WSOP News: ESPN To Air Only Two Bracelet Events

http://www.pokerpages.com/poker-news...ents-31668.htm

Just saw this and thought it caught my eye. ESPN is only going to air 2 bracelet events from the WSOP this year, the Main Event and a $50K HORSE Event. They are showing 4 events total, but two don't have bracelets for the winners(Ante Up For Africa and the Champions Invitational). Really surprised me considering the success that they have had with their poker coverage.

They aren't showing the HORSE this year. "Gone is the $50K HORSE event, thanks in large part to the infamous Scotty Nguyen performance of last year."

They are showing the $40K NLHE buy in event.

The ratings for non NLHE events led to the change. People are tired of watching nobodies and games they don't normally play.

On a side note, if you have access to ESPN360.com, they will be showing the final tables of 24 bracelet events live on the internet.

You're right. I got sidetracked while I was typing about two things at once. Whoops. Thanks for catching that

It's a shame they aren't showing the other events, but I can understand why if the ratings aren't that good. At least you can still watch it if you want to. I hope they don't delay the final table again because to be honest I had no interest in watching it in November.

Well then you are in for dissappointment. The schedule was on the linked page.

July 28, 8:00 PM ET - Special 40th Annual $40,000 No Limit Hold'em
July 28, 9:00 PM ET - Special 40th Annual $40,000 No Limit Hold'em
August 4, 8:00 PM ET - WSOP Champions Invitational
August 4, 9:00 PM ET - WSOP Champions Invitational
August 11, 8:00 PM ET - Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Event
August 11, 9:00 PM ET - Ante Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Event
August 18, 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1A
August 18, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1A
August 25, 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1B
August 25, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1B
September, 1 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1C
September, 1 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1C
September, 8 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1D
September, 8 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 1D
September, 15 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 2A
September, 15 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 2A
September, 22 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 2B
September, 22 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 2B
September, 29 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 3
September, 29 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 3
October 6, 8:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 4
October 6, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 4
October 13, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 5
October 13, 10:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 5
October 20, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 6
October 20, 10:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 6
October 27, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 7
October 27, 10:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 7
November 3, 9:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 8
November 3, 10:00 PM ET - Main Event Day 8
November 10, 8:00PM ET - Final Table Preview Show
November 10, 9-11:00 PM ET - Main Event Final Table

Watching the events is really losing interest for me. Id rather be there playing then watching. lol

Now this I LIKE! If a player I like or want to watch makes a FT I can actually watch them for a bit. Definitely makes up for it.

Yea, that will be nice to watch it live on 360. Good thing I just set up my new custom Media Center PC, I'll be able to watch it just like it was really on ESPN.

Oh, and pokerchild, I know what you mean, the whole time I am watching, I am just wishing that I was there. I think within a couple years, once I establish my career a little better, I will try more agressively to get involved in the Series. It's not all about the Main Event exactly, but any of the other games would be awesome to play in as well. Just imagine, day after day of the best live poker in the world....I think I just got a little too excited. =/

Having been there and played, all I can say is the electricity in the Amazon Room is just amazing. If you love poker, you HAVE to go to the WSOP and play an event at least once. It's been 3 years since I went and I'd love to go back again.

And honestly, you don't even need a huge amount to go. They run satellites into all the events for $125-$275, so even if you can't swing a direct buy in or don't feel comfortable buy into a $1500 event, there are still options for you.

Even cheaper still is to just go out there and be in the crowd and just play cheaper stuff at Caesar's.

No HORSE coverage? That's a bummer. I always looked forward to non-hold 'em events showing up on my DVR. Guess I was in a small group.

I think even hard core poker tv watchers have to be burnt out but now...I know I am...I have not watched a WPT event since they left travel channel
..not much of last years WSOP..I still like high stakes poker...nothing like the hundred times I watched the Moneymaker WSOP though haha

Wow no HORSE....really...???

pretty dissappointing news, i always liked the HORSE event.
mixes it up a bit.

on the other hand thats pretty sweet that u can go
to espn360 and watch basically whatever poker your
craving to see. since im on the internet all the time here
at work hopefully ill be able to watch quite a bit of it.

The only thing I don't like about the main event final table (other than me not at it) is that in 2 hours they only show like 24 hands 2 hands every 10 minute, becasue of the back storys they do i would rather see something like Poker after dark where they pretty much show every hand in 1 hour segments over a week. I don't really care that this player came from the streets and that player is a construction worker making $13hr. TV I believe is what helped get poker to where it is today, but also is the reason you see such bad play in games. Those new to poker watch it on tv and see a guy call a raise with or make a raise with 36 off and flop a straight and think they can do that every hand, and they have no clue about position or odds.

What is going to annoy me about them only showing the 4 events is the fact that ESPN reruns the WSOP coverage all year long. Right now, there is a good chance that when you turn a rerun on, you have already seen it, but sometimes you get surprised by some Omaha or HORSE thrown in that you didn't see before. With them taking away some of the events, they are going to pretty much going to be picking those reruns from the same tournament over and over. I am going to guess that they won't rerun the Champ. Invitational(just assuming) or the other NLH event very much at all. So it is probably going to be the Main Event(which I already think gets reran WAAAAAY too much) and the $40K Anniversary Tournament over and over all year long.

The one thing we have going for us(who watch poker) is that because of ESPN 360, they will have cameras taping the other events as well, so hopefully later on in the year they will produce some of those and play them on cable to mix it up a bit. Because with as much poker as they run on ESPN, they are going to need something more than just a couple tourneys imho.

That blows, things like this hurt poker. Honestly ESPN, with their card cam, helped the game. It added interest. Everyone knows the "Moneymaker Effect" but the card cam was the key. Now with them limiting the events shown...thats a big blow to the poker world. Having poker on tv is the key for a continued future for the game.

What does everyone else think?

The Travel Channel was actually the first to use the card cam.

Are they really not televising the HORSE because Scotty was a drunk jackass last year? That happened because Scotty was a drunk jackass, not because the game was HORSE. What if Scotty final tables the $40K, is he less likely to be a drunk jackass because it's NLHE? Don't think so.

I think they should show atleast some PLO as it is a growing variant of poker. 8-game and HORSE should be aired too. I don't know about you guys, but I find it very interesting to learn new variants of the game. When is badugi coming to the WSOP?

I'm with you flint, I love watching the lesser known variants of poker. I think the reason is because the general population doesn't like to watch those games as much because they don't understand them. Think about it....they will get a wider audience if they constantly show NLHE because they will get the people who ONLY understand NLHE, the people who are just getting into NLHE, and the people who understand NLHE and the other variants. Whereas with the variants, a lot of beginners/strict NLHE players won't want to watch it because they don't understand it and only want to watch HE.

I understand why they don't televise those as much, I just don't like it. Also, I think that by televising those variants, it will get more people into playing that particular game, in return increasing the viewing audience in the future(that is how NLHE got so popular in the first place, correct???)

Im very dissapointed that the horse event will not be on tv. Seeing the best poker pros in the world playing for the the title that Chip Reese first won is great. Scotty Nguyen was very bad in his behavior in it last year, but ESPN should have disregarded that and had this year's on tv anyways. I am also very interested in the new events they are showing this year, especially the champions invitational.

Is it just past WSOP main event winners in the champions invitational?

hey,maybe they'll give more viewing online since they don't have all that great coverage on tv anyways anyone know if they have such a thing? just asking.

that is what espn 360 is.... espn viewing online

My stupid ISP/Cable System doesnt support ESPN 360 (Cox). All that money they get from me every month. That Sux.

Also, I hugely doubt Scotty caused the Horse Event not to be shown...if it had any ratings Scotty could have pulled down his pants and laid a big duece on the table and they would have shown it this year

I'm with you on this one. I highly doubt it had anything to do with Scotty's drunkenness. If that was the reason, then they are dumb as hell, because who is to say that someone at the Main Event this year isn't going to get wasted and berate the other players? Or at the Champions Invitational, etc...

If they really want to avoid this, the only thing they can really do is ban alcohol from the event, and come on, that would never happen, nor do I think it should. If people want to make an ass out of themselves, go ahead and let them. Not showing these events isn't going to stop this from possibly happening, that's for damn sure.

I think that the interest surrounding the WSOP is starting to recede. Very few people want to see a nobody win it every year. If the same group of people were competing for the title every year, like golf or NASCAR, I think interest would remain much higher. Perhaps it will return to that someday.

I think it is the other way around. It kind of gives people hope that it isn't always the same person winning the events everytime, because then in their mind, they have a chance to do it themselves. That is the whole principle of the Moneymaker Effect, that you can technically be Joe Somebody and go win the WSOP. That is one of the big reasons why poker around the country has exploded.

I do agree that poker has exploded because anyone can win. However, I don't think that people want to sit and watch it. Eventually they will want to get out and play it.

Erm... it's always been shown in November (or thereabouts). The changes they made affected when the final table was played, not when it was shown on TV.

As for the schedule, I'm disappointed they're not showing the $50K HORSE - or any other bracelet events for that matter. Still, you can see why they've made the decisions. Be interesting to see what effect it has on player sponsorships, seeing as how very few of the TV tables will be accessible to anyone who's not already a sponsored pro...

You are right about the Moneymaker Effect initially, but now I think people want to see a named pro win it. Because now that everyone is hooked on poker, alot of people have taken the time to read about it in books, play countless hours of it online and live, and they know it's a skill game. But when you have guys like Gold and Yang who aren't respected by the poker public, it makes it look like a big $10,000 Lottery. A pro winning now wouldn't stop the average Joe from dreaming about the ME, it'll make them want to be the next Ferguson, Ivey, etc.

Can't say I'm surprised. Your avergage joe player wants to watch the game that is the most popular, and they wanna see the big playes and celebrities. This is not a criticism of people, this is fiar enough. I, personally, would love to see more games, like PLO, HORSE and other mixed games like triple draw, like they have done in recent years, but I am not surprised about this.

Yes this was indeed a shame.
Considering the late great chip reese one the first one,if im not mistaking.
Dont get me wrong I like scotty but man lay off da booze.

True, and it would help the argument for organizations like the PPA to clarify and show that the game is based on skill and not by chance or luck entirely.