Wsop 2008 Final Table In November

[NonZeroPossibility 0]

Lame idea and I can't believe Daniel is all for this... I wonder how much they paid him to promote this?Seriously... Dumb.

[zimmer4141 0]

Lame idea and I can't believe Daniel is all for this... I wonder how much they paid him to promote this?Seriously... Dumb.

Daniel is for this because it is probably in his best interest. He's established himself in the poker world, and is one of the most well-known players out there. The more people that watch poker and the more interest generated in poker, the more he benefits from endorsement deals. He has a very low chance of making the final table, and even if he doesn't this new format benefits him greatly. If he does, there's a huge opportunity for him because he is one of the few people who can take the mainstream exposure from the delay and become possibly the biggest star in poker. Most people can't do that because they don't have name/face recognition with people out there. This increased exposure has huge benefit to established names like Daniel, but I don't know that it has a whole lot of benefit for most poker players out there.

[gtycoon 0]

Rumor has it that ESPN originally wanted to sequester everyone involved in the WSOP main event so the results would not be known until they aired them.

[PrtyPSux 0]

The only people that can support this are the ones that are already at superstar status and can make more money off publicity than the actual 1st place money, this includes Daniel, Full Tilt investors, Hellmuth and people like this. The rest of us average no name pros will be no different than the random in seat 3 to the potential sponsors and the average viewer. So our loss of equity from doinks training will probably outweigh the monetary gain from sponsors. The superstars are also for this because even if they don't make the FT they're looking at potential money making opportunities in coaching and TV time. All I can hope for is that my home game buddies from McAllen TX, play this, make the FT, and then choose not to sell me out for a bigger name coach .Saying it will be good for the poker world is kind of invalid at this moment IMO, most Americans are already aware of poker and have made a decision on whether or not they want to watch or play the game. This seems like ESPN's desperate attempt to regain the viewers they lost due to their recent sh.itty coverage and unamusing champions. If internet poker was legal there might be more of an arguement but that's not even the case right now. They most likely WILL get bigger ratings on the FT coverage but I don't think this will make the viewers want to start playing poker or high stakes tourneys any more than it will if they air it like they have in the past few years. It will just be a cool new dynamic to the viewer but nothing more. Comparing it to the hole card cam "boom" is off because the hole card cam won't lose you any instant equity and most likely won't lose you any long term equity either, where as this could potentially cost you millions. I admit that I love being a media whore. But I know that if I'm playing the biggest-life-changing FT of my life the last thing I'm thinking about is becoming famous or doing Leno in the time between the FT bubble and the FT. If I make the FT I will most likely lose 4 months of my life where I would not leave the apartment in an effort to not die. So I guess we can conclude that this will benefit the absolute donkeys that live in the U.S., the superstars, and probably no one else. I guess if I don't make the FT I'll be rooting for this to work and get an "I told you so" from DN, just so that we can get more fish in the games and maybe get online poker back. But if I make the FT or if someone I have a % of makes it, I'll definitely be WAY pissed at ESPN and those greedy sellout bastards that run the WSOP.

[Painter567 0]

This is far and away the worst and dumbest decision the wsop (or any other poker 'business') has ever made. What if you stake Vinny Vihn and he's chiplead at the FT?

Awesome....

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

i laughed briefly at the paranoia angle, then remembered that jamie gold had to get bodyguards for the day off and FT because of all the threats on his life in 1 day. also, there's no possible way daniel could be against this. he's one of the people who stands to make the most money individually from the format change. the blog entry is absurd. his "list" of pros vs cons has more pros, so it must be good! I guess that's great logic if 1 pro offsets 1 con, but so many of the cons have such catastropic consequences for the integrity of the tournament it's not even close.

[RuntCake 0]

All the BS comes down to this...A) The real fans will know a day early anyway.B) The only people really profiting here are 9 players and Harrah's. (Maybe ESPN if they come up with a scheduling miracle...I like the Thanksgiving idea.)

[HighwayStar 8]

They should put the final 9 players in a house with lots of cameras in, make them complete various weekly challenges for food and the public gets to vote one out each week.

[grocery_mony 8]

I noticed how the pros of this in DN's blog are all about exposure, ratings and more money for ESPN and Harrahs while the cons all had to do with integrity. No brainer here. The one pro you had about sponsorships for the final 9 is a red herring as people who accept the money for accomadation before the tournament are bound to wear that sites clothing already.

[theabyss 0]

heres another thing I just thought of. People who make the final table in the ME have been in vegas for several weeks at least and are well adjusted to the timezone. Most likely a couple people who final table will be from halfway around the world, and they will have to come back to vegas after several months away to play for 1 day and could be at a huge disadvantage compared to american players because of jetlag

duuuuuude. No.just no.when you are guarantee FT payouts the last thing you are worried about is taking time off to leave for vegas early to get over the jetlag.rest assured, if any non northamericans make the final they will be in LV waaaay before the FT starts

[Suited_Up 2]

All I can hope for is that my home game buddies from McAllen TX, play this, make the FT, and then choose not to sell me out for a bigger name coach .

I won't be playing, but if by some miracle it happened, I'd give you a call, lol.

[DanielNegreanu 141]

QFMFT.As someone who has been in enough edit rooms to know, I see NO reason why ESPN needs three friggin months. THREE MONTHS??? C'mon, I could give them two weeks between the ME and the ME Final Table for a proper hype buildup, ala the Super Bowl, but seriously, no one will even care 3 months later! It'll be like one continuous episode of Poker After Dark, just with well-coached unknowns.Look, if CBS can cull together hundreds of hours of March Madness games for their "One Shining Moment" just to make me cry like a little girl 30 seconds after the final buzzer, I think freakin' ESPN can get their sh*t together to pick out a few moments of sheer terror from hours of inane boredom for a nice, week-long lead-up of ME coverage just prior to the Final Table. They can edit the other events for later--it's not like those matter to the ME anyway.

You obviously don't get it. They are going to cut and edit the show in less than 24 hours. The final table finishes Monday night, and it airs Tuesday night. The three months you are talking about is for the HORSE and the lead up to the main event to air weekly. They show day 1, day, 2, day 3, etc. one episode a week and then the ESPN broadcast shows who is at the final table two weeks prior to November 11th. November 4th is a preview episode, final table happens 9th/10th and airs on the 11th. The only reason they don't want to do it at the end of July is because then everything wouldn't be in a chronological order. You can't show the final table first, then go back and air the first few days of the ME.

[psujohn 0]

most Americans are already aware of poker and have made a decision on whether or not they want to watch or play the game.

QFTI seriously think that some of the people around the WSOP and on this forum have no friends who aren't total poker addicts. Find someone who generally likes sports, plays a bit of poker now and then and usually watches the WSOP if they remember to tune in. This is probably 80 or 90% of the audience for the show. Ask them if they knew who won the ME last year before it aired. Most don't know because they don't care enough to seek out the info and it's not big enough news. Or they hear it and forget it. Ask any of these guys who won last years ME and half won't remember. Most people who watch the broadcast really don't care that much and these casual fans far outnumber the hard core fans. The casual fans can't be hyped or spoiled because they don't care. The hard core fans will be spoiled anyway because it's not really live and they'll watch the broadcast regardless of whether or not they already know who wins.

[DanielNegreanu 141]

I can say, with absolute honesty, that Harrah's main goal in doing this is to add hype to the event in the hopes that it will revitalize what has become a bit stale. If this doesn't work, it doesn't. I don't know if it will or it won't. I definitely see a lot of risks involved but I'm all for the idea of trying it. In 1997 they held the event outside as a gimmick, realized that it didn't work, and scrapped the idea. As for this only benefiting people like me, and that being my reasoning for supporting the idea, that's a bunch of ... and I'm personally offended by the notion. Am I the only one that is paying attention to the fact that the publics interest in poker seems to be on the downswing a little bit? This is an attempt to get people excited about the WSOP. By the way, look at the forums... it's certainly working, albeit, most of the posters don't like the idea. I think it could be great, and I also think it could really backfire. It's a gamble for sure, but I am a gambler and think some kind of change to create excitement is a good thing.

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

n/m

[Suited_Up 2]

n/m

lol.

[GWCGWC 83]

I can say, with absolute honesty, that Harrah's main goal in doing this is to add hype to the event in the hopes that it will revitalize what has become a bit stale.

Three words sir:Third party registration!

[pocket3s 0]

I typed all of this and you bastards are going to see it. Poker NewsAfter the excitement, from the pros, concerning this years change in the WSOP Main Event Final Table more changes have been planned for next year. Next years final table will be filmed live with commentary by the kids of out of work 80's actors. During every blind level the players will vote a player off while the chip leader will have immunity. This process will be repeated until a winner is decided. The players will play the final table out 17 times and whomever wins the most final tables will eventually be named champion in the year 2027. In addition, all players will periodically be asked to go into a soundproof booth to discuss their current emotional situation. When a player busts, they will undergo the scrutiny of a panel of judges, all poker greats. We have a great authority that these judges will include Chris Moneymaker and the ghost of Stu Ungar. When asked what they would do if Moneymaker made the final table our source laughed uncontrollably for 34 minutes. The Pros gave mixed reviews when approached for comment. Doyle Brunson made a joke about his age, Phil Hellmuth said "I'm the best" and Daniel Negreanu said "Anything that can get me another endorsement is fine by me".

[zimmer4141 0]

I never meant that your only motivation was that this will personally benefit you, but you can't deny that you stand to benefit from this greatly.More hype is good for all of us, but I don't know that this type of hype will bring tons more fish to the online games, which would be the biggest benefit to most of us. However, the best thing for your personal wealth out of this is for more people to be buying poker-related products that you endorse or sell, which I believe will increase as a result of more exposure for the WSOP. Not to mention the fact that any talk show that wants to have a recognized guest to talk to a wide audience about the WSOP and the FT, you will be on the short list of guests for those appearances because you are a face recognized by a lot of people outside of poker.It wasn't meant to be offensive, or to say that your support is based on personal greed, but out of anybody outside of Harrah's Corp. I think you stand to benefit as much or more than anybody else.

[CrAcKeDaCeS 0]

This idea sucks for a few reasons, number one being that I can't stay up all night and watch the PPV telecast and then go to work on zero hours sleep.But what really bothers me is the fact that they're taking the stamina and mental aspect out of the game. When you get to the FT, you're in a zone b/c you've been playing for days and you've established your style and rhythm. This throws all of that out the window, IMO.I don't like the idea of selling out a long tradition for the benefit of TV networks and sponsors.

[Suited_Up 2]

This idea sucks for a few reasons, number one being that I can't stay up all night and watch the PPV telecast and then go to work on zero hours sleep.But what really bothers me is the fact that they're taking the stamina and mental aspect out of the game. When you get to the FT, you're in a zone b/c you've been playing for days and you've established your style and rhythm. This throws all of that out the window, IMO.I don't like the idea of selling out a long tradition for the benefit of TV networks and sponsors.

There's no PPV telecast.

[bull62 0]

This idea sucks for a few reasons, number one being that I can't stay up all night and watch the PPV telecast and then go to work on zero hours sleep.But what really bothers me is the fact that they're taking the stamina and mental aspect out of the game. When you get to the FT, you're in a zone b/c you've been playing for days and you've established your style and rhythm. This throws all of that out the window, IMO.I don't like the idea of selling out a long tradition for the benefit of TV networks and sponsors.

Personally I don't like this idea at all. But.......without TV networks and sponsors the game wouldn't be anything like it is now. Would you rather go back traveling hundreds of miles every week just to find a good game, or a game period?

[bull62 0]

There's no PPV telecast.

I think that's what he's saying.

[Suited_Up 2]

I think that's what he's saying.

He said it sucks because he can't stay up and watch a PPV telecast... Doesn't that imply that there is going to be one?

[GWCGWC 83]

He said it sucks because he can't stay up and watch a PPV telecast... Doesn't that imply that there is going to be one?

Oh Kurt.