What Impact Did The WSOP Main Event Have On WSOP.com Traffic?

WSOP.com first launched in Nevada in 2013, followed by New Jersey in 2014, with both sites currently averaging around 170 cash game players, according to PokerScout. Being the official website of the World Series of Poker, WSOP.com obviously benefits from the extra attention directed its way as a result of the prestigious showcase series which takes place annually in Las Vegas. However, how much impact does the marquee $10k WSOP Main Event have on the site’s traffic?
That is the question poker journalist Robert DellaFave tried to answer recently on onlinepokerreport, and the short answer would seem to be not very much at all! According to the analytical piece, most of the site’s traffic gains were experienced during the 68 events which were held between May 27 and July 5th, just prior to the start of the Main Event. Over that period, traffic surged by 24%, before trailing off by 13% as the tournament progressed.
Nevertheless, this spike then drop in traffic was apparently due to popular promotions running at the time, most noticeably the ’25 Seat Main Event Scramble’. that offered players the opportunity to win a seat through to the Main Event. Otherwise, liquidity would have remained steady, as witnessed during the previous year’s Series. By mid-July when the Main Event took a four month break, however, WSOP.com saw its traffic decline for two months, until a seasonal uptick in mid-September returned traffic levels to their pre-Series levels.
Not surprisingly, the World Series of Poker’s impact on WSOP.com New Jersey was minimal, with traffic rising by 5% during the series, before holding flat during the Main Event. Likewise, the November Nine returning to Las Vegas between November 8th and 11th did little to boost cash game traffic in New Jersey, although Nevada experienced a noteworthy 8% gain over the past week.