“It’s struggling,” said Jarvis.
“A lot of casinos are pulling out of hosting tournaments. It’s definitely frustrating. There are almost no big tournaments in Vancouver anymore.”
The famed British Columbia Poker Championship, which Daniel Negreanu won in 2008, was axed two years ago. The World Series of Poker Circuit also pulled out after a brief experiment with the market in 2012-13.
It’s surprising considering many top poker pros including Greg “FBT” Mueller, Shawn Buchanan and Dan Idema all hail from British Columbia.
Jarvis believes there’s a common misconception about the added value that a poker tournament offers.
“They see it as a lot of work for not a lot of payoff,” he said.
“I don’t think they really look at the other things that poker brings them like just getting people into the casino to potentially bet on other things.”
Players Moving on to Private Games
According to Jarvis the lack of options has forced serious poker pros out of the casino and into unregulated backroom games.
“It’s rough because we have to do things like find home games,” he said.
“The biggest game in a Vancouver casino right now is a $2/$5 No-Limit. Occasionally there’s a $5/$10 game.”
Meanwhile Jarvis is happy to once again have a decent stack in the Main Event. He finished eighth in the 2010 WSOP Main Event for $1 million.
“It was amazing,” he said. “Just making the final table and everything that went along with it was definitely life-changing.”
Jarvis erased any doubt about his poker game the following year when he won the 2011 WSOP 6-Max short-handed event for $808,538.
“It sorted showed that I belonged,” said Jarvis.
Looking for Another Memorable Main Event Run
In the last two years Jarvis got married and has been playing a little less poker and focusing more on his family. He’s also been investing in a few different businesses.
“I bought a couple trailer parks of all things,” laughed Jarvis. “I’m just trying to build the residual income basically.”
Jarvis has a throw-back look going on in the 2015 WSOP Main Event. He’s once again wearing his trademark white Oakley sunglasses that he had during the 2010 Main Event.
He admitted he was a tiny bit superstitious about wearing them and that’s why he picked them up again.
“I think every poker player is a little superstitious,” he said. “If they tell you they’re aren’t, they are probably lying to you.
“I just really like them. I like the way they wrap around my face. I’m kind of known for them now. I tried to go away from them for a couple years after the Main Event but I decided to go back. They’ve been working pretty well this tournament.”
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