While there’s a lull in the Million Dollar Challenge, we found time to catch up with ex-PokerStars executive Dan Goldman to talk about the allure of the contest for the rest of the industry. In addition to helping create the world’s largest online poker site, Goldman has also been involved with Duplicate Poker and Fleet Street Games. He knows what it takes to create a wildly successful promotional effort.
Goldman told DurrrrChallenge.com, “Events like the Million Dollar Challenge are good for the business because they directly promote poker and provide players with something to aspire to in the same way that the World Series of Poker and World Poker Tour do.” In essence, it’s about onlookers wondering whether they have what it takes to compete against Tom Dwan and Patrik Antonius in high-stakes Pot Limit Omaha or No Limit Hold’em.
Other recent industry side events in poker have included a boxing match between Gus Hansen and Theo Jorgensen as well as an iron man challenge between Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi and Bertrand “Elky” Grospellier. Goldman remarked, “I don’t think events like Gus Hansen boxing have any impact on poker one way or the other. They are irrelevant to the business at large, although they may do some good for the individual celebrities.”
We hope to see more action in the Million Dollar Challenge in the near future.
