WSOP Main Event changes format, action will be shown on ESPN ‘almost live’

Every hand of the World Series of Poker’s Main Event final table will be shown on television in a modified live format.

The final table of nine players in the $10,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em World Championship will revise its format to accommodate the expanded television coverage by ESPN.

Play will begin on at 11:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, inside the Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater. Every hand will be shown on television in the U.S. on either ESPN or ESPN2 on a 15-minute delay with hole cards being revealed to viewers. The action will also be streamed on both WSOP.com and ESPN3.com.

Sunday’s field will be cut to three players, who will return to the Rio on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 5 p.m. The three will compete until a new world poker champion is crowned. That action will also be shown on ESPN through a 15-minute delay with hole cards.

Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns the World Series of Poker, reportedly brought the concept to Nevada gaming regulators, who signed off on the format.

A formal announcement on the changes is expected Monday.