2011 Wsop Tournament Additions
Written On 5/12/11 By Recentpoker.com staff writer Frank Polliern :
WSOP confident of successful 2011 tournament
World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament directors promised a bigger, better WSOP 2011 in an announcement made this week.
For the first time in the history of the WSOP, all 58 gold bracelet events will receive video coverage with a wide overshot angle of the table and its players and a flop camera providing the visual sightlines while the events announcer describes the betting action as it happens.
The WSOP television deal with ESPN is still a long-term contract that runs through 2017 with the addition of the same-day coverage and additional coverage from the main event in 2011.
“Obviously we can’t produce every WSOP bracelet event live for television, but we are committed to providing a visual account of the action,” said Ty Stewart, WSOP Executive Director. “This online initiative will complement our spectacular television package on ESPN and deliver even more of this year’s WSOP to fans who want the most immediate coverage possible.”
Other changes expected include:
– Venue will have smart-phone charging stations and free internet accessibility
– Two new events added to the roster, the $25 000 heads-up no-limit hold'em world championship and a new $5 000 six-handed pot-limit Omaha event. Badugi will be included for the first time in the six-handed 10-game mixed event.
– Increase in satellites
– Daily deep stack events for those interested in participating in a cash tournament
– The introduction of the Chip Reese Rule. A player must be at least 40 years old to be voted into the Poker Hall of Fame from hereon.
The process for the list of finalists will also be changed. Open nominations from the public will remain but a panel of industry veterans will be added to the process to serve as a hall of fame selection committee or jury to determine the finalists that will be given to the Hall of Famers.
– The 2011 WSOP POY award will now take into account all WSOP Europe results.
– The introduction of WSOP Grudge Matches. Players will come into those matches with the exact same chip stacks they had when the original matches began, but the chip stacks will be reversed.
WSOP Directors Seth Palansky, Jack Effel and Ty Stewart are confident that the 2011 tournament will be a success, but the impact of "Black Friday" and players being unable to access their funds online is unknown. Room numbers are reportedly up which is a positive indication for tournament attendance said Stewart.
