News / Dave Allan / 05 November 2008 / Leave a comment

The clock is ticking to the start of play for the final table of the World Series of Poker Main Event, with nine players in with the chance of landing the coveted gold bracelet and a life-changing cash prize of $9.1m, writes Rob Eddy.

The 'November Nine' have been forced to wait 117 days (not exactly twiddling their thumbs but...) before they can finally get stuck into the action, following the decision by the organisers to delay proceedings in a bid to boost the popularity of the event, create interest and screen the climax almost 'as live'.

It has generated much debate as to whether it is a good thing, but one of those poker players under the spotlight, Ylon Schwartz, knows exactly where he stands on the issue.

"It's very bad. It ruins the integrity of the tournament. The purity of old-time Las Vegas is gone," the Brooklyn 38-year old told Poker News Daily.

"The antiquity and purity of the tournament have been liquidated into pure greed and capitalism. The beauty of poker is that no matter how greedy people get, though, it still maintains its artistic and psychological values.

"It's a beautiful game and you have to use your memory. Your soul comes into play and you have to live well away from the table. If you have no empathy and are shrouded in darkness, then you'll never win."

Now whether the move proves to be a success or not, only time will tell, but there is evidence to suggest that the event's organisers have made the right call.

Action from this year's Main Event (pre-final table) have already been broadcast on ESPN (and can be viewed online or at ESPN Classics) show the ratings are the highest poker ratings for more than two years.

The most recent screenings have come from the tables with around the final 70 players and there have been more viewers than for the final tables of the last two Main Events.

Now it wouldn't take a genius to work out that interest does seem to have been perked up but whether it works in the long term, we'll have to wait and see.