Fans of poker on TV will be pleased to know that ESPN will be bringing back near-live coverage of the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event this year. Once again, the action will air on a 15-minute delay, but only the final table itself will be shown in a near-live format. ESPN also announced on Tuesday that the $1 million buy-in Big One for One Drop will air live on July 3rd.Doug White, ESPN's Senior Director of Programming and Acquisitions, commented in a press release, "Fans know Tuesday night is poker night on ESPN. Beginning with the Big One for One Drop and the WSOP National Championship, and continuing on Tuesdays with the WSOP Main Event, we will set the stage for this intense competition and continue the excitement through the final table in October."
This year, every player at the Main Event's final table will have his hole cards shown in every hand.
In a conference call on Tuesday, WSOP Executive Director Ty Stewart explained why live coverage has been pared back to just the final tables of the Big One and Main Event: "We want to protect the high ratings in the Tuesday night window and there was definitely some erosion of the Tuesday night airings last year. Beyond that, we had to make several considerations in the production to keep the integrity of the game because it was a full-field event with multiple tables."
Here are the dates for the 2012 WSOP on ESPN. Lon McEachern, Norman Chad, and Kara Scott will once again call the action. All times are Eastern:
July 3rd at 3:00pm and 8:00pm
Big One for One Drop Live Broadcast
July 31st from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
The Big One for One Drop
August 7th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP National Championship
August 14th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
August 21st from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
August 28th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
September 5th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
September 11th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
September 18th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
September 25th from 8:00pm to 10:00pm
WSOP Main Event
October 2nd from 9:00pm to 11:00pm
WSOP Main Event
October 9th from 9:00pm to 11:00pm
WSOP Main Event
October 16th from 9:00pm to 11:00pm
WSOP Main Event
October 23rd from 9:00pm to 11:00pm
WSOP Main Event
October 30th at 9:00pm
WSOP Main Event Final Table Live Broadcast
On the rationale for a 15-minute delay this year for the One Drop and Main Event, Stewart told the media, "With the final table, there's no margin for error. We have to make sure if there were some sort of breach in the production, we have the ability to respond to that with enough length of time that the hand's action should be over."Whereas in the past the WSOP Main Event final table has panned out over two days of play, Stewart revealed that three could be in the works this year – Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. In 2011, the 2011 WSOP November Nine played down from nine to three. Then, the final three reconvened at the Rio's Penn and Teller Theater on a Tuesday night to determine a winner.
Finally, 2012 will mark a deviation from the November Nine due to the U.S. Presidential election. One week after a Main Event winner is crowned, American voters will decide who the next President will be. For the WSOP, going head-to-head with the Presidential election, which also takes place on a Tuesday, was a poor idea: "We would be head-to-head against the Presidential election in our Tuesday night time slot. Other big [sports leagues] are making scheduling changes around the conventions and the whole process."
Stay tuned to PocketFives for the latest WSOP news. Be sure to check out several 2012 WSOP rules changes.
