Watch Chasing – Taking a Closer Look at the Added Main Event Prize and What it Means
With Day 1b well underway and Day 1c just kicking off, we thought it might be time to start taking a look at some of the prizes that will go to the eventual winner of this event. As we mentioned before along with the prize money for first place and the $13,000 package to the World Series of Poker Europe in the Czech Republic the winner of the 888Live Festival S?o Paulo Main Event will also receive a custom Breitling watch made specifically for this event. The watch also has an estimated value of $13,000 and comes with a beautiful leather strap, while the watch face itself shares the colors of the 888Poker logo, blue and black.
We caught up with several pros, some of whom hadn’t seen the watch yet, but each had a different take on what it would mean to win the watch and how bad they would love to have a prize like that.
“I’m sitting right in front of this big banner that I feel like is this great advertisement,” Tiffany Michelle said about the Breitling banner that sat above her table. “I know that Sofia and Leo saw it and I just remember hearing at a distance them oohing and aahing over this watch but I have yet to view it. I’m a big watch girl because I have like giant hands so I need big watches to create balance on my hands. So I’m all about a watch.”
Despite the watch being an offset to her big hands, Michelle said that she also sees the practicality in a prize such as this.
“Well, two things,” she said. “First of all I think cold hard cash speaks volumes but there is something about a watch that I think is very practical for a poker player. Because now you get to show it off at the table. Like Sofia L?vgren was sitting next to me and I’m sitting there and she had this gorgeous watch on and I noticed that I was checking it out being like, ‘Wow, where did you get that watch?’ So compared to any other piece of jewelry, lets be honest, most men don’t wear jewelry, I think a watch is totally practical because not only is it something you can flaunt at the table but it’s practical because you use it to tell time. So it makes the most sense to me compared to like a bracelet that guys are never going to wear. I mean you put it in your trophy stand and you never see it again but I think a watch is a great way to display your bragging rights practically at the poker table.”
Bruno “Foster” Politano saw the watch and just the thought of it made him light up with joy, despite not being a normal watch user himself.
“Yes!” Foster said with a big smile on his face “The Breitling! Oooo! It’s a dream. I never… I don’t use a watch, it’s not my ambition, but this watch is really really really beautiful. It’s something I want to win.
Felipe Ramos had big plans for the watch already and thinks that as a branding choice, this is one of the smartest investments any company can make right now, by buying into the poker world.
“I love that,” Ramos said. “Especially because I see these big brands looking into poker as a very good opportunity, a business opportunity for them, which it is. We gather all kinds of human beings here and all kinds of classes. So it’s a pretty smart investment and I’d like to congratulate the Breitling company and also 888 because this is amazing. Good job.”
To Ramos, the watch represents more than cash can. It’s a trophy, a way for him to show his success.
“I simply care about that more than anything else, more than money or anything else because this is something you cannot buy,” Ramos explained. “This kind of stuff, you cannot buy, you need to earn, these are the things that are worth the most.”
For Ramos, he doesn’t want to keep and wear the watch. He has special plans for it.
“I remember when two years ago when I cashed in the WSOP Main Event they gave a special hat for only the thousand players that cashed in the Main,” he said. “ I thought that was so special that I had to share it with my friends on social media. So I had a drawing on my Instagram and I gave my hat away. And that was so nice because this kid that owns it right now sends me a picture from time to time in a special place saying “I have it, and this is for life. I’m not going to sell it. People ask me for money. I’m not gonna sell it.” So this is really cool, you know? I think that this is a really really good prize for a really good achievement. If I get it, I already know what I’m going to do with it. I’m gonna give this as a gift to my father that he deserves very much. And he likes watches as well and is a very simple, humble guy, so I think he’s gonna like it.”
While the watch means something different to all of these players, we can already tell it’s a hit as a prize and something that all of those competing in the Main Event are going to vying for.
Currently there are 10 entrants in Day 1c of the Main Event with all of them still alive, while 35 of the starting 68 are alive in Day 1b, brining the current entrant pool to 122. Be sure to stay tuned as we play our way down to the winner of not only the prize money and the WSOPE package, but of this beautiful Breitling watch as well.