People who are big fans of the [[World_Series_of_Poker|World Series of Poker]] may not be big fans of the decision by the WSOP administrators to delay the final table a full 117 days from the time it’s determined to the time it is played out. After all, the decision means that when the last nine people who will play at the final table are decided at the end of July, fans will have to wait until November to see who will be crowned

However, people have to realize that this move wasn’t made to appease the hardcore fan but rather to engage the casual fan. The WSOP ratings have been sliding for a few years now and keeping the format the same doesn’t seem to be doing the trick. Many people really don’t seem to care that much for the idea of watching the culmination of an event that is almost two months long.

But now, fans will get to see plenty of build-up for the WSOP final table in the form of advertisements, commercials, and commentary. All of this pre-event news may even start drawing new people into the TV audience as they’ll want to know what all the hype is about.

Now I definitely don’t buy the other reasons the WSOP administrators are giving for the move such as any that would benefit the players. These include the final table change being good for those trying to secure endorsement deals, amateur players being able to get professional coaching, and the players being more rested for the last leg of the event.

If the WSOP knew that they would make more money by holding the final table two minutes after it was decided, they would say screw the players, let’s get this thing over with. This idea nonwithstanding, the change should still help the players in the previously described ways.

One thing that I think will suffer though is the viewing of the play and events leading up to the final table. If fans know that the Super Bowl of [[Poker|poker]] is four months away, they’re going to be less likely to watch the pre-final table stuff as intently. We’ll have to wait and see how it all turns out in the end but I think it will be a good move – at least for the WSOP and their final table anyways.