Today marks a day of pause in the World Series of Poker coverage, as it should be the first day that online sites are forced to return to old posts and rid their site of photos older than 72 hours (above photo from 2007 WSOP Event #1, which doesn’t fall under these rules).  PokerListings has one of many views on this, but I can’t see how this is good for anyone.  A quick glance around the web shows most sites have not complied yet, so we’ll see how all of this progresses today.  As many have written, poker pros need more exposure, not less, so I can’t see how this benefits them.  There must be side deals that exempt certain sites, and the biggest early offenders seem to be some of the biggest sites.

As I’m not part of the official poker media anymore, it is interesting to look at how coverage is unfolding.  Several sites have mastered the art of the one-hour update restriction, which is a set-in-stone rule in effect the last two years (and policed in 2007).  Sites are not supposed to update their blog or website with live coverage more frequently than an hour at a time, although other news (interviews, news reports, etc) is not covered by this.  Probably the best at adapting to this restriction is CardPlayer and their coverage.  It pains me to say that, to be sure.  They were part of the first evil empire of poker media, and their people were quite arrogant throughout the 2006 WSOP, putting anyone without the CardPlayer badges in their place.  I don’t know anyone there, but their tournament coverage is top notch.  They have a common format they are using each hour to cover a tournament.  It includes the following (in order):  Blinds/antes, players left/# in starting field, Chip Leaders, average stack, and Big Hands and Storylines.  It gives you a better understanding of how a tournament is progressing and is very easy to read, and I find myself retyping CardPlayer in my browser more than once a day (I can’t leave their site up on my laptop due to too many old scars…).

Event #2 saw the largest non MaIn Event field in the history of the WSOP, and with it came the first significant poker operational problem of the WSOP.  A decision had already been made that these hugely popular WSOP-newbie tourneys would be split into two starting days.  This brought out an initial red flag of the field dissipating too quickly, getting dangerously close to what the cash bubble might be on Day 1A.  Think of it like a golf tournament, where you split the starting field of the Masters into two Days 1 & 2.  The second player group would know what score they would have to shoot to make the cut, a very big advantage over the first players.  225 players made it through Day 1A from a field of 2,048, while 224 bagged their chips on Day 1B from a field of 1,881.  With 378 players being ultimately being paid, it meant that the Day 1’s were too short (ending around a little after midnight, 19 minutes into Level 9) while the Day 2 was too long.  The WSOP started play for Day 2 at 3:00PM Monday, which in retrospect was at least two hours too late (play ended around 12:30AM for Day 1B, and policy is to give players at least twelve hours off).  I’m not sure of the exact time, but play ended on Day 2 around 6:00AM after play had gotten down to 18 players.  A vote was held, and players will reconvene now at 1:30PM.  All of this is an unfortunate side effect from the large field and quick evacuation of players on Days 1A and 1B.  It is most unfortunate as the money gets significant as the players dwindle, and most of the players aren’t used to fifteen-hour marathons that end as the sun rises the following morning.  I’m not sure why they didn’t simply tell the players to come back at 6:00PM and play to a winner for Day 3, unless it was as a convenience to any Harrah’s executive who would be at the Final Table.  Pokerati reports that ESPN made the call as they are planning to film the Final Table.  Again, why should that have anything to do with anything?

The first Final Table was all the WSOP could have hoped for, with top pros and recognizable names filling the seats.

1st  Nenad Medic    $794,112.00
2nd Andy Bloch    $488,048.00
3rd Kathy Liebert    $306,064.00
4th Mike Sexton    $248,160.00
5th Amit Makhija    $198,528.00
6th Chris Bell    $157,168.00
7th Patrik Antonius    $124,080.00
8th Mike Sowers    $99,264.00
9th Phil Laak    $74,448.00

My buddy Liz Lieu snuck away from her sick bed and entered Event #2 over the weekend.  She’s had an evil run with pocket aces all year, and she was knocked out of Day 1B with them.  She is blogging for PokerListings, so you can check her out there.

That is another trend this year, pros blogging virtually everywhere.  I’ll scout around to see if there are any particularly worth reading.  I’m hoping to snag some interviews remotely and will try to sneak in some WSOP content throughout the Series.

Jeffrey Pollack, WSOP Commissioner for Harrah’s, held a teleconference for the Media regarding the announcement of the 117-day delay in the WSOP Main Event Final Table. Included on the call: Jack Effel (Tournament Director), Seth Polansky (Communications Director), Jamie Horowitz (Senior Producer, ESPN Content Development), and Dockery Clark (Director of Sports and Event Sponsorship at Miller Brewing).

What’s New at the WSOP

• No tents; more ballrooms will be utilized for play (five total)
• Player capacity is 2,740 at any one time
• There will be no alternates; instead, there will be Day 2’s for larger events estimated to exceed capacity
• Satellites will not be played in the Amazon Room but in a separate ballroom
• The cage will be separate, with an integration of buy-in and cash-out areas
• Registration will begin 28 May, two days prior to the first event
• All cell phones must be silenced, and players must be a table away from their seat to use a phone or PDA
• There will be a new WSOP Concierge service; although this wasn’t addressed on the call, I found out that this was a primary need of international players. Services will include shopping and other typical concierge services for those with long stays at the Rio. The Rio will also offer upgraded rooms for long-term players, including DV-R’s and nicer televisions.

The Delayed Final Table

• 14 July: Final Table set, 9 November: play from nine to two, 10 November: HU play, with a target of ending HU play early on 11 November; 11 November: show the two-hour Final Table.
• 4 November: ESPN will air a one-hour preview show of the Final Table
• ESPN will follow the nine WSOP Final Table players during their sixteen-week hiatus
• ESPN (Horowitz) “This is a very exciting day for us in what is already the biggest event in poker. We look at this like when baseball added the Wild Card or NASCAR added the Chase for the Cup.”
• Miller (Clark): “We appreciate the partnership with the World Series of Poker, and this announcement adds value to us.” She then explained a partnering with Phil Hellmuth, a 2 June promotion to win private lessons with Hellmuth.

Questions and Answers

• I asked the second set of questions: What about collusion? Pollack: “The biggest mistake someone could make is to test our events ethically. We are putting the players before a global, world-wide audience, and that encourages them to represent players with high ethical standards. We are introducing a new Code of Conduct, which will clarify any act or unethical, cheating or collusion will be met with very severe penalties. When play stops, we are encouraging the world to take a look at these players, and they will achieve a level of fame. We hope it discourages (unethical behavior).
• My second question: Dockery mentioned this was added value to Miller, and I assume it is added value to all parties involved. Will there be anything added to the prize pool of the Main Event? Pollack: The prize pool for the Final Table will be deposited in an interest-bearing account for the Final Table players after the Final Table is set.” My calculation of interest in a 3-month CD @ 3.25% APR: $179,470 (unsure if this is correct or not, calculated at Bankrate.com for $1,000,000 and extrapolated–apologies to the math whizzes and any corrections appreciated).
• Bob Ciaffone (CardPlayer) asked about the late endings of days. Effel explained that play will end around midnight (five levels) for the Main Event as well as for ten levels in most other tourneys. 5:00PM start events will end around 2:00AM.
• Adam Schwartz (2+2 Radio) asked about the potential for things to happen to players in the interim period. Pollack: Probably a hundred scenarios, whether it is entertainment or sports. People should be confident in our ability to stage an event, world-class, customer-friendly.”
• Matthew Shaw (PokerListings) asked about the new photography policy. Seth Polansky asked him to call and discuss off-line.
• BJ Neumeth (PokerNews) asked if there would be media restrictions during the Final Table to keep the winner under wraps as much as possible. Pollack: “We are blowing the doors wide-open. If you are credentialed to be in the room, you’ll be able to report what you saw. This will only enhance the coverage and viewership. 10 November will be a huge media day for the World Series.”
• Bill Ordeen (Baltimore Sun) asked if this change was to move the broadcast to more of a live event coverage feel vs a documentary. Horowitz: “We’ve always had change in tournament coverage, and ESPN has always looked to as the WSOP is the seminal event in poker. There will be twenty hours of Main Event is more than ever, and the preview show will be new as well.” Pollack: “We think this iwll create a greater sense of anticipation, changing the equation, as many people as possible talking about who is going to win?”
• Rick Dacey (PokerPlayer News UK) asked about pay-per view and how this impacts broadcasting in the UK, as well as in other international markets. Horowitz: “The plan is not to do pay-per-view for the Main Event. We are looking into some of the bracelet events on ESPN360.” Pollack: “ESPN distributes this (internationally), but we are not sure about ESPN International and will follow up.”
• Steve Rosenblum (Chicago Tribune) asked about apparel rules. Pollack: “No single company logo can be on the same article of clothing more than once, and no maximum on number of unique logos. I came from NASCAR, and I hope that players can start looking like NASCAR drivers. Robert Williamson, III, for one, is well on his way. We hope that the players at the Final Table (will use) sixteen weeks to sign additional sponsors.”

Not that it matters in the grand scheme of our lives in the midst of a recession, a housing market hardly at its basement, and a world changing in spite of us, but the World Series of Poker just made a change that significantly changes the most coveted title in poker forever. The WSOP Main Event, as reported by USA Today, will have a break of 117 days from the time the Final Table is set at nine players (14 July) to the time play restarts on 9 November. The Final Table will be broadcast two days later on 11 November.

Is this a great thing for ESPN and the fans? Absolutely. For viewers, we now have more of a reality show feel to the WSOP, watching throughout the fall to see who makes the Final Table then seeing the last nine battle to a new champion virtually real-time.

For poker as a competition (similar to a sport), it is ridiculous. Basically, we have two events within one: the WSOP Main Event Satellite (where there are cash prizes until you get to the final nine if you make the money) then the WSOP Final Table (almost four months later, where nine finalists start with different chip counts and play a SNG). Maybe I’m overreacting a bit, but this changes the competitive landscape of the Final Table tremendously.

Less experienced players can be coached up for four months, a no-brainer to any and every player at the Final Table. Other players can be game planned ad nauseum, players can practice and practice to fix leaks and tells. You name it, it can be done with this much time in between the events.

It also dramatically increases the opportunity for collusion at the Final Table. Remember, the difference between 1st and 9th last year was around $7.5mil. That’s a pretty significant sum of cash, a huge incentive for players to stretch their values for a certain larger payout.

For those making the Final Table, the cash will become much more significant for sponsorship if they use their heads. Ratings will be significantly higher for the Final Table, which should not only make the cash outlay increase from the poker sites (if the players negotiate well) but should also bring out the mainstream, consumer marketers. With TiVo and other DVR’s pounding away at commercial effectiveness, player logowear and usage is a white-hot commodity in marketing. Watch any NASCAR race and see how many drivers accidentally take a swig of Coke Zero if you want some evidence.

Maybe I’m just a dinosaur. Bud Selig obviously is not a steward of the game of baseball. Is Roger Goodell? More yes than no. Is David Stern? He seems to be a great combination of steward of professional baseball with marketer supreme.

I’ve always felt like poker was more like boxing and tennis than it was like the PGA or the NFL. Too many factions focused too much on marketing and revenue and not enough on overall growth and field of competition. Maybe it’s an unfair comparison, to view televised poker as more than it is: an event where individuals can put their own money up and have a chance at winning a mountain of cash, living their dream in the process.

Any opinions on this? Is the WSOP a marketing event? Does it matter if the answer is yes?

EDIT

Press release from the WSOP

WORLD SERIES OF POKER® ANNOUNCES ENHANCEMENT TO 2008 MAIN EVENT FINAL TABLE FORMAT; POKER’S MOST PRESTIGIOUS EVENT CHANGES THE QUESTION FROM ‘WHO WON?’ TO ‘WHO WILL WIN?’

Final Nine Players Will Square-Off This November on ESPN

LAS VEGAS – May 1, 2008 – The World Series of Poker® (WSOP) Presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light today announced a groundbreaking change that will more closely align the televised presentation of the world’s largest, richest and most prestigious poker tournament with other premier sports broadcasts. he last nine players of the $10,000 World Championship of No-Limit Texas Hold’em, known as the Main Event, will compete on November 9-10 instead of the originally scheduled date of July 16.

“Our intent is to provide an even bigger stage for our players,” said Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner of the World Series of Poker. “Now fans and viewers will ask ‘who will win’ our coveted championship bracelet instead of seeing ‘who won.’ The excitement and interest surrounding our final nine players will be unprecedented.” This change in how the Main Event final table is staged will bring the excitement and drama of high-stakes WSOP tournament play closer to millions of fans around the globe. All other 2008 WSOP tournament structures and schedules remain unchanged. This announcement affects only the final nine players of Event #54, the Main Event World Championship.

Continuing the trailblazing efforts that have made the WSOP the industry standard, this move is being made in close collaboration with ESPN, the television rightsholder of the WSOP, and the WSOP Players Advisory Council (PAC), the commissioner-appointed committee of professional and amateur poker players who provide guidance and perspective to the WSOP leadership team. “It’s an exciting time for the World Series of Poker and ESPN,” said Jamie Horowitz, senior producer, ESPN Content Development. “This adjustment will add a new element to a very successful and popular event. We look forward to documenting all of the exciting stories that make the WSOP Main Event the seminal competition in all of poker.”

“This is a huge step forward for poker and more specifically poker on television because it will help create more buzz around the final table and that is good for all of us,” said Daniel Negreanu, a WSOP PAC member, three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and one of today’s most successful and popular poker professionals. “Not only will this innovative step create more buzz for the final table, the added time prior to the final table will help get poker mainstream media attention. I’m very excited about this decision and can’t wait to see it all unfold, hopefully from a seat at the final table!”

The 39th annual World Series of Poker will take place from May 30th to July 14th at the Rio® All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Main Event will begin on July 3rd, with the Final Table being determined on July 14th. The nine players who advance to the Final Table will return to the Rio on November 9th to play down to just two players. The final two, will go head-to-head late in the evening on November 10th to determine the champion and winner of poker’s ultimate prize. The winner of the Main Event is expected to be crowned in the early hours of November 11. ESPN will edit the two-day Final Table action and televise it in a two-hour program from 9:00-11:00 PM ET on Tuesday, November 11 just hours after the winner is crowned. This is akin to television coverage of the Olympic Games, where because of time zone differences, the telecaster schedules programs “same day” in primetime to provide the largest possible audience a convenient viewing time.

ESPN will begin its coverage of the 2008 World Series of Poker on Tuesday, July 22. Viewers will see two hours of original poker programming every Tuesday through November 11 (except November 4 when a special preview of the Final Table will be aired at 10 p.m.). Telecasts will be aired at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. July 22 through September 30 and at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. from October 7 through November 11. Each of the players who make it to the WSOP Main Event Final Table will receive ninth place prize money on July 14, when the finalists are determined. Harrah’s will then provide each of those players with an all expense paid trip for two for their return to Las Vegas in November to play the final portion of the tournament.

From July 14 to November 9, a span of 117 days, players will have an opportunity to line up sponsorships, coaches, review the play of all their competitors, participate in other tournaments, and take advantage of the new publicity and promotional opportunities that will be available.