly from the operations side of things is the hardworking Wynn Poker team. Naturally, the award-winning Wynn Poker Tournament Director Ray Pulford plays a major role in those smooth operations.
Ray was kind enough to take the time to speak with us and share some insights about his career in poker, how his time as a pro player influenced his approach to being a TD, and a host of insights about the time, effort and passion he and his team bring to the WPT World Championship.
Ray Pulford Interview
Before getting into the industry side of poker, you used to grind for a living as a player, primarily in cash games. In what way(s) do you believe your past experience as a poker pro helps you in your role as a tournament director?
Like so many other players today, my experience began playing ‘party poker’. My college friends and I used to joke that we ‘majored in poker’. After college, several of us moved to Las Vegas to play professionally. In those years, I played ring games and met people from all over the world. I absorbed their stories and motivations, and what was important to each of them when playing. Those were all valuable takeaways and helped mold me into the Tournament Director I am today.
In 2022, you won the Global Poker Award for being the industry’s Best Tournament Director. In your view, what are the personal qualities that make for a good tournament director and what types of things should players be expecting from tournament directors?
My top priority is to listen to the players, and openly take their feedback. There is valuable information in each comment, both positive and negative, which helps propel us forward in each event we host. Players should expect an event to run efficiently and with integrity, so the Tournament Director needs to always put in the maximum effort to make the player experience the best that it can be.
You had already been working at Wynn for a number of years before your partnership with the World Poker Tour commenced in 2022. What do you remember being most excited about and nervous about ahead of Year 1 of the WPT partnership?
At that time in 2022, our tournament schedules were growing quickly and we were really hitting our stride. We had executed some major tournaments already – including the first Wynn Millions that had a $10 million guarantee. With the introduction of the Mystery Bounty format in 2021 we really solidified our reputation as a destination for tournament poker.
Before the debut of the WPT Championship, I was most excited to showcase our poker events to their global audience, including many new players and online qualifiers. The opportunity to do so, while also getting our team ready for a new challenge, was a very exciting concept all around.
READ MORE: A Historical Look at the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas
Wynn Las Vegas is now hosting the WPT World Championship for the third year in a row. In what ways have you witnessed the partnership evolve and improve over the last three years? What do you feel that you and your team have learned how to do better and in what ways will that be manifested at this year’s WPT World Championship festival?
We are fortunate to have a strong partnership with the WPT team. They share our vision, as well as our priority for putting the player’s experience first. They also love to push the envelope – initially by offering a $40 million guarantee, and this year with the ClubWPT Gold $5 Million Freeroll.
Each year, we learn how to be more efficient, all while adding additional events. We learn a little bit more as we progress, and I’m very proud of our team’s talent and dedication – as well as their commitment to our standards and vision. It’s a big part of what makes the WPT World Championship so special.
Wynn Las Vegas has long been thought to have one of the most well-regarded poker rooms not just in the city, but in the world. In what sense do you and your colleagues “take things to the next level” when the WPT World Championship rolls into town? Also, now that you’re in your third year, in what sense is there also a sort of a “business as usual” kind of vibe at this time of the year?
We take incredible pride in the Wynn poker team, and are careful to select staff who align with our vision and commitment. There is nothing about the WPT World Championship that is “business as usual” since it’s such a large-scale event. But we take many steps to make it look easy, while maintaining the elevated service we are known for throughout the remainder of the year.
One of the more noticeable developments that’s taken place over the past year at Wynn Las Vegas is that you’ve adopted the Poker Atlas management software. From everything I’ve heard around town, players have voiced their full-throated approval. What sort of changes/improvements have you seen/felt from the operations side of things?
Adopting PokerAtlas has increased our efficiency, specifically in the payout process. Knowing where each player is seated, and exactly when and in what order they are eliminated, is a game changer.
Future developments will continue to improve tournament poker dramatically, as well as the player experience. I personally am a big fan and look forward to seeing the software evolve.
A full year of planning has gone into preparing for the 2024 WPT World Championship. There will be dozens of tournaments, tons of milestone satellites running, marquee final tables that get filmed and live streamed, and plenty more poker action at the felt. Is there anything on the schedule that has been particularly challenging to prepare for and/or that you’re specifically looking forward to seeing play out?
The Prime Championship is our most challenging event. Hosting more than 10,000 runners across multiple rooms creates some logistical challenges that we don’t normally face. However, this event, along with the $10,400 World Championship, are the two events that I am also most proud to be a part of. On the operations side, there is no better feeling than awarding millions of dollars with the potential to change a player’s life.
The $5 million GTD ClubWPT Gold freeroll is aiming to bring in a couple thousand new players into the poker ecosystem. Many players who will have won Golden Passports will quite possibly never have visited Wynn Las Vegas before. Besides playing poker, what are your personal recommendations/favorites as far as what else these players should be doing while on-property?
You can’t go wrong with any experience at Wynn Las Vegas, but my personal favorite is SW Steakhouse because of the atmosphere and the grass-fed filet mignon. Sitting on their patio, you’d never guess that you’re in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip. A close second is the chicken parm from Allegro… But bring your appetite, it’s huge! And for late-night entertainment, you can’t do better than XS Nightclub. Their DJ lineup is unparalleled.
A commonality I’ve long noticed between both the World Poker Tour and Wynn Las Vegas is the companies’ mutual focus on delivering the best possible player experience. From the operations and hosting side of things, that obviously means you want players to conclude their trip with great memories, wishing there was even more, and looking forward to their next visit. But put yourself back in those professional poker player shoes just for a moment. From that perspective, what specifically are you looking forward to seeing Wynn and the World Poker Tour deliver on experience-wise?
If you’re a player, walking into the WPT World Championship for the first time you will instantly feel positive energy upon entering the Encore Ballroom. From the sound of chips shuffling and the feature table on stage to the battle to have your name etched on the Mike Sexton Cup – the atmosphere is uniquely special. Adding experiences each year (such as the Player Party, the $5 Million freeroll, and a McLaren giveaway) are what make the WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas unique, and set it apart from other poker events.
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