Famed newspaper publication USA Today is reporting that a news conference scheduled for May 2nd, 2008, will confirm the rumor that has been swirling around the poker community since last year's WSOP Main Event: "...the main event players will play down ...

This basically that means whoever makes the final table for the 2008 Main Event will have to WAIT for 117 days before they head back to Vegas to FINISH the final table before a live taping that will crown the winner on ESPN, and ... [read all about 2008 Main Event Final Table Being Delayed Until November?]

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Online Poker News | Arizona Poker

This is seriously one of the craziest things to ever be announced - I can't wait to hear what Harrah's has to say when the press conference goes down tomorrow.

I mean, I just couldn't fathom being in that big of a "zone" for a week at the biggest tournament of the year - only to have to wait 4 months to finish the tournament....all to build drama and buzz.

DISCUSS....

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Online Poker News | Arizona Poker

Okay after reading what some people have said on other boards I have to say that thsi idea is not all that bad. This could really put poker back into the mainstream. Imagine the players lives for those 3 months. They would be like quasi celebritys, almost like a reality show if you will. They will be on talk shows, radio shows, oprah, etc.... If there are no pros at the table then this PR time would allow you to meet the players first, and you can decide who to root for.

It is not all great. There are many crazy things that coulsd happen and I have heard crazy things. Everything from collusion and crazy deal ideas and I have heard crazy (but not too far off) ideas about possible murders and such spawning from players wanting that added edge (they aren't playing for pennies here!).

So some pros:

Poker back in the mainstream
Players will be like "quasi celebs" bringing outside interest to poker
The build up will be greater
larger prizes (explained below)

Some cons:

Possible collusion
players will definetly be coached, possibly changing reads that players had on thier opponents 3 months earlier
other possible oddities could occur in the off time


So it isn't all bad but I think the good outweighs heavily the bad. When I first read about this I thought it was the worst idea ever but the more I think about it the more I like it! Imagine that you make the FT of the ME and have to wait 3 months. Imagine all of the interviews, the cameras, the hype. Then to finally play a sold out event with a huge crowd surrounding you... I think that you might lose the hype and intensity that goes along with playing the ME FT at the Rio with the hooting and hollering poker junkies surroudning you but in reality a final table setup liek this will be equally as intense, if not more.


Other things that should be mentioned. On Daniel N's blog he says the players will all receive thier 9th place money before the final table. The rest of the money will then be invested by Harrahs. Harrahs will not receive the interest the players will so the prize will be even bigger than if the FT was played immedietly! Also the players are being notified before buying in, it's not liek they don't see this coming (I am unsure how harrahs is handling people already currently bought in)

I was a skeptic of this whole idea at first but now it doesn't seem so bad.

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!

yeah this is a really interesting topic...


I understand what you are saying about the momentum but at the same time it is not liek one player is losing more than another, they are all spending the same amount of time away from the table. The more I think about it the more I like the idea. I think this is going to be interesting to say the least.

One thing that does bother me is one burning question.

Why?

They are postponing the final table just to film it one day and still just show it the next? I mean if I am anywhere near a computer in the hours of that final table (gaurunteed I am) I will know who the winner is anyway so why go through all that trouble? I guess unless you are a hardcore internet poker junkie you may not know until the event but still. I mean I think the idea is that the ME FT will become more like a major sporting event like the super bowl or the world series of baseball where people go to bars and such to watch it but what is going to stop a guy like me from walking in and saying "hey, Ivey wins it."

All I am saying is what is the difference between filiming it in June or November or any date in between if they are airing it in October?

I would be playing in the WSOP let alone making the final table, so this only affects me as a viewer. I'm not sure how this will play out or if it will helkp poker much, but we'll see how it all turns out.

I guess they don't want to air the final table so long after it has already been decided. They want to be able to air the initial days of the main event during the months leading up to the final table.

I dont like it

Yes, the "why" still eludes me. Like you said, Powda, everyone can find out the result with very little effort. The "not knowing who wins" factor will be a moot point for anybody with a genuine interest in poker. The nature of poker means that the live final table will take hours and hours, and even if people would want to sit through each and every hand, they couldn't show hole cards unless there was some sort of total area quarantine around the FT. I'm not sure how it will pan out, but it will definitely be interesting to see.

There were a bunch of people involved in making the decision to try this out including Daniel Negreanu. I think they want to see if this will build up some hype leading up to the final table and create an atmosphere similar to the Super Bowl or March Madness. I know poker will never get to the level of those events, but we'll see what effect this has on poker.