Posted by Andrew Feldman
Let's face it. To be part of this industry you must be a WSOP junkie. The players, events and of course, bracelets, drive the excitement for over six weeks and I'm happy to say that the beginning of that stretch is only a few days away. The 2009 World Series of Poker begins on Wednesday and needless to say, ESPN.com will be covering the record-setting 57 events from start to finish.
Before I start rambling about all the recent happenings from Las Vegas, here's a quick look at what you'll see on this site from May 27 through July 16. For the first time, poker fans will have the opportunity to talk poker daily with their favorite professional poker players and of course, their favorite ESPN.com columnists. Every day at a time to be announced (between 2 and 4 p.m. ET), Sportsnation will host a poker chat focusing on the action at the 2009 World Series of Poker. Kicking off the chats on Wednesday will be 10-time bracelet winner and poker legend Doyle Brunson. Brunson's stint on ESPN.com will continue with an appearance on the Poker Edge podcast next Tuesday.
Speaking of the Poker Edge, you'll be able to follow all the action from Las Vegas weekly during the preliminary events and daily during the WSOP main event. Phil Gordon and I will bring you exclusive interviews from bracelet winners and the biggest names in the game. In addition to bringing you closer to the action, ESPN.com is trying to put you in the middle of it as you can still win your seat to the WSOP until June 14 (with free points this week, listen to the Poker Edge for more information).
On the content side, daily recaps, articles by Gary Wise and Bernard Lee, and of course this blog will be all over the action in Vegas. And of course … there's the return of the Fantasy Poker league. In its fourth installment, we've invited some new faces in Dennis Phillips and Howard Lederer while keeping a good majority of the players from last year. Mark Seif, who offered up a new perspective of the grind of the poker tour in a guest column (to be released next week), has not stopped bragging about his victory last year. The teams will be drafted today and analysis, trades and details will go up next week.
After you're done listening to our podcasts, playing at the ESPN Poker Club, reading our content and posting comments about how terrible our fantasy teams are, you'll have the ability to watch 24 final tables online at ESPN360.com and bluffmagazine.com. Watch all the hands and, if we're fortunate enough to see Phil Hellmuth make an appearance, all the uncut blowups and temper tantrums. For the complete schedule of the online coverage for the WSOP, head here.
A new sponsor
WSOP
The WSOP announced a multi-year deal with Jack Links Beef Jerky.
Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you The World Series of Poker … presented by Jack Links Beef Jerky! No, not a joke. The WSOP announced on Monday that Milwaukee's Best Light was out as presenting sponsor and it has been replaced by Jack Links. Talk about niche products! I'm interested to see how the "Messin' With Sasquatch" campaign will change with the new association. Maybe Phil Hellmuth bluffs him and he goes nuts? Could be entertaining commercials at least.
The press release began, "There's a famous saying in poker: 'All you need is a chip and a chair.' But with today's news, the saying may become, 'All you need is a stack and some Jack.'"
I'm thrilled that the WSOP found a company to come in, but I'm not sure that this was the step up everyone was looking for. It's not a car company or another alcohol brand, but it does satisfy another logical connection in the industry. Poker and snacking do go hand in hand and there's no doubting that. Will home games stock up on Jack Links? I don't know, but I do hope that throughout the duration of the multiyear deal, the media room at the WSOP will have some extra samples lying around.
Charity work
Poker players and charity efforts make a great pair and over the past couple years, many players have increased their efforts to give back to those in need. The 2009 WSOP will be no different with numerous charitable efforts intertwined with the 57 events.
Poker Edge host Phil Gordon has been instrumental in raising money for cancer research with his initiative, "The Bad Beat on Cancer." For the first time in WSOP history, those who cash in any WSOP event can donate 1 percent of their winnings at the cage to the Nevada Cancer Institute. The NCI will also receive the proceeds from all those who buy the "Clothing With Heart" line of merchandise that will be sold on site at the WSOP, those who buy an "Aces Club" membership, and from the winners of the media tournament.
"The WSOP has made it easier than ever for poker players to donate to the Bad Beat on Cancer and Nevada Cancer Institute," said Gordon. "A friendship between the WSOP and BBOC that started in 2003 has finally turned into a full-fledged marriage at this and future WSOP events. We couldn't be more thrilled, and we hope that poker players lucky enough to cash this year will help out two truly worthy causes."
The third installment of the Ante Up For Africa charity celebrity poker tournament will take place on July 2 and will be broadcast on ESPN over the summer. Hosted by Annie Duke and Don Cheadle, the $5,000 buy-in event has raised over $1.2 million during its first two years and will most likely feature the biggest names in both poker and Hollywood.
Small blinds: Dream Team Poker will host its third tournament at the Rio on July 12-13. This event will be played in the Amazon room, but will not be for a bracelet. The WSOP main event field is estimated to be down to the final 80 players at that point. … Internet pre-registrations are up. Hotel reservations are up. Good signs for the WSOP? … The WSOP Academy is hosting a tournament of champions where all the previous winners of the academy's tournaments will be eligible for a one-table sit-and-go for a WSOP seat. Four seats are still available as the academy is hosting four more events prior to the main event. … Annie Duke announced "Sucking out on the Rivers," a charity event to be held at the Hard Rock Casino on Sunday. There will 20 Joan Rivers impersonators and according to her blog, many of her friends are excited to knock out a Rivers. … Jean Gaspard won the WSOP Circuit event in New Orleans. … "2 Months To 2 Million" will be a new poker reality show on G4 where four players will try to make $2 million by playing online poker. … The Sports Legends Challenge will take place in September and allow challengers to go heads-up with their favorite sports heroes. The event will culminate with a poker tourney featuring Duke, Hellmuth, Chris Moneymaker and Johnny Chan. … Scotty Nguyen has signed on as the poker ambassador for Expekt.com and Jamie Gold is no longer with Aced.com. OK then …
Poker
