Live TV and live bets for the WSOP

For the first time, the World Series of Poker Main Event final table will be televised live. Nevada viewers who are so inclined can have incentive to tune in to the broadcasts by wagering on the action.

After receiving a fairly positive reception to the debut of live poker over the summer, ESPN decided to air the final table, in which the “November Nine” compete for the Main Event title, on just a 15-minute delay to TV audiences. The broadcasts start at about 12:30 Pacific on Sunday. 

Nevada sportsbooks took advantage of the recent ease in regulations for nontraditional wagers, and most of them offer some sort of action on the WSOP final table.

Most books are simply sticking with futures on players to win, which is fine, but the poker junkie in me craves more action. These bets came courtesy of Lucky’s Race & Sports Book, which offers a whole sheet of props akin to a playoff football game or March Madness.

I don’t know what the offshore books are offering or which other books in Nevada have similar props but in the northern part of the state where I live, Lucky’s has by far the most options. They have books in Reno and Las Vegas.

In the interest of generating a little buzz about the bet-and-watch option for gamblers, I wrote up a preview piece for the Reno Gazette-Journal.

In handicapping the field, I suggest taking a look at the four 26-year-olds, all of whom appear capable of winning the title and fit the blueprint of rece... [More]

Fully tilted by Full Tilt

This blog is about seven years overdue, but I suppose now is as good a time as any. Back then, I intended to write a piece using this exact headline to let the world know how I felt after I suspected I had been duped by the poker website.

Well, life went on and I didn’t get around to it. Now, I wish I had. As it turns out, I was far from the only one who had this sort of experience with online poker.

While interviewing poker legend T.J. Cloutier earlier this week for a piece on this site, he relayed a story to me in which he lost money under “suspicious circumstances” while playing online poker. He didn’t go into detail, and I didn’t pry, because it seems anyone who played the cyber game for any period of time has at least one similar tale.

But the exchange got me thinking about that incident seven years ago, especially since it involved Full Tilt, which earlier this week was accused of operating a “Ponzi scheme” that lined the wallets of its executives to the tune of $440 million.

At the time, I had just ventured into the online game for the first time. I decided to try both PokerStars and Full Tilt. I had heard better reviews of the customer service at PokerStars but decided to give Full Tilt a try, too, in no small part because of the star power behind the site. One of my favorite players, Phil Gordon, was a pro on the site, and I was also a fan of Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey and Jennifer Harmon, among others.

Here’s what happened: I de... [More]

Are ESPN's live poker broadcasts must-see TV?

If you’re a devoted poker geek or a devoted gambler – and I’m guilty as charged on both counts – then you understand how it was nearly impossible to turn away from ESPN’s live coverage of the World Series of Poker Main Event.

That is, until it put me to sleep. The novelty officially wore off as I stayed awake into the wee hours Wednesday morning hoping to see someone get squashed in the nocturnal fold-a-thon that made a poor substitute for a poker tournament as the field was whittled down to the “November Nine.”

I dozed off before one of the short stacks, a player named John Hewitt who folded 50 straight hands at the start of play, tossed the skeleton of his former chip pile into the middle and got knocked out in 10th place, right around the time the Rio’s tired cocktail waitresses were offering players a dawn-breaking cup of coffee.

This doesn’t mean live poker is a bad idea, but it could use some adjustments. Poker coverage has come a long way in a short period of time. Just a few years ago, the Main Event was played to the end in Las Vegas, and TV viewers didn’t get a glimpse of the action until four or five months later.

People who follow poker already knew who had won, which negated any element of suspense, but the shows still allowed for some intrigue as we saw how the champion reached the promised land.

A few years ago, the “November Nine” concept was developed, sending the final table participants home for four months and giving poke... [More]