"Smartphone addiction is a big problem" - Matt Savage

We speak to the legendary tournament director about his new event that bans smartphones, head phones, sunglasses and hoodies.

What was the genesis of The Social Experiment? Was it player demand or did you just notice the game was getting less social?

Matt Savage: When you walk across the card room nobody is looking up anymore. The World Poker Tour photographer Joe Giron says he can’t take a picture anymore without having phones in front of the players, it’s disturbing. The idea came from a friend called Scott Wilson and he suggested the idea, which we expanded upon at the Commerce.

I’ve seen a lot of positive comments about the event, but surprisingly a lot of complaints too as if you are actually forcing people to play it.

Matt Savage: It’s unbelievable, people are actually angry about it like we are taking away their freedom. People are saying “how dare we take away their hoody, they might be cold” or that it’s their right to use their phone, or they have a light sensitivity. It’s odd because these things didn’t really exist 15 years ago and now they can’t be without them. I’m finding it very hilarious, because they don’t have to play. Half the people like it, half think it’s the end of the world.

Some people feel we want to do this in all events but that’s not the case. It’s a one time event where we want to see what happens when we take these items away from players, to see if it becomes a more social game. It’s not our intention to get these devices out of the game at all.

Is there any legal arguments against banning electronic devices, as the people complaining about their ‘freedom’ may suggest?

Matt Savage: My boss David Mosikian at the Commerce actually had our lawyer look into if it was even legal for us to restrict such items which I thought was absurd but he wanted to cross all the T's. The lawyer approved it with the caveat that we allow medical conditions like prescription glasses and hearing aids to be worn, and that's why the last line of the structure sheet is in place.

"A step back from tech is a good idea"

The fact people are complaining before the event starts suggests to me that maybe we are too attached to these devices.

Matt Savage: I do feel it’s that way, I suffer from the same affliction. It’s affected my life and not in a positive way necessarily, because it’s less time I could spend with my family or doing things I should be doing. It’s definitely a problem in our society today.

I’ve heard “I’m a doctor I can’t be away from my phone” but if that’s true, why are you playing a poker tournament? Another guy said his wife was pregnant, which again I said why are you playing a tournament if that’s the case? The opposite side of this is to put your phone on vibrate, you can leave the table at any time and use it behind the rail. People can use their phone as much as they like, just not in the tournament area.

Do you think the players will struggle to be deprived of their phones during the event?

Matt Savage: It’s going to be a difficult event to run because we will have to police it. We always tried to police all events so that they were not using devices during hands but even that is getting out of hand with people ignoring the rules, so I think taking a step back is a good idea. We might get some people taking their phone out at the start but it will become easier to manage as the event goes on.

For me nobody can complain about not using their phone because you have a very generous $100,000 guarantee for a $350 buy-in.

Matt Savage: Not only that but the starting stack of 30,000. Players have said “damn you Matt I have to play this event”. We knew players might skip the event without a good starting stack and guarantee, but now they have to play.

"Players give off electronic device tells"

Some players are excited because they think the average age will be older players and therefore ‘softer’, do you have any idea how this event will shape up demographically?

Matt Savage: I think it will be pretty much everybody playing, I’m nearly 50 myself and I am the worst there is for smartphone addiction. We’ve had people calling this the ‘Seniors Event’ but people my age are on the phone as much as anyone (though it might take them longer to use the technology).

I’d argue it could be a tough event because everyone will be more focussed.

Matt Savage: Some players like the fact that everyone is distracted, in fact some say there are ‘electronic device tells’ and that’s true, the ‘tells’ side of poker may come back.

If the event is a success what are your realistic hopes for expanding it? Could it ever be the norm?

Matt Savage: I don’t think that’s ever going to work, I’d like to see this maybe be a one off in a series and maybe run another one during the LA Poker Classic. Having said that we do need to take a step back from what we allow in poker tournaments, heaven forbid we haven’t seen a major cheating scandal that could happen from these devices, but it is possible. Taking a step back and saying you cannot use a phone during the hand is what needs to happen.

Do you think this event will be a success? Let us know in the comments: