World Series of Poker officials are holding a press conference later today where they’re expected to announce something that’s been reported since last night by USA Today and rumored in poker circles for quite a while. The Main Event of the WSOP, the biggest poker event of the year, will suspend play when it gets down to a final table in mid-July and then resume on Nov. 9, a Sunday, to play out the final table with ESPN broadcasting the event two days later, Nov. 11, at 9 p.m. The timing means that the televised program will air about a half-day after the event actually ends giving the telecast more immediacy. The edited final table telecast is expected to be a two-hour program.

In the past, the Main Event final table broadcast occurred weeks, even months after the tournament ended and the results had been known. The televising of poker has always been a challenge. ESPN’s World Series of Poker telecasts have been considered the gold standard but they are much more a documentary than event coverage with painstaking editing that condenses hundreds of hours of card playing in order to create interesting story lines.

Apparently the WSOP, which is owned by Harrah’s Entertainment, and ESPN are hoping for the best of both worlds with the change -- the drama and entertainment appeal they get from the documentary approach in telecasting the Main Event action leading up to the final table and the immediacy of event coverage by delaying the actual playing of the final table until they’re ready to get it on TV.

The reaction of some poker pros, such as Daniel Negreanu, has been positive. Others, like Doyle Brunson, are not so sure. The long delay will allow players to be coached and even study their opponents on tape.

Source:http://www.casinonews.org/