More details about changes to WSOP final table
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Harrah’s held a conference call yesterday to discuss the coming change regarding the World Series of Poker main event, in which the final table will be delayed until November for the purposes of showing it almost live on television.
According to cardplayer.com:
The change was given the blessings of the WSOP Player Advisory Council (PAC), which counts as members Daniel Negreanu, Tom Schneider, Robert Williamson III, and Jennifer Harman.
Pollack said the 16-week gap between the “end” of this summer’s WSOP and the main event’s conclusion in November will give the players an “unprecedented opportunity to capture the world’s attention” with the help of ESPN and the world’s media outlets. He believes it will help create buzz by giving poker fans the opportunity to speculate on who will win the main event while it’s being broadcast, instead of talking about who already won. It will also give the players more time to secure endorsements for the final table, as well as line up poker coaches and study their opponents, not to mention rest up from the intense marathon of play that the WSOP main event is known for.
Final table play will still be open to the public at the Rio.
ESPN’s three-hour special is set to air at 9 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 11, a day after heads-up play wraps up on Nov. 10.
Also, final table players will be receiving a portion of their money before the final table is over — the final nine will get ninth-place money after playing down to the final table on July 14. The remaining funds will be placed in an interest-bearing account, and interest will be added to the final payouts.
Players interviewed for the cardplayer.com story and elsewhere had mixed reactions — many thought the move would help the popularity of poker, but they worried about the integrity of the game being damaged by the hiatus.
