On Sunday, November 6, the November 9 will return to the Rio Casino in Las Vegas and the WSOP Main Event action will resume as cards will be dealt at 3:30 p.m. E.T. Hardcore poker fans will remember that earlier this summer, ESPN offered its viewers over 30 hours hours of play from the Main Event with a 30-minute tape delay. For Sunday’s final table, ESPN will once again be offering an almost live broadcast – this time with just a 15 minute delay. Moreover, whereas this summer’s broadcast only displayed hole cards if a flop was seen, for the final table ESPN will be showing the hole cards for any player who voluntarily puts chips into the pot.
There are some in the poker world who are claiming that this time-delay is too short and that it will be providing way too much information to the players who will surely have access to this information through friends in the crowd and at home. Others believe it is great for the game, the players will all still be on equal footing since they all will have the same access to the information, and it will allow viewers a much more realistic version of what it is like to play in such a high-stress environment rather than having to wait and see the heavily edited version, which only shows certain hands and does not show how long players are taking to act before they make their decisions.
For those who are interested in watching, the action will begin Sunday, November 6 at 3:30 E.T. on ESPN 2 and will continue until 3 players remain. 3-handed action will begin again on Tuesday, November 8 at 9 p.m. E.T. on ESPN and will play until a champion is crowned and the last bracelet of 2011 is awarded.