The History Of The Wsop November Nine

The November Nine is an interesting idea that has really changed the face of poker

. For the overwhelming majority of years that the World Series of Poker has been around, the final table of the Main Event the most prestigious event in poker was played, well, as soon as there were only nine players left.

Ok, they might have taken a day once the final table was determined, but for all intents and purposes, the World Series of Poker Main Event was played out with no delays. The plus side of this was that the tournament ended relatively quickly.

The downside, however, was obvious with no time, there could be no hype. Here poker had the most marketable event in the industry, and the industry had absolutely no time to promote it, to build storylines, to make characters out of the players in short, to do what needs to be done in the US for an event to really draw interest.

The other massive downside was that ESPN, the official broadcaster of the World Series of Poker, was put in a tough spot. Putting together all of the footage of the World Series of Poker takes some time, and even with a short break there was no way ESPN could assemble and broadcast the World Series of Poker before the end of the Main Event was well in the past. The result: a lot of the drama and intrigue was removed from World Series of Poker broadcasts, because the events were already in the books, the outcomes known.

It's anyone's guess why it took so long, but in 2008 Harrah's, the parent company of the World Series of Poker, announced a solution. The answer? Delay play of the final table of the Main Event not for a day, not for a week, but for several months. From the day in late July when the remaining nine players bagged their chips stretched a new (and somewhat controversial) wait almost four months until the November Nine would return to battle it out for the World Series of Poker Main Event title.

The format was instantly a success for ESPN and the WSOP, although (like any massive change) it wasn't without its detractors. Despite the critics, the first iteration of the new format for the World Series of Poker occurred at the 2008 Main Event. The first November Nine consisted of Peter Eastgate, Ivan Demidov, Dennis Phillips, Ylon Schwartz, Scott Montgomery, Darus Suharto, David Chino Rheem, Kelly Kim and Craig Marquis. Eastgate won the championship and received more mainstream press coverage than most past champions just the outcome Harrah's was hoping for.

With the success Harrah's and the World Series of Poker have had with the November Nine, it's safe to say that the format is here to stay. Look for the the 2010 November Nine to enjoy the same sort of media hype that the last two sets of November Niners have received an outcome that's great for the sport of poker.

by: James Mackinaw

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