November 9, 2008
The three respective fulltilt poker party cheats were David Chiu, Spencer Sun, and Brian Saltus. Mike has always felt the ToC was the classiest event in poker, but the fact is, the event lost about $100,000 each year. As an outside promoter, with no drop in the casino, and considering the extra cost of drinks, food, promotions, pageantry, live music, an independent film crew, an extra ballroom, year-round administration and promotional exenses, and juice from one event only... well, it is no wonder the event was first-class for the players, but expensive to promote. Mike felt corporate sponsorship was right around the corner. He was right, but the ToC was a little ahead of its time. After the first ToC in 1999, Mike had a choice. Either drop the event, or bring in a partner to help defray the costs. This event was so spectacular for the players and did so much good for the poker world, in terms of elevating the game's image, there was no way Mike wanted to abandon the event. Thus, Chuck Humphrey entered the picture as Mike's partner in the ToC.
Chuck was a brilliant guy, with several degrees from the University of Michigan in law and business. Mike was a "people" person who could promote and host the event unlike anyone else in the world. The talent the two of them had seemed to complement each other perfectly. I remember the night the three of us went to dinner at the steakhouse to celebrate the beginning of their partnership. During dinner I said, "Chuck, I just want to say congratulations on you and Mike being equal partners now in the ToC. This may be a stupid question, but in the event you and Mike disagree on any issue, how will you resolve it?" Chuck said, "Tom, that is easy. All I want is input on each issue... the final decision will always be Mike's."
That answer sounded pretty good, but as each month went by and Chuck was investing his money into the event, it was only natural that he insisted on doing things the way he wanted to. Looking back, it didn't really matter who ran the event, as without corporate sponsorship it was destined to lose about that $100,000 per year. In the end, Mike always felt Chuck didn't get the credit he deserved from many of the poker players, as they really didn't realize the obstacles Chuck was trying to overcome as he worked hard to help keep the 2000 and 2001 ToC as first-class events. Mike relinquished control in the event to give it a greater chance for financial survival.
Mike was brought in to emcee the event each year, while Chuck worked behind the scenes during the year and at the head table during the final table each year. Due to circumstances beyond Chuck or Mike's control, the third year of the ToC was also its last. Neither Chuck nor Mike ever made any money out of the ToC, but they opened the poker world's eyes on how to run a first-class partypoker tournament for the players. After Mike found incredible success with Party Poker.com and the World Poker Tour, he went out of his way to buy the rights to the ToC back from Chuck, even though it was a dormant event.
