The World Series of Poker is Just About HereAll Poker Eyes Will Be On Vegas for the Next Two Months |
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Has it really been a year since the stars of the poker universe descended upon Las Vegas to try their hands at the World Series of Poker? Since Phil Hellmuth won his record-breaking 11th bracelet? Since Tom Schneider, who won two bracelets last year, was named the top player of the whole Series? Since Jerry Yang (and he’d say God, as well), a social worker from California, won $8.2 million and the main-event bracelet?
Yes, the WSOP begins May 30 at the Rio, and, technically, will be the longest one ever to take place, even though the same number of events as last year — 55 — will be played. But, for the first time — purportedly to help boost ratings, generate excitement, and give every poker fan with an opinion something to argue about — Harrah’s and ESPN have taken the unorthodox step of delaying the conclusion of the $10,000 main-event final table until Nov. 9.
The main event begins July 3, and the thousands of competing players will go at it until July 14, when only nine players will be left. After all receiving the ninth-place payday, the finalists will head back to their regular lives, now turned irregular thanks to their place at the final table.
On Nov. 9, the players will return to the Rio. The hope is that the players will allow ESPN into their lives so that they can tell the world about themselves. These stories will be told throughout ESPN’s broadcast, which begins July 22, and will give fans a chance to choose a player to root for. On Nov. 9, the final nine will play down to two. The heads-up match begins late the next day.
The final table episode of the main event will air on ESPN Nov. 11 during a three-hour special starting at 9 p.m. ET. Even if this experiment turns out to be a disaster — players have lined up on both sides of the issue — the semi-live broadcast will be historic TV.
That, by far, is the biggest change to this year’s WSOP. Others include:
Last year, more than 54,000 entries were collected through all of the events, building a total combined prize pools of nearly $160 million. In 2006, 48,366 entries were collected in 46 events and generated total prize pools of around $159 million. In 2005, 32,341 entries were collected through 45 events, and the total prize pools were a little more than $106 million.
Although main-event entrants dropped from the 8,773 who played in 2006 to 6,358 last year, the preliminary events repeatedly broke WSOP non-main-event attendance records. With several sites again holding satellites for $2,000 packages, expect the preliminary events to again be jam-packed, ushering in a new crop of WSOP bracelet winners, as well as the usual gang of repeat artists.
Keep an Eye On …
The WSOP history book is fat with stories about multiple wins, amazing cashes, and empty chairs; about bad beats and world-class suck outs; about piles of silver and crashed racecars. The pros will be rooting for their working buddies and the amateurs will be rooting for themselves (and whomever they shared a room with).
A quick rundown of the key questions to be answered and moments people should be looking out for include:
The circus starts May 30.
Championship Events
Last year, Harrah’s introduced the “World Championship” events to the WSOP. This year, there are 12 World Championship events. Look at the entire WSOP schedule to view all the events, but players will surely be highlighting the following World Championships on their WSOP schedules:
Satellites for all of the events begin at the Rio May 28. Players win tournament lammers than can be used for any event, except in the satellites held for specific events, such as the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tourney. The schedule from Harrah’s follows and is subject to change:
Daily Satellites:
Main Event Satellites, July 2-5
$50k H.O.R.S.E. Megasatellite Days: May 31, June 1, June 16, June 20, and June 21
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