I have mixed feelings about this idea, mostly negative though. I'm afraid that there will be a tremendous loss of momentum for the players that may kill some of the excitement that accompanies the FT.

Also, I wonder about the affect this will have on the Moneymaker Effect. Think about past winners like Yang, Gold, Moneymaker etc. who were solid players but by no means that best in the world. This huge delay would mean that the amateurs that made the FT would all of a sudden be making poker their life's mission and get an assload of training/coaching/experience in that lead up time. I think that kills some of the Cinderella story aspect behind these players in that by the time the FT starts, they will already be millionaires and probably have a completely different game than when they ran the field four months earlier.

I agree with Powda, however, that this will probable push NLHE even more into the mainstream spotlight, which may help us with the UIGEA nonsense.

I'm sure this will generate a lot of debate and I'm looking forward to it!