# WSOP 2005 coverage on ESPN **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 19, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134 "2005-07-19T14:00:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/1 "2005-07-19T14:00:58Z")
Starts tonight (7/19) at 8:00 EDT with coverage of the “circuit tournament.” If anyone’s interested in discussion. Note that the WSOP is actually over for the year, but I for one am trying to remain unspiled as to the winner. The most that spoilage-freeness is going to last is until about next Tuesday when the next issue of Cardplayer hits my mailbox, but in the meantime spoilers for unaired events in spoiler boxes please. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/2 "2005-07-19T14:21:06Z")
When does the coverage of the main Texas Hold’em event begin and how many nights is it? ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/3 "2005-07-19T14:59:51Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > When does the coverage of the main Texas Hold’em event begin and how many nights is it? October, don’t know how many nights, although I want to say 6. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/4 "2005-07-19T15:00:55Z")
And without adding any spoilers, some interesting things happen this year in the circuit, should be an interesting series for ESPN. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/5 "2005-07-19T15:15:26Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > October, don’t know how many nights, although I want to say 6. They’re showing _no_ NL Texas Hold 'Em tonight? ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/6 "2005-07-19T15:21:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > When does the coverage of the main Texas Hold’em event begin and how many nights is it? October 11, to be exact. Aired in two-hour blocks on five consecutive Tuesdays. Here is a link to the schedule from ESPN [**SEMI-SPOILER ALERT** : Winners are _not_ listed for the events that will be aired during the five month run of WSOP coverage - but they _do_ list the winners for the events that will not be aired] [2005 WSOP TV Schedule](http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/poker/news/story?id=2073630) Pash ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/7 "2005-07-19T15:29:29Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > They’re showing _no_ NL Texas Hold 'Em tonight? Dunno. Don’t know what a “circuit tournament” is. But hey, watch some other games, they’re interesting too. One of the most entertaining hours from the 2004 series was Razz, and not just because Douche…sorry, _Dutch_ Boyd played like a twat and got his ass stomped by TJ Cloutier. And of course I love Omaha, especially OH8, so I could watch as much of that as they’d care to show. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/8 "2005-07-19T15:44:22Z")
I think that either the ESPN or Sports Illustrated website semi-spoiled this on one of it’s webpages, at least for me: There was a headline about an Aussie winning a bunch of money. Then I quickly moved to another page. So avoid [www.espn.com](http://www.espn.com) and [www.cnnsi.com](http://www.cnnsi.com) if you want to remain pure until then. ---
**Author:** ![Gangster\_Octopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a8b319/32.png) [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/9 "2005-07-19T16:37:25Z")
I always took circuit to mean just any of the other tournaments that are not the main event. The main event is a $10,000 buy-in tournament, but there are about 44 other tournametns that precede, Omaha, stud, etc. There are smaller buy-in no-limit hold’em tournaments as well as limit tournaments. Teh whole event takes about six weeks of which the main event is only 5-6 days. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/10 "2005-07-19T17:03:40Z")
> [@Gangster Octopus](#): > > I always took circuit to mean just any of the other tournaments that are not the main event. Each event televised last year was identified by the specific game in my on-channel TV guide. If it was Omaha, Razz, Stud, etc. it said so in the description. The schedule **Pashnish** linked to (and be careful about scrolling down too far) doesn’t say what game it is, but it does confirm that it’s a specific event rather than a generic term for a non-main event game. I guess we’ll find out tonight. And speaking of that schedule, I can’t believe ESPN isn’t showing the Ladies’ Hold 'em event, considering who won. Same for the $2500 PL hold 'em event, again considering who won. And contrariwise, I get that hold 'em is rather the bread and butter of televised poker, but I wish ESPN would show more non-hold 'em events. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2005, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/11 "2005-07-19T17:06:33Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I think that either the ESPN or Sports Illustrated website semi-spoiled this on one of it’s webpages, at least for me: > > There was a headline about an Aussie winning a bunch of money. Then I quickly moved to another page. > > So avoid [www.espn.com](http://www.espn.com) and [www.cnnsi.com](http://www.cnnsi.com) if you want to remain pure until then. Yea, I was surprised knowing that ESPN was showing the event that they put the winner up on the home page. Of course, they probably know like anyone that you’d have to be a total hermit to not find out who won between now and November. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/12 "2005-07-20T03:11:37Z")
:::bump::: Well, that wasn’t very dramatic. The guy with the knit cap was kind of a dick. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/13 "2005-07-20T03:26:19Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > And speaking of that schedule, I can’t believe ESPN isn’t showing the Ladies’ Hold 'em event, considering who won. :just went and checked: **!!!** > [@Otto](#): > > Same for the $2500 PL hold 'em event, again considering who won. If I’m looking at the right event, I don’t recognize the name of the winner. Is this person a celebrity of some sort? :that’s because I was looking at $2500 No-Limit hold 'em: :smack: … OK, now I see what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/14 "2005-07-20T03:30:23Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > :::bump::: > > Well, that wasn’t very dramatic. The guy with the knit cap was kind of a dick. Hasn’t anyone at one of these tournament ever had harsh words with another competitor? Low-key banter, like what Sam Farha does, is OK and injects genuine levity into the proceedings. But that Ballande guy … someone’s gonna tell him to shut his hole at the table one day … right? Or maybe, on the other hand, all his talking serves as valuable tells for other competitors to exploit. ---
**Author:** ![Capa84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Capa84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capa84)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/15 "2005-07-20T18:47:30Z")
I won an online satellite and played in the main event. Here is one spoiler-I did not win. Having said that, there will be some VERY entertaining bits that I know ESPN caught on tape, and I personally saw a couple that ESPN managed to miss. Once the main event coverage starts, I’ll give up some details and some behind the scenes stuff that happened that you won’t get to see. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/16 "2005-07-20T19:19:03Z")
> [@bordelond](#): > > :just went and checked: > > **!!!** She’s good. By all acounts, Tilley is easily one of the better celeb players. ---
**Author:** ![Pashnish\_Ewing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8797f3/32.png) [@Pashnish\_Ewing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pashnish_Ewing)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2005, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/17 "2005-07-20T21:29:53Z")
> [@Capa84](#): > > Once the main event coverage starts, I’ll give up some details and some behind the scenes stuff that happened that you won’t get to see. Cool! Congrats on making the main event, and welcome to the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/18 "2005-07-21T05:09:00Z")
I caught a piece of the 2004 WSOP coverage, and apparently Chris Moneymaker won an Indian poker tourney. Now **that** is entertainment. They could probably do thousands of hours of coverage and not get all the good stuff in. Is there a web site that provides ridiculously thorough coverage of the WSOP? ---
**Author:** ![Capa84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8edcca/32.png) [@Capa84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capa84)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/19 "2005-07-21T12:34:49Z")
[www.cardplayer.com](http://www.cardplayer.com) ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134/20 "2005-07-21T16:00:12Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > And speaking of that schedule, I can’t believe ESPN isn’t showing the Ladies’ Hold 'em event, considering who won. From what I gather reading about the event online as it was covered, ESPN (and the tournament directors) pretty much completely dissed the ladies’ event up until the final table and, uh, the eventual winner and another poker pro pulled some strings to get them a featured table, announcer, and some ESPN cameras to cover it. Still, I doubt they got enough footage to make an entire show out of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wsop-2005-coverage-on-espn/313134.md?page=2)