Thursday, July 16, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Not that the action wasn’t exciting before the dinner break, but upon our return things got really interesting. Actually we had an interesting encounter on the way back from dinner–a gentleman in a blue shirt with ITALIA printed across the front was being handcuffed just down from the Sao Paulo restaurant. Apparently he’d staggered into the Amazon Room, drunk as the proverbial skunk, and refused to leave. Apparently the arrival off officers from the LVPD motivated him to action and he got halfway to the casino before he was apprehended. There’s something about the sound of handcuffs going click-click-click…
And then once we took our seats and play resumed it was Jamie Robbins who showed the crowd what it takes to get out of jail. All in with pocket tens to Joe Cada’s pocket Aces, Robbins needed to hit a two-outer on the river to stay alive. The dealer duly slapped the 10h on the felt and the crowd went “OOOOOHHHH!” en masse as Robbins’ sucked out at the best possible time. Seriously, how many two-outers does on hit on the river in one’s lifetime? And one time that you do it’s when there are 14 players left in the Main Event. Wow.
And that two-outer ended up being worth $263,708 (at least) to Robbins, because shortly after that hand both Ben Lamb and James Calderaro were eliminated and the surviving players hit another pay jump. Robbins may be shortstacked, but he’s now guaranteed at least $896,700.
Eric Buchman is the chip leader with 33.8 million, followed closely by Steven Begleiter with 30.3 million. Billy Kopp, who was the chipleader at the start of play, sits with almost 19 million after slipping badly during the day. And Phil Ivey, perhaps the most feared poker player in the world, bides his time with 6.1 million. Waiting. Waiting.
Tags: -billy kopp, 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, jamie robbins, joe cada, phil ivey, world series of poker, world series of poker main event, WSOP
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Monday, July 6, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
Today is gonna be nuts.
It’s Day 1D of the World Series of Poker Main Event and to be honest it’s already been nuts. The seats for today’s flight are sold out–if you haven’t already bought into the Main Event, you ain’t playing in it this year. There was a mini-riot by the registration room as players prepared to pony up ten grand were told their money wasn’t good. And they weren’t too happy about it. So there are scores of unhappy poker players out in the hall mingling with about 2,800 anxious poker players who are about to file into the Amazon, Brasilia and Miranda rooms (they’ll be using Miranda today for sure). Add the fact that a sewer line or something backed up and it stinks in here, I mean it STINKS, and that just about everyone on Media Row is coughing and sneezing (the cold that flattened Annie Duke yesterday is a Rio-wide pandemic)…like I said, today is gonna be nuts.
Tags: 2009 main event, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, world series of poker main event, WSOP, wsop main event
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Monday, July 6, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
The end of the World Series came early for Brandon Cantu as well, as he was eliminated just before the last break of the evening. Cantu made a move against a player who’d flopped a set of Jacks on an A-J-6, and after the call Brandon was drawing at a mircle with Ks-8s. A Queen fell on the turn, giving Brandon a gutshot draw, and as he screamed “Ten! Ten!!” the dealer placed an Ace on the river that gave the 50,000-chip pot to his opponent. And not long after the period was placed at the end of Cantu’s World Series when he was all in on the flop against a player who turned the nut flush.
But his disappointment at being eliminated today should be tempered by the fact that he had a fantastic Series. He finished second in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event, losing out on his second bracelet in cruel fashion when he was heads-up with Ray Foley. But he rebounded from that bitter defeat a few days later by racing out to a huge chip lead in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha/8 tournament and then coming from behind to defeat Lee Watkinson to finally capture his second bracelet. A shot of that earlier, happier time:
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Brandon Cantu, Main Event, world series of poker, world series of poker main event, WSOP, wsop main event
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Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
I did a quick run-through of the Amazon Room (small field on Day 1B, the Brasilia Room is not in use for the Main Event today) and found several sharp-dressed players:
And in honor of America shaking off the monarchist yoke 233 years ago:
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, world series of poker, world series of poker main event, WSOP, wsop main event
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Friday, July 3, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
With the start of the Main Event split into four Day Ones, which day you play becomes a major strategic question for players to consider. Do you play on Day 1A, which would leave you with three days to rest up before you play again (or give you a chance to get outta Dodge early if you bust out). Or 1B, which gives you an extra day off and two days to rest should you survive. Maybe 1C, giving you the opposite benefits of 1B, two days off before and one day off after. Or 1D, so you can come in completely rested and refreshed and not having to deal with a long layoff before you play again.
The last few years Day 1A has seen the smallest fields, while 1D has had the largest (those fields swelled perhaps by last-second satellite winners). So you have to factor that in as well. Along with calculating which day will see the most pros in the field, the most first-time qualifiers…it’s enough to make your head spin.
The only member of the Team UB/AP family I’ve seen in the field today is Matt Vengrin, who’s sitting at Table 87 in the Orange section. If Matt makes it through the next two levels (we’re only playing four levels today, not the five that were originally scheduled) he’ll have three days off before resuming the fight on Tuesday the 7th. But there’s still four long hours of play before Matt extends his stay.
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, 2009 wsop main event, matt vengrin, world series of poker, world series of poker main event, WSOP, wsop main event
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Monday, April 27, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
There are 30 days until the start of the 2009 World Series of Poker–this I learned from the Twitter feed of WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. Yes, even the Commish is Twittering now, God help us all. A month until the Series starts, and then a 50-day marathon of bracelets and bad beats and Benjamins until the next November Nine is set. And for the third consecutive year I’ll be there providing gavel-to-gavel coverage for the ‘ol UltimateBet Blog.
Every year the WSOP seems to be better organized and better run–last year there were so few complaints that people were writing stories about how strange it was that no one was complaining. Lots of people expected the number of players to decrease, but instead there was a substantial upticks. There was an uproar when Harrah’s announced they would delay the final table for four months, but TV ratings for the November Nine were up around 50%.
And people are talking about the changes to this year’s World Series. No more rebuy events–the insane shove-fests that characterized the rebuy periods were deemed unfair to players who didn’t bring a bandolier of rebuys (and who perhaps found themselves at a table with half the chips as other tables). The opening event is a $40,000 Hold-Em tournament to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the World Series–how might that deplete players’ bankrolls just as the WSOP begins? And the rules about verbal abuse have been dramatically tightened–forget the “F-bomb” rule, just about any nastiness directed at another play could result in a penalty.
There’s also been a change in the TV scheduling. Only four events will be televised by ESPN–the Main Event; aforementioned $40K Hold-Em tournament; the Ante Up for Africa event, and a special invitational event for past Main Event champions. None of the other bracelet events will be televised and there is going to be even more Main Event coverage than before.
This year’s WSOP will be held in a world that’s in a serious state of flux. The current economic crisis is the worst the world has seen since the Great Depression, who knows how that might affect attendance. There’s also the potential for great change in the poker world as well, as Rep. Barney Frank is planning on introducing legislation that would legalize online poker (and perhaps online gaming in genera) in the United States. A repeal of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA) could trigger a new poker boom, one that might first make itself known at this year’s Series.
But all that will happen outside the confines of the Amazon Room. Inside, the game will go on as it always has and always will. Even if there are fewer players this year the World Series of Poker is still an event of staggering size. In 2008 a total of 58,720 players competed for prize pools that totaled a jaw-dropping $180,774,427. Peter Eastgate won more money as the Main Event champion than Tiger Woods (U.S Open), Roger Federer (U.S. Open), Ryan Newman (Daytona 500) and Scott Dixon (Indy 500) won, combined, for capturing their sports’ premiere events.
If you play poker and you’ve never visited the World Series of Poker, you really should make a pilgrimage to see it for yourself. Because once you see it, you’ll want to find a way to play in it. It is a sight to behold, and even if you spend 50 consecutive days and nights in the belly of the beast it’s still an awesome spectacle. And it’s just 30 days away.
Tags: 2009 november nine, 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, amazon room, Ante Up For Africa, november nine, Poker Poker Poker, poker tournaments, world series of poker, world series of poker main event, WSOP, wsop main events
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Sunday, November 23, 2008 - Gene Bromberg
It’s been almost two weeks since poker crowned its new World Champion—it’s Peter Eastgate, for those of you who forgot to emerge from your cave until well after ESPN’s broadcast. There’s been quite a bit of discussion about whether Harrah’s decision to delay the final table for 117 days was a good idea, but by one barometer the delay was a hit—ESPN’s ratings for the final table were up 50% from a year ago.
It’s important to recall that slumping television ratings were one of the big reasons why Harrah’s chose to put the final table on hiatus. The last few years the ratings for poker shows have been going down, down, down, and as with any TV show there’s always the risk of cancellation when the numbers fall. Part of the decline was probably due to some poker fatigue among the viewing public—in addition to expanded WSOP and WPT coverage it seemed like every cable channel developed some contrived and unspeakably awful poker show. Pardon me for refreshing your memory of Celebrity Poker Showdown and Poker Royale: Battle of the Sexes.
But the big problem is that most poker telecasts air months after the tournament is over and the champion crowned. There are a number of media outlets that provide live event coverage and scores of sites and blogs (including this one) that post interviews and updates and photos as well. It is well nigh impossible for poker fans NOT to know who won a tournament before they sit down to watch it on TV. And that kills much of the drama. Sure, you might tune in to see the hole cards of two players involved in a huge (but not decisive) hand, but if you already know who eventually takes it down…why bother watching?
By delaying the final table four months and then broadcasting the action the day after the bracelet was awarded Harrah’s was hoping to preserve much of that drama. Hardcore fans could, if they wished, try to avoid poker news outlets for 48 hours and hopefully keep themselves in the dark. While the general public could check their local listings, find that ESPN was broadcasting a poker tournament with a $9 million first prize, and decide that this was something worth watching.
Broadcasting the final table two days after it was played was a half-measure that ended up a half-success. Yes, the ratings were up. Yes, the Penn & Teller theater (where the final table was held) was packed to the rafters with hundreds of rowdy fans. And much of that excitement came through during the ESPN broadcast, which did a good job of conveying the energy in the room, the drama of the moment, and the personalities of the players. I’m still kicking myself for not going out there to see it in person.
The thing is, ESPN only aired two hours of that compelling coverage. Three, if you include the “pre-game” show that offered features on each of the November Nine. And that’s just not enough time to give viewers a true sense of what went on.. The final table took 274 hands and over 15 hours to play. Only two hours made it to air (far less, actually, when you subtract those pesky commercials). The heads-up battle between Eastgate and Ivan Demidov was a back-and-forth epic that lasted 104 hands. ESPN showed two of them. You’ll hear critics who say that people don’t want to watch 15 hours of players stealing the blinds and antes. My response is that, A) people watch endless hours of golf on TV and therefore must have a high tolerance for long periods of low drama, and B) any activity can be made interesting if presented in a creative and engaging manner. Two of the most popular TV shows feature amateurs singing songs everyone already knows and borderline celebrities performing formal dance routines. ANYTHING can be made appealing to the viewing public, if it’s done with wit, style, and respect for the audience. Well, maybe just two out of three.
The ideal situation would be a live broadcast of the final table (or as live as would be acceptable to the Nevada Gaming Commission), followed perhaps by an edited final-table broadcast that’s similar to what we see today (hole cards, better production values, featurettes, etc). I can’t see how it’s in poker’s long-term interest to expect it’s most ardent fans to AVOID hearing news about the game’s biggest event. Remember, in most sports much of the revenue derives from advertising, advertising that is presented during live broadcasts of the game. Asking fans to avoid watching or hearing about the final table also means that advertisers on poker sites aren’t getting their message to their full target audience during the most important event of the year.
The final table of the Main Event should DRAW people’s eyeballs to what’s happening at the Rio, not force them to shut their eyes so they can enjoy the drama of a truncated recap two days later. Once upon a time (actually it was just 30 years ago) the NBA Finals were broadcast on tape delay. Olympic coverage was embargoed until prime time. Today the idea of not showing major sporting events live is ludicrous. The technology is there for the final table to be live-streamed online, as ESPN360 did with a number of WSOP preliminary events and as many European Poker Tour events are shown. It’s time for poker to stop apologizing for itself and broadcast the game’s most important event in living color.
Tags: 2008 world series of poker, 2008 wsop, espn, espn poker, espn world series of poker, final table, Poker Poker Poker, world series of poker, world series of poker coverage, world series of poker main event, WSOP
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