On Tuesday, the World Series of Poker Main Event will air two one-hour episodes at 9:00pm ET and 10:00pm ET. The field of the final 27 players will take to the felts inside of the Rio in Las Vegas. Players left in the field may shatter a bevy of milestones, making every episode a truly entertaining affair.
In a press release distributed to the media on Monday, WSOP officials noted that last week’s episode, which featured the final 79 players battling down to the final 27, was the most watched poker show to air on ESPN in two years. Although the press release did not identify what the rating actually was, the WSOP explained why it broke records: “The ratings growth of this year’s WSOP are in part attributable to the format change of the event this year, where play of the Final Table (the final nine players) was suspended over the summer with those players returning to the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino on November 9 & 10 to vie for the remaining $32 million in prize money and the title of poker’s reigning champion.”
Here is the schedule for the remaining one-hour episodes to air on ESPN. With no Major League Baseball World Series game slated for Tuesday night (Game 5 airs on Monday night), the WSOP will be the hot ticket among male viewers:
Tuesday, October 28 at 9:00 PM ET –27 players to 18
Tuesday, October 28 at 10:00 PM ET –18 players to 9
Tuesday, November 4 at 10:00 PM ET –Final table preview show
Tuesday, November 11 at 8:00 PM ET –Final table preview show
Tuesday, November 11 at 9:00 PM ET –Final table
Tuesday, November 11 at 10:00 PM ET –Champion Crowned
Last year’s WSOP Main Event champion took home $8.25 million. This year’s winner will take home the second largest prize ever given out at the WSOP for first place, second only to Jamie Gold’s $12 million payday in 2006:
First Place: $9,119,517
Second Place: $5,790,024
Third Place: $4,503,352
Fourth Place: $3,763,515
Fifth Place: $3,088,012
Sixth Place: $2,412,510
Seventh Place: $1,769,174
Eighth Place: $1,286,672
Ninth Place: $900,670
The WSOP has come under fire by some for two incidents that have taken place during ESPN’s television coverage. The first involved Scotty Nguyen, who was allegedly inebriated and overtly abusive during the $50,000 HORSE Championship’s final table. Tournament Directors Linda Johnson and Matt Savage, both founding members of the Tournament Directors Association, both told Poker News Daily that they would have handled the situation vastly differently than the way WSOP officials did.
More recently during the WSOP Main Event, Phil Hellmuth, a representative of online poker room Ultimate Bet, lambasted UB Star Player Adam “Roothlus” Levy for making a weak call with Q-10 suited when Hellmuth raised with pocket eights. Levy flopped an open-ended straight draw. A turn eight completed the straight, but also gave Hellmuth trips. “The Poker Brat” exploded, “He called a race with Q-10. I had a set. He called a raise with Q-10. [Expletive] internet player. Called a [expletive] raise with Q-10. [Expletive] idiot player. How are these players still in this tournament? I have a set. This is unbelievable. This kid probably won’t last another hour. That’s so sick. They have no concept of poker.”
Levy responded with, “It was an aggressive call,” trying to calm the waters. Hellmuth retorted, “Aggressive call? [Expletive] idiot.” Then, Hellmuth teed off on the dealer, yelling “Nice dealing there. Mighty fine. I haven’t won a pot one time. They’ve been raising me and re-raising me all day.”
