The 43rd annual World Series of Poker schedule will be released later today, but an advance notice by Caesars Entertainment Corporation has announced that there will be no November Nine this year. A short but sweet Tweet from the WSOP stated, “A few hints on WSOP schedule coming tomorrow…you won’t find the November Nine returning.”
Back when the November Nine was created as a way to build suspense from the Main Event preliminaries in July until the final table was carried out in November and to cash in on the marketing opportunity, it was met by much criticism. Now that everyone is accustomed to it, they are removing it from the 2012 lineup.
The long break was great for players, who were able to take some time to either focus on their game or the weaknesses of their opponents. It also opened up the door for sponsorship deals for the November Niners, and fans had time to really get to know the players.
But the 3+ month break did have its critics. Some say that it’s an unfair advantage to players because they get to study the weaknesses of their opponents, but it lasted four years. Now apparently it’s a thing of the past, as nearly live ESPN coverage of the WSOP and the WSOP Main Event pretty much eliminates the need to draw out the suspense.
Some other details about the WSOP were revealed via Twitter. For one, there will be no off day in the Main Event schedule, and the tables will be increased to 480, so that 1,000 additional seats will be available. Furthermore, the Main Event will be shortened by three days, “without compromising structure at all.”
And lastly, each day of the Main Event will encompass five levels, beginning at noon and ending at 12:40 a.m. every day except the last day. Stay tuned for details on the full schedule.
