It was back in 2008 (how time flies) that, for the first time in the then 39-year history of the World Series of Poker, the decision was made not to play the final table of the Main Event at the chronological end of the tournament, but instead delay it until November of that year.
The reasoning behind the move was that it would help to raise its profile as a bona fide sporting event and up the ante, dramatically speaking, by delaying the airing of the final table so that it could be broadcast in close-to-real time, rather than, as in years past, playing the entire Main Event straight through, then broadcasting it after the fact, when everyone already knew who the winner was. ESPN agreed to broadcast the final table live on its website and air it on TV the next day (following a whirlwind editing session).
For the most part, the idea has not worked. Poker is big, but not big enough to sustain momentum through a 110-day layoff and the buzz has dissipated noticeably every year. Ratings for the final have been consistently disappointing, but ESPN was placated by the ad revenue available from online sites like Full Tilt and PokerStars. In the wake of the shutdown of these and other Internet poker sites, and the knock-on effect with regard to sponsorship and ad revenues, it will be interesting to see if the experiment is continued into 2012 or not.
One change this year is to the gaming regulation that now allows Nevada race and sports books to accept wagers on the players, which adds a little to the general excitement of the event, and perhaps online poker will be legalized in some form or other by next year, which could shake things up all over again. Time will tell.
This year's final table takes place November 5-7; for coverage of the players and other interesting facts about the 2011 WSOP, check out the August issue of the LVA newsletter.
