The 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is now just one month away. On May 27th, players from around the United States and across the world will descend on the Rio in Las Vegas in pursuit of their share of poker history. Last year, a bevy of PocketFivers captured wins, including Grant drossxyu Hinkle and Blair blur5f6 Hinkle, who became just the second set of brothers ever to score bracelets (J.C. and Puggy Pearson were the others). In its media guide released in recent days, Harrah’s unveiled ESPN’s projected broadcast schedule for the tournament series. It includes another change to the final table of the Main Event, which will play out in November.
On Tuesday, July 28th, the action from the Rio in Las Vegas will hit the television airwaves on ESPN. The special $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP will mark the debut of the 2009 festivities on the cable network. The first of two one-hour episodes will air at 8:00pm ET, followed by another installment at 9:00pm ET. The four-day tournament awards each player with a starting stack of 120,000 chips and, according to Harrah’s, follows a “slow structure.” Last year, the WSOP on ESPN kicked off with the $10,000 buy-in World Championship of Pot Limit Hold’em. Its decorated final table included PocketFivers Amit amak316 Makhija (pictured at left) and Mike SowersUNCC Sowers, who finished fifth and eighth, respectively.On Tuesday, August 4th, poker fans that have access to ESPN will be able to catch the WSOP Champions Invitational. The two-part series airs from 8:00pm ET to 10:00pm ET. The tournament is a freeroll that is open to all past WSOP Main Event champions and kicks off at the Rio on May 31st for the first of two days of play. There are 34 previous Main Event winners in total, although seven of them have unfortunately passed away: Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, Puggy Pearson, Hal Fowler, Jack Strauss, Jack Keller, and Bill Smith. Four players – Moss, Ungar, Doyle Brunson, and Johnny Chan – have won multiple WSOP Main Event titles. The non-bracelet freeroll awards the Binion Cup and a car to its winner. Trophy namesake Jack Binion will be on-hand for the event, which promises to be quite a spectacle.
On Tuesday, August 11th, the two hour time block on ESPN will be reserved for the annual Ante Up for Africa charity poker tournament. Last year, the $5,000 buy-in event raised more than $500,000 for the crisis in Darfur. Its title charity, Ante Up for Africa, was founded three years ago by UltimateBet pro and PocketFiver Annie Duke (pictured at right) actor Don Cheadle, and Norman Epstein. In 2007, the first year that the Ante Up for Africa event was held at the Rio, over $700,000 was raised. The first and second place finishers in the 2007 and 2008 editions generously donated their entire winnings to charity. Celebrities in the field last year included Jason Alexander, Montel Williams, Ben Affleck, Charles Barkley, and Shannon Elizabeth.After airing the Ante Up for Africa tournament, ESPN will begin 13 straight weeks of Main Event coverage. One week each will be devoted to recapping Day 1A, Day 1B, Day 1C, Day 1D, Day 2A, and Day 2B. From there, each day of play will pan out weekly beginning at 8:00pm ET on Tuesdays. Starting on October 13th, the action will be pushed back one hour to 9:00pm ET. The Main Event final table is slated to air at 9:00pm ET on Tuesday, November 10th. In a change from last year, the final table will play down from nine players to two on Saturday, November 7th. The action will then be suspended for three days and resume on Tuesday, November 10th; the result will air that night on ESPN. A one hour Main Event preview show will air on November 10th beginning at 8:00pm ET.
Last year, PocketFivers Scott r_a_y Montgomery (pictured at left) and Darus BejoMas Suharto were members of the inaugural November Nine. Just a few weeks before the tournament series started in 2008, Harrah’s officials announced that the final table of the Main Event would be pushed back 117 days to November, a trend that will continue this year as a result of significantly increased television ratings and international media attention. The nine final table participants hailed from four different countries: Denmark, the United States, Russia, and Canada. In the end, Team PokerStars Pro member Peter Eastgate became the youngest Main Event champion ever, shattering Phil Hellmuth’s standing record by two years.
The $50,000 HORSE Championship, which was won by Scotty Nguyen (pictured at right) in 2008, will not air this year. Last year’s final table featured Nguyen verbally abusing Michael DeMichele and Rio staff as part of a profanity-laced episode that was seen nationally. Erick Lindgren, Barry barryg1 Greenstein, World Poker Tour founder Lyle Berman, and 2009 National Heads-Up Poker Championship winner Huck Seed also made the final table.If you’re more of a visual person, here is a look at the broadcast schedule for the 2009 WSOP on ESPN. Note that it is subject to change:
Canada
United Kingdom
Costa Rica
Australia
Mexico
Denmark
Russian Federation
Sweden
Brazil
Germany
