The World Series of Poker on ESPN is a staple of the network’s programming. New episodes have occupied the Tuesday night timeslot in recent months and bringing the action to millions of people across the airwaves is none other than WSOP on ESPN commentator Norman Chad. A man who gives his viewers advice on marriage and calls all sports teams the Demon Deacons, Chad provides the ESPN viewing audience with a unique glimpse into the world of high-stakes tournament poker. This week, Chad joins the PocketFives.com Podcast to give his thoughts on the 2008 Main Event and reveal how he got started in broadcasting. In addition, PocketFives.com caught up with fellow commentator Lon McEachern to seek his advice for up and coming broadcasters.

Chad was associated with ESPN mainly through sports panel shows such as “Pardon the Interruption,” which is currently hosted by Mike Wilbon and Monday Night Football analyst Tony Kornhieser. He told the PocketFives.com Podcast, “Five years ago, ESPN started showing more of the World Series of Poker than they ever had before. They had an independent production company coming in to do it and they asked me to consult with them because I was the only guy who had a gambling problem.”

Flash forward to November 9th, 2008. The World Series of Poker Main Event was set to resume from the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas after a 117 day layoff. The delay of the final table, which was designed to increase interest in poker, had apparently paid off. Chad described the atmosphere at the Rio, which included a long line into the tournament’s playing area: “I had no idea that you could fill the Penn and Teller Theater [with poker fans]. Poker is very hard to watch live. You can’t see a lot. To see people lined up, a buzz went through my body as it does every day at the beginning of the Main Event.”

Chad’s love for poker was one of the driving factors in procuring the WSOP gig. He noted, “ESPN actually asked me about poker in the beginning because they knew I played in my free time. I played socially when I was in college… but it wasn’t until I moved to California that I went to a card room and that’s what I still do. I go to a card room when I’m not on the road: I go to Hollywood Park in Los Angeles twice and sometimes three times a week. I love playing. It’s very relaxing.” He added that he doesn’t play Hold’em, instead opting for other games like Stud and Omaha.

Making headlines during coverage of the 2008 World Series of Poker were the actions of poker players Scotty Nguyen and Phil Hellmuth. The former was seemingly intoxicated and argumentative during the $50,000 buy-in HORSE Championship. The latter berated PocketFiver and current Ultimate Bet Star Player Adam Roothlus Levy. Chad gave us his take on the missteps of two of poker’s biggest stars: “We showed just a portion of [Nguyen] over a course of hours being belligerent, abusive, profane, and just absurd. He should have been flagged for it by the tournament directors, as should Phil Hellmuth when he gets that way. We all find it entertaining. It’s great television, but it’s stepping over the line of what you do at a poker table.”

Chad also dives into his views on online poker players, his passion for bowling, and what makes poker on television compelling. On the latter, he noted, “I told people that poker was the best reality show on television because most of the reality shows have nothing to do with reality. This is what poker players do every day.”

In an interview separate from the PocketFives.com Podcast, McEachern gave us his advice for aspiring broadcasters in today’s competitive marketplace: “As in poker, it’s best to start playing small stakes. I started in college and worked in small market radio. I worked my way up to small market television and took the steps gradually as I went. It’s so important to get a good foundation on the kind of style you may have. Also, work outside your chosen area of expertise. If you like sports, get out to an area like financial reporting.”

Ever since ESPN began showing expanded ESPN coverage on 2003, the entire landscape of the poker world has changed. Tennessee accountant Chris Moneymaker, with a last name that some still to this day claim to be concocted, won the Main Event that year and propelled poker to what it is today. McEachern painted his picture of the future of poker programming: “I think it will continue to have a presence. It seems like the number of poker shows is down from a couple of years ago, but I think there might be a venue for a longer format poker show somewhere on the dial. There is quite a clamoring among the hardcore fans to show all of the hands.”

Check out Norman Chad this week on the PocketFives.com Podcast.

Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

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