Right... Which is why it is really easy to get down to the final 27, and take them to a closed location, and let them keep playing it out. Obviously there is no way to get 6,000 people to keep quiet, but the top finishers could do that with no problem, right?

There's no need to keep the names of the final nine quiet -- they *want* to promote them. They only need to keep the results of the final table quiet, and only for about a day.

Each player would receive ninth place money as soon as the tenth-place finisher busted. In 2007, that was roughly $525,000.

Well they would want to promote them at some point, but to prematurely know the names of the people who went deep would negate the point of them being able to produce the show around the "dramatics" of who made it there. Think about that - ESPN wouldn't want to really "give away" the final 18 or whatever because it would make the 20 shows of pre-final table programming that they put together much less effective.

Yes, you could.

And maybe that's a good idea for a TV "reality" show.

But WTF does that have to do with the WSOP Main Event?

You want a circus, find clowns to fill the spots, just like American Idol. D-bags like Hevad Khan will be happy to apply. The rest of us can likely find something better to do with our time.

Don't ruin just about the only tradition left in poker.

ESPN won't be actively promoting the players until the final table broadcast nears, but Harrah's won't put a media lockdown on the names of the final tablists. Other non-ESPN media (newspapers, talk shows, magazines, etc.) will be featuring these players at a time that makes the most sense for their own ratings. (Either when they first reach the final nine, or as the final table day approaches with the accompanying hype.)

Why? If you notice, The people who get kicked off "Survivor" are typically featured on shows like "The Late Show" after they are kicked off - not after filming is complete.

Why would you assume that Harrah's, or any other media outlet would be better served to hurry the information out? It seems to work very well for CBS to promote its shows as they are being aired, not as they are filmed.

And again, there would be a confidentiality agreement in place - The media would not know who was there, eliminated, etc. Only after a player was eliminated on the TV broadcast would he/she be eligible to talk to the media.

Get it?

Ah, ok I misunderstood. Still, the difference with the reality show is that you have the 16 people or whatever signed up and contractually bound before the thing even starts. Now, in the WSOP you play down to 27 people and then try to sign them up to confidentiality agreements. I don't see it happening.

The reality shows also have a lot of pull because they are putting up all the prize money. I don't see ESPN ponying up 60 million. So even if they say hey, we will kick in a 1.5 mill for the final table if you agree to keep the results quiet for three months, the ninth place finisher is going to be much less intimidated by the thought of losing the extra 50k for ninth since he's pulling in 650k (or whatever) regardless, than the surviver player who will lose all the money he would receive for his whatever place finish.

When you register for a WSOP event, you already have to sign release forms and all types of stuff like that for TV. It's just something that everyone would have to agree to to enter, and those who made the finals would have to be reminded of.

I'm just saying - it works on the same concept as a show like Survivor. Even when people apply to be on those types of shows, they have to be disclosed to what the process is. The WSOP could do the same thing.

And ESPN doesn't have to pony up the money - the extra revenue generated by advertising dollars, marketing, and promotions would be split between Harrah's, and everyone else involved. ESPN would have to show Harrah's that they would make more money to do things differently, for sure.

Yes, just like the advertising revenue is split between "everyone involved" now. Oh no wait, we're still paying $600 for the privilege. And that's never going to change because so many people will play regardless.

Well the Survivor contestants for example, sign massive confidentiality contracts with huge penalties:

I'm not sure some kind of, "oh, check the fine print, you may not have read it carefully but you've agreed to three months of not revealing the winner or your own finish" kinda deal would work. And if you present folks with a survivor kind of contract, well the registration line is going to back up for like, five months, with who knows how many ultimate defections, but including probably most of the stars of the poker world.

I don't know, maybe its feasible and I'm just being overly pessimistic about it, but I doubt it. I just don't see your typical player be willing to make the final table and not be able to tell their parents about it for months. Do you seriously imagine you get a Jamie Gold to not talk about it for that long? To not call his dying dad after his win, but hold it in until the final show actually airs? Cause I don't.

Well then **** em. It's not hard to pre-register and do all of the disclaimer stuff online, and then just bring a pre-reg form to the cashier and plunk your money down, is it?

I'm just saying - they are talking about delaying the final table 3 months, I think this is a feasible solution.

BTW, what 600 bucks are you talking about?

I believe he was talking about the $600 per entry that Harahs takes out of the prize pool. The juice, man, the juice!

It should be quite obvious that the learning curve for an amateur is much steeper then for a pro. Not only are most of the pros already capable of figuring out live tells, but plugging the huge leaks you're talking about is way more valuable than anything a pro can improve. The amateurs won't play perfect poker or anything, but they'll be capable of improving ALOT if they really want to (which I assume they all want considering the price pool).

I read on another site that Harrah's (soon to be Caeser's Entertainment) is thinking about delaying the final table of the WSOP Main Event. Someone tell me this is a late April Fool's joke, please!

Sorry for making a new thread. The new site indicated that this was a new story today.

Tom Schneider has a good opinion piece on this over at Pokerati.

If by "good" you mean "******ed", then I agree.

I mean, do advocates of this idea know nothing about "reality" shows? These shows consist of aspiring actors playing a part, or people who are already celebrities.

"Real" reality would be deathly boring. Especially drawn from the universe of poker players. Whodafck wants to get to know, in-depth, the life of Hevad Khan?

This idea just sucks so much I'm amazed this thread is still going. Actually, I guess I'm not amazed. But I will stop here. Unfortunately Harrah's is just brain-dead enough to consider this, but I hope somebody over there has some kind of clue.

+1 for ******ed. Here in the UK, the GUKPT which ran last year had this thing where they would try to do a five minute segment on "a day in the life" of a final table player. They had to almost beg a friend of mine who made a final to do something interesting because they couldn't fill FIVE MINUTES for most of the others. And why would they ? What would you want to film me doing ? Sleeping in till noon or watching Thundercats all day ?

Transformers FTW

well said...why sit the players in oversized white lounge chairs to tell us about their golf handicaps?? play the gosh darn game...thats why were watchin!

OP called it.

This is a sad day for poker.

Making FT "live" is absolutely crucial and should be done at any cost.

If its a 3 year delay and a compulsory $99 donation to Absolute Poker for every viewer - so be it. I have no idea though how they are going to deal with collusion, but whatever. FT ftl

I'm going to lock this thread, because we don't need two of these going at the same time.