World
Series of Poker Announcers Enhancement to 2008
Main Event Final Table Format
POKER'S MOST PRESTIGIOUS EVENT
CHANGES THE QUESTION FROM 'WHO WON?' TO 'WHO WILL
WIN?'
LAS VEGAS, May 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The World Series
of Poker(R) (WSOP) Presented by Milwaukee's Best
Light today announced a groundbreaking change
that will more closely align the televised presentation
of the world's largest, richest and most prestigious
poker tournament with other premier sports broadcasts.
The
last nine players of the $10,000 World Championship
of No-Limit Texas Hold'em, known as the Main Event,
will compete on November 9-10 instead of the originally
scheduled date of July 16.
"Our
intent is to provide an even bigger stage for
our players," said Jeffrey Pollack, Commissioner
of the World Series of Poker. "Now fans and
viewers will ask 'who will win' our coveted championship
bracelet instead of seeing 'who won.' The excitement
and interest surrounding our final nine players
will be unprecedented."
This
change in how the Main Event final table is staged
will bring the excitement and drama of high-stakes
WSOP tournament play closer to millions of fans
around the globe.
All
other 2008 WSOP tournament structures and schedules
remain unchanged. This announcement affects only
the final nine players of Event #54, the Main
Event World Championship.
Continuing
the trailblazing efforts that have made the WSOP
the industry standard, this move is being made
in close collaboration with ESPN, the television
rightsholder of the WSOP, and the WSOP Players
Advisory Council (PAC), the commissioner-appointed
committee of professional and amateur poker players
who provide guidance and perspective to the WSOP
leadership team.
"It's
an exciting time for the World Series of Poker
and ESPN," said Jamie Horowitz, senior producer,
ESPN Content Development. "This adjustment
will add a new element to a very successful and
popular event. We look forward to documenting
all of the exciting stories that make the WSOP
Main Event the seminal competition in all of poker."
"This
is a huge step forward for poker and more specifically
poker on television because it will help create
more buzz around the final table and that is good
for all of us," said Daniel Negreanu, a WSOP
PAC member, three-time World Series of Poker bracelet
winner and one of today's most successful and
popular poker professionals. "Not only will
this innovative step create more buzz for the
final table, the added time prior to the final
table will help get poker mainstream media attention.
I'm very excited about this decision and can't
wait to see it all unfold, hopefully from a seat
at the final table!"
The
39th annual World Series of Poker will take place
from May 30th to July 14th at the Rio(R) All-Suite
Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The Main Event
will begin on July 3rd, with the Final Table being
determined on July 14th. The nine players who
advance to the Final Table will return to the
Rio on November 9th to play down to just two players.
The final two, will go head-to-head late in the
evening on November 10th to determine the champion
and winner of poker's ultimate prize.
The
winner of the Main Event is expected to be crowned
in the early hours of November 11. ESPN will edit
the two-day Final Table action and televise it
in a two-hour program from 9:00-11:00 PM ET on
Tuesday, November 11 just hours after the winner
is crowned. This is akin to television coverage
of the Olympic Games, where because of time zone
differences, the telecaster schedules programs
"same day" in primetime to provide the
largest possible audience a convenient viewing
time.
ESPN
will begin its coverage of the 2008 World Series
of Poker on Tuesday, July 22. Viewers will see
two hours of original poker programming every
Tuesday through November 11 (except November 4
when a special preview of the Final Table will
be aired at 10 p.m.). Telecasts will be aired
at 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. July 22 through September
30 and at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. from October 7 through
November 11.
Each
of the players who make it to the WSOP Main Event
Final Table will receive ninth place prize money
on July 14, when the finalists are determined.
Harrah's will then provide each of those players
with an all expense paid trip for two for their
return to Las Vegas in November to play the final
portion of the tournament.
From
July 14 to November 9, a span of 117 days, players
will have an opportunity to line up sponsorships,
coaches, review the play of all their competitors,
participate in other tournaments, and take advantage
of the new publicity and promotional opportunities
that will be available.
ABOUT
THE WSOP
The
World Series of Poker (WSOP) is the largest, richest
and most prestigious gaming event in the world.
Featuring a comprehensive slate of tournaments
in every major poker variation, the WSOP is poker's
longest running tournament in the world, dating
back to 1970. In 2007, the event attracted more
than 54,000 entrants from 87 different countries
to the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas
and awarded just under $160 million in prize money
as players competed for game's most coveted trophy,
a WSOP bracelet. Harrah's License Company, LLC.,
an affiliate of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. has
owned and operated the WSOP since 2004 and over
the last four years, fostered an increase in player
participation by nearly 300-percent. In addition,
the WSOP has experienced groundbreaking alliances
in broadcasting, digital media and corporate sponsorships,
while successfully expanding the brand internationally
with the advent in 2007 of the World Series of
Poker Europe. For more information on the World
Series of Poker, please visit our website at http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com.
ABOUT
HARRAH'S ENTERTAINMENT, INC.
Harrah's
Entertainment, Inc. is the world's largest provider
of branded casino entertainment. Since its beginning
in Reno, Nevada, more than 70 years ago, Harrah's
has grown through development of new properties,
expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages
casinos on four continents. The Company's properties
operate primarily under the Harrah's(R), Caesars(R)
and Horseshoe(R) brand names; Harrah's also owns
the London Clubs International family of casinos
and the World Series of Poker(R). Harrah's Entertainment
is focused on building loyalty and value with
its customers through a unique combination of
great service, excellent products, unsurpassed
distribution, operational excellence and technology
leadership. For more information, please visit
http://www.harrahs.com.
ABOUT
ESPN
ESPN,
Inc. is the world's leading multinational, multimedia
sports entertainment company featuring a portfolio
of over 50 multimedia sports assets. The company
is comprised of six domestic television networks
(ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Classic, ESPNEWS, ESPN Deportes,
ESPNU), ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNEWS HD simulcast services,
ESPN Regional Television, ESPN International (34
networks, syndication, radio, web sites), ESPN
Radio, ESPN.com, ESPN The Magazine, ESPN Enterprises,
ESPN PPV, ESPN Zones (sports-themed restaurants),
and other growing new businesses including ESPN360.com
(Broadband), ESPN Mobile Properties, ESPN on Demand
and ESPN Interactive. Based in Bristol, Ct., ESPN
is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an
indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company.
The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest
in ESPN.
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