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The
spectacle of the main event of the 2004 World Series of
Poker, which premiers Tuesday night in primetime on ESPN
and culminates with a two-hour Final Table episode Sept.
14, is shaping up as a real fall classic among sports
fans.
No
bluffing.
The
usual cast of characters, including 2003 champion Chris
Moneymaker (no bluffing on that last name) and Sam Farha,
last year's runner-up, were among more than 2,500
entrants who gathered at Binion's Hotel in Las Vegas to
slug it out for the $5 million first prize in the
popular No Limit Texas Holdem tournament and bragging
rights as world champ.
You
might be thinking ... Texas Holdem poker?
Yeah, names like Moneymaker and Farha aren't in the same
league with Derek Jeter and Albert Pujols in terms of
fan recognition or television ratings, but the truth is
televised poker -- the current rage in sports
programming on ESPN, Fox Sports Net, Bravo and the
Travel Channel -- isn't all that far behind. Even the
major networks have experimented with it.
ESPN's weekly telecasts of the preliminary heats of the
2004 World Series of Poker attracted an average 1.5
rating, which represents 1.3 million households. The
2003 World Series of Poker had a 1.2 overall rating with
an average of more than 1 million viewing households.
To
put it into a larger perspective, the ratings numbers
for poker surpass those of the Arena Football League on
NBC, the Stanley Cup Finals on ABC and much of the
regular-season college basketball programming that ESPN
carries each year.
And
those numbers aren't far behind the regular-season
ratings for both Major League Baseball and NBA
telecasts, which are broadcast on major networks.
ESPN
Original Entertainment is the leader in poker
programming.
Its
poker telecasts average 52 percent more homes than its
nearest competitor, which is no small feat, since it's
almost a sure bet that you'll find a poker event on the
tube almost any night of the week. EOE has developed
such a strong following with its viewership, it has
plugged the World Series of Poker into its primetime
lineup on weeknights for the last couple of years.
ESPN
first televised poker a decade ago.
In
that time, poker has developed a faithful following of
predominantly male viewers, including myself, who've
become hooked on the intense and thoroughly entertaining
game. I can't help it, but I find myself watching poker
more and more while flipping over to the baseball
pennant races during commercial breaks.
I am
not alone in that habit. Trust me on that.
The
appeal of the sport (sport?) is much like NASCAR in that
almost anyone can play the game. For example, Moneymaker
is an accountant from Spring Hill, Tenn. He might not be
a fit athlete, but then neither is stock-car driver
Jimmy Spencer.
Nor,
for that matter, is San Diego Padres pitcher David
Wells.
The
fact is that televised poker is part of the cultural
mainstream in America, like it or not. It is getting
impressive ratings that just keep climbing.
The
main event of the 2004 World Series of Poker begins with
a pair of one-hour shows Tuesday night and continues
over a five-week period in a consistent time slot. Each
week, ESPN will feature the event in primetime with
episodes at 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., leading up to the
two-hour Final Table telecast where the champ is
crowned.
Yes,
the event was taped for later rebroadcast.
I
won't spoil it here by telling who captured the 2004
World Series of Poker. That would be rude. It would be
like telling a rabid baseball fan the New York Yankees
are a virtual lock to return to the World Series in the
fall.
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