Organizers of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) have revealed that over 50 hours were spent discussing the new broadcast style for this year’s tournament. ESPN had first approached the WSOP with proposals to push coverage of the tournament to the next level after coming even closer to the live coverage during the November Nine and WSOP Europe (WSOPE). Preservation of the tournament’s integrity was always at the forefront of any decision that would be made.
After the WSOP and ESPN had their proposal in place, the WSOP Players Advisory Council (PAC) was contacted and this was where the 50 hours of discussion came in. The 16 players that make up the PAC were particularly uncomfortable with all hole cards being shown.
WSOP communications director, Seth Palansky, commented, “Quite simply if the PAC wasn’t on board this wasn’t happening. They really are the voice of the player to us and we really respect their opinion. They are a diverse group of people with different opinions and viewpoints. We really took that to heart and planned accordingly.”
With the 30-minute delay hole card format that has now been adopted all sides are likely to be pleased and the 50 hours of negotiations will be long forgotten.
A short plane journey away in Europe the WSOPE announced its schedule earlier today. Upping sticks from London means that Cannes’ Casino Barrière is the new venue for the tournament that will run from October 7-20. The two week long sojourn will culminate in the five-day €10,000 + €400 NLHE main event starting on October 15.
The start date of all this year’s events are as follows:
Friday 7th October
5pm – €2,500 Six Handed NLHE Three day event.
Saturday 8th October
12pm – €1,000 NLHE Five day event.
Monday 10th October
5pm – €5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Three day event.
Tuesday 11th October
5pm – €3,000 NLHE SHOOTOUT Three day event.
Wednesday 12th October
5pm – €10,000 Split-format NLHE Four day event.
Day one plays nine-handed
Day two plays six-handed
Day three play heads up
Day four final table
Thursday 13th October
5pm – €1,500 Six-Handed Put Limit Omaha Three day event
Saturday 15th October
12pm – €10,000 Main Event NLHE Four day event.
