

Millionaire Chess to Hit Las Vegas - e15ctr0n
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/us/millionaire-chess-to-hit-las-vegas-in-gambit-to-raise-games-profile-with-big-prizes.html

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Thiz
Poker got lucky because it can be televised, giving it a lot of exposure. It
combines luck, bets, all-in, you may lose it all in one bet, you can get a
lucky hand and still blow it, you can bluff. But the real trick that made it
popular was the camera showing each players hands. We knew we could play
better than them, we could fold, raise, go all-in from our own houses and lose
nothing just having a good time.

Chess can not provide that. Sorry to burst your bubble.

Now if you're looking for another kind of game to hit the jackpot, try
dominoes. Four players, seven tiles each, same camera to immerse the viewer in
the game, and the same million dollars jackpot.

There you may have a winner.

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Fuzzwah
This is exactly it.

Spectating games as entertainment need to have information which the audience
is exposed to but is hidden from the players.

Real time strategy games have some of this appeal, however at the very top
levels players scout so well that they basically have perfect information
anyway. I watched the grand final of the IEM Starcraft 2 tournament this
weekend, in the last game Flash took a ninja base (hidden across the other
side of the map) and the commentators were making a huge thing about it. It
was scouted with in roughly 3 minutes.

It was impressive in the same way that a poker player correctly calls a good
bluff, but it made me realize that unlike poker you don't often get that "oh
no, don't do it you idiot!" feeling that you get when you watch a poker player
walk straight into someone's trap.

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QuantumGood
Realtime computer analysis combined with clear diagrams is that hidden
information (along with relevant info about approaches each player is prone
to).

But even more important is an interested and informed audience. Chess
kibitzing has been popular for centuries, much more so than people watching
card games. Thanks to the ubiquity of online game access, there are more
people than ever before who play chess somewhat regularly.

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QuantumGood
I'm surprised they don't have more players in the lower sections. 59 players
(1) are dividing 50 prizes totaling $112,000 (2) in under 1600, for example.

When large(r) prizes are on the line, players who are rated below their true
playing strength show up in lower sections hoping to win.

(1) [http://millionairechess.com/news/registration-
list/](http://millionairechess.com/news/registration-list/) (2)
[http://millionairechess.com/tournament/prize-
fund/](http://millionairechess.com/tournament/prize-fund/)

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lazyant
"Loonie-Toonie (named for the two sides of the Canadian dollar coin)". No, a
Loonie is 1 dollar coin and a Toonie is a 2 dollar coin.

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Kiro
I wonder if Magnus Carlsen will be there.

