ESPN Press Release Regarding November 11th's Start

ESPN TO PRESENT SAME DAY COVERAGE OF POKER’S GREATEST PRIZE
WORLD SERIES OF POKER FINAL TO AIR TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 11

The most-anticipated final table in poker history will be in action on Tuesday, Nov. 11, as the champion’s bracelet and a top prize of $9.1 million will be awarded in the 2008 World Series of Poker, presented by Milwaukee’s Best Light. ESPN will provide same day coverage -- kicking off with an encore presentation of the one-hour preview special at 8 p.m. ET -- followed by two action-packed hours from the Penn and Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.



Below are the November Nine in order of chip count, and comments on each player from Norman Chad, co-host of the World Series of Poker with Lon McEachern.


1. Dennis Phillips, 53 St. Louis, Missouri 26,295,000
“Perhaps no player could be more negatively affected by the 117-day final-table delay. When play was halted in July, Phillips was in a zone. He was running hot and reading well, getting all the right cards and pushing all the right buttons. Poker is a streaky game, and he was on a week-long streak. Heck, 3 ½ months later, he might not even be able to find his St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap.” Norman Chad


2. Ivan Demidov, 27 Moscow, Russia 24,400,000
”Here’s a calendar-year feat for you: Making the WSOP Main Event final table and the WSOP Europe Main Event final table. That’s a stunning double. In recent years, Russians are making a bigger impact in poker. Demidov is seldom recklessly aggressive like other twenty-somethings; rather, he’s smart and measured and overcomes his lack of live tournament experience with a steady countenance and solid reads.” Norman Chad

3. Scott Montgomery, 26 Perth, Ontario, Canada 19,690,000
“Another improbable product of the now-famed University of Waterloo poker factory in Canada – if it’s such a good engineering school, how come everyone there is playing cards? Montgomery describes his playing style as “psychotically insane,” and that might be an understatement. He doesn’t play position, he plays preposterously. He can’t help getting all his money in with the worst of it, and he’s forever good-natured about it.” Norman Chad


4. Peter Eastgate, 22 Odense, Denmark 18,375,000
“Ah, to be young, fearless and playing for $9.1 million. In Europe, the poker community talks about uber-aggressive Scandinavian players like Eastgate. He is calm and icy at the table as he continues to shove big bets into the middle. Like many online young guns, his modus operandi is to keep putting opponents to tough decisions for most of their chips. Pressure, pressure, pressure. It seems to work.” Norman Chad


5. Ylon Schwartz, 38 Brooklyn, New York 12,525,000
“He once was a top-flight chess player. I give him a point for that. He says if he wins the Main Event, he wants to go somewhere no one will find him “like Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption.” He gets another point there. He’s smart and strange – you’ve got to fear the smart, strange ones – and he’ll wait for others to make mistakes at the table.” Norman Chad


6. Darus Suharto, 39 Toronto, Ontario, Canada 12,520,000
“At 39, the second-oldest player left in the field, which speaks to the youthful state of no-limit tournament hold ‘em in 2008. He’s quiet, respectful and a big fan of fellow Canadian Daniel Negreanu. Plus, he’s a CPA – the last time an unknown accountant won the Main Event, it set off a poker boom; nobody would mind a second boom, or at least a boomlet.” Norman Chad


7. David Rheem, 28 Los Angeles, California 10,230,000
“He could go out first or he could end up first. He’s not afraid to mix it up, he goes with his reads and he’ll risk it all early if the spot feels right. Even when he bluffs off most of his stack, he has a great ability to not let the moment destroy him – he’ll brush it off and move on. And, of course, most of the established pros are rooting for him.” Norman Chad


8. Craig Marquis, 23 Arlington, Texas 10,210,000
”He played smart, small-pot poker to get here. I like him because he stood up to Tiffany Michelle late in the Main Event. And I like him because he started playing in January 2007 after going to a New Year’s Eve party poker and realizing how much money Tom Dwan and David Benefield were making at cards – on New Year’s Eve, most people just get silly and make stupid resolutions.” Norman Chad


9. Kelly Kim, 31 Whittier, California 2,620,000
“Has to feel like he’s on a free roll – he was the short stack when they got down to 10 players – but that doesn’t mean he’ll play recklessly. In fact, with a big gallery of friends and family on hand, he’ll probably play it snug – you don’t wait 117 days and bring all your supporters into town to go bust in 15 minutes.” Norman Chad

I beleive the game starts on Novemeber 9th @10am and resume on November 10th @10pm and then the final event will be broadcast by ESPN on
November 11th.

It's unlikely the heads up portion will end on November 10th, and the 10 PM start time is Pacific. So it basically starts at 1 AM Eastern on 11/11 and will be airing at roughly 10 PM Eastern the same day.

What's the deal with watching this live (not just the edited episodes)?

Yeah, I was gonna ask the same thing as AG.

I have heard rumors of a PPV type thing? Or something on the internets? Anyone know any better?

didnt they do ppv last year? for like 20 bucks? i seem to recall that.

Any chance of it getting streamed on the web?

i really want rheem to win he has had a great run and he plays some pretty good poker. hes fun to watch at the tables and he makes some great reads anyone else for chino?

Yes you can watch it online for free. I am not exactly sure what site it is though. My best guess would be pokertube or something like that. I am really excited and cant wait to watch it.

This is a quote from "Poker Player" magazine...



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Wow. I hope Dennis Phillips wins the main event because I could win a share of his WSOP earnings in the tournament at pokerstars. Also he seems like an normal guy I would play against at a house game.

WFT?! It looks like audio only??

I keep trying and it says there is too much traffic or something.



Super weak

Lots of anticipation for the Main Event. Hopefully, trying NOT to hear about the winner before the ESPN airing will be easier than some other events, but this does speak well to the popularity of poker.

The fact that the event is being broadcast in HD is astounding!

live would mess up the hole card cam
i take it no cam or delayed by a hand or 2

OMG!!! THANK YOU FOR THIS POST. I THOUGHT THIS WAS GOING TO HAPPEN AROUND THANKSGIVING BUT IT'S TODAY!!!> GOOD TIMING>>>GO DAVID RHEEM!!!!!

Poker has become a sport. I hope one day I will have enough money to just throw down as a buy in to the WPT and nail myself a bracelet....or 2