Fans of poker tournaments circle June and July on their calendars every year, as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) is held every June/July in Las Vegas, with all the stars of the poker world turning out. Headlined by the $10,000 Main Event tournament (which annually gets the most entries of any WSOP tournament), the WSOP consists of nearly 60 different tournaments, with buy-ins ranging from $1,000 all the way up to $50,000.
For poker players and fans that can’t make it out to Vegas to see the action live, ESPN broadcasts the Main Event each and every year, and for 2011 it has also added final table coverage of some of the preliminary events. ESPN’s Main Event coverage begins in late July (just a few weeks after the action has wrapped up in Vegas), with weekly broadcasts shown in the months leading up to early November when the final table of nine players return to Vegas to crown a Main Event champion.
2011 marks the first year that ESPN offered online broadcasts of selected final tables as well, with the extra coverage shown on high definition on ESPN3.com. Daily coverage of two featured tables at the Main Event will be shown on ESPN2/ESPN3.com; the “live” coverage (delayed by 30 minutes because of gaming regulations) will show every hand played on the featured tables unedited with hole cards available post-flop (for all players still in the hand). The coverage will shift between two feature tables approximately every 30 minutes, and will show all “all-in” and “call” situations at both tables.
ESPN’s coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event has been highlighted by many as being a key factor in the popularity of poker games around the world, which really started to boom in 2003 when amateur Chris Moneymaker won the Main Event. Millions of people saw his underdog victory on ESPN (and the millions in prize money he won) and decided to give the game a try themselves, leading to a surge in popularity for poker that still continues to day and has spread around the world.
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