Updated on 23 Feb 26 by
Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Should content creators be allowed in the WSOP Industry Employees event?

Vloggers and streamers can now play in the event meant for casino staff, is that really fair?

This year the WSOP Casino Employees event has been renamed to Industry Employees and it has been confirmed that content creators are eligible. 

The tournament has always started the series and would often see croupiers take it down. It was always something of a goodwill event to show our appreciation to the people that make poker happen.

It is true that as the poker world develops, new jobs will be created and it would be a shame if some people were left out. But should content creators really be playing this tournament?

So many pro players are eligible

There is an obvious flaw with this approach, which is that a great number of professional poker players technically would be eligible for it. Something which compelled me to make this joke:

I have a major issue with this because I think it goes against the spirit of the Casino Employees event.

If you come to Vegas for the WSOP, most of the time you are affluent. You are either a recreational player with disposable income or a professional player. 

What allows that to happen is the hard-working casino employees who are putting in long shifts. These are people who will not be playing the rest of the series, they will likely be working it, dealing to the content creators and pro players. These are largely low-paid, working class jobs. 

An event for working people

Content creators are usually quite privileged by comparison. Of course, they work hard, but they are likely the sort of people who will be playing the WSOP as well as working there. This goes double if they are content creators who are also professional players.

If playing poker is part of your job description, whether as a pro or a content creator, you should not be playing this event. This is why I would still allow the live reporters from places like PokerNews play, because their income is mostly coming from the hours they put in at the WSOP, not playing (indeed most of them work the whole series). 

The Casino Employees event is supposed to thank the working class people who let the rest of us play the game we love. It would be a kick in the teeth if a content creator won it. 

Where do you draw the line at 'Industry Employee'? Let us know in the comments:

Barry Carter
Poker Expert

Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2, Poker Satellite Strategy, PKO Poker Strategy, Endgame Poker Strategy, GTO Poker Simplified, Mystery Bounty Poker Strategy and Beyond GTO. In 2025, he won the Global Poker Awards for Best Book and Twitter Personality of the Year.