ESPN can't be too thrilled about this final table

[PokerPaul]

not taking anything away from these players, they must all have obvioiulsy played their hearts out for days to make it here, and maybe after winning this or coming close some may become regulars on the circuit.

However, with all of the following sub plots leading into this with the final 60 and less remaining:

- Tif williamson only remaining woman, and biggest money winner ever for woman gets eliminated a dozen spots off.
- Greg raymer in an amazing run for a repeat goes out 1 table shy of final table
- Phil Ivey, big marketable poker pro, within easy reach of first final table and huge chip stack, goes on yet another near bubble tailspin and bad luck knock him off 1 table short
- John juanda, other big name poker pro, also goes out within last 100 (i think).

So now, other than Matusow, none of these names are recognizable, to general public anyways, and not nearly as much appeal as if just 1 of those subplots would have made it to final table.

That being said, good luck to remaining 9, and a heartfelt condolensce to the guy out in 10th, who lost to a river 2 outer, which cost him $400000...at least.

The 10th guy (Ayhan Alsancak) had QQ vs AT hearts
flop had 2 hearts and the AT hrts moved in cuz the other guy was short stacked (or called either way it was correct because of how short stacked that Ayhan was. The turn was a ten which gave Kanter 13 outs (Ace, Ten or heart). But still it has got to be tough to go out 10th

[superleeds]

Whilst I agree they would have hand-picked a different 9 it isn't really any different to last year or indeed the year before that as far as your average ESPN viewer is concerned

[Kevmath]

2003 Final Table

Moneymaker
Farha
Harrington
Vahedi
Lester
Pak
Benvenisti
Singer
Grey
10th Ivey

2004 Final Table

Raymer
Arieh
Harrington
Hughes
Williams
Andersson
McClain
Krux
Dean
10th Luske

How many of those names did the general public know before play began those years? ESPN having 3 months to develop story lines will make things exciting enough for people to want to watch.

Kevin...

[Kevmath]

[ QUOTE ]
The 10th guy (Ayhan Alsancak) had QQ vs AT hearts
flop had 2 hearts and the AT hrts moved in cuz the other guy was short stacked (or called either way it was correct because of how short stacked that Ayhan was. The turn was a ten which gave Kanter 13 outs (Ace, Ten or heart). But still it has got to be tough to go out 10th

[/ QUOTE ]

Ayhan started the day 27 with 225k, he was fortunate to even be in a position to have a chance at the last 9.

Kevin...

[72off]

I'm sure they'll be fine. Matusow is a personality, and a more dynamic one than say Harrington. And before last year not too many people knew who Fossilman, Arieh, and David Williams were. Black has an interesting story, Dannenmann sounds like a character, Kanter has a ton of supporters there, etc. They'll create some new stars and recognizable personalities from this.

No doubt they probably could have used Raymer, Ivey, HDOG, or even Sheikhan (due to his clashes with Matusow) at the final table, but they'll be ok with this. Plus it's become such an event that it's bigger than the players involved. I almost think any 9 people would work out just fine. Almost.

[PokerPaul]

OK i stand corrected..all i heard was that he had aces paired, and other guy had qq, and hit case queen....so i assumed 2 outs

[-Skeme-]

Am I the only one who thinks they don't care at all? It's not like someone is tuning out because Ivey didn't make the final table. 2003 and 2004 didn't have many huge players either.

[midas]

If been rooting for Matusow this entire tournament.

What's wrong with a wacked out, spent some time in jail, poker pro, who if he wins will blow the all the money on drugs and hookers and likely do more time down the road for tax evasion and if he busts out first and only make a million, will curl up in a ball and cry for the cameras???

I'm almost tempted to wait for the ESPN shows to see this train wreck unfold before my eyes instead of following the action on the net later tonight!!

[newfant]

About a year or so ago, I was an average TV-poker viewer. The only name I would have recognized last year would have been MoneyMaker, but I still watched. The average viewer is more interested in seeing dynamic personalities and an overall quality production and probably doesn't care about name pros. The hard-core fans would like to see the name pros, but they will watch no matter who is in it.

[lemuri]

exactamundo

[BS Yee]

ESPN has a product which will sell no matter what. They will tell a story as they see fit and judging from the action so far, they'll have no trouble painting the picture as they desire. I wouldn't mind seeing an online qualifer winning this thing because it will keep the "dream" alive and result in more fish coming into the game.

[Johnnyj580]

[ QUOTE ]
If been rooting for Matusow this entire tournament.

What's wrong with a wacked out, spent some time in jail, poker pro, who if he wins will blow the all the money on drugs and hookers and likely do more time down the road for tax evasion and if he busts out first and only make a million, will curl up in a ball and cry for the cameras???



[/ QUOTE ]

Where's the grammar guy when you need him??? "If been"? Either go with, "I've been . . ." or "If Ben . . ." but don't get greedy and combine the two.


John
-The grammar police are coming, quick, hide in Paul Phillips's vagina.

[TheTimeIsUp]

[ QUOTE ]
Am I the only one who thinks they don't care at all? It's not like someone is tuning out because Ivey didn't make the final table. 2003 and 2004 didn't have many huge players either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Check over the 2003 players again.

[BlackRain]

I don't think it will matter either. There are a couple 20 something guys in there with good looks and a $160 buck satellite win on stars to get there. There are a couple grizzled veteran pros, though not big names. And there are a couple 30 something amateurs with good paying day jobs. There is a good smattering of several types here for the casual poker player and tv viewer to get excited about.

[istewart]

[ QUOTE ]
Am I the only one who thinks they don't care at all? It's not like someone is tuning out because Ivey didn't make the final table. 2003 and 2004 didn't have many huge players either.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah 2003 had some names dude.

[Trainwreck]

You're looking at it as someone more interested in it.

TO the masses, any 9 will do....

You got some info off a bit, but who am I to be a nit.

>TW<

[DarthIgnurnt]

[ QUOTE ]

Yeah 2003 had some names dude.

[/ QUOTE ]

IMHO, ESPN has done a great job over the past couple years building stories around players who were unknowns prior to the broadcast. That's right ... unknowns.

I'm as big a poker geek as anybody, but while Dan Harrington, Vahedi, David Grey and Sam Farha may have been "names" by 2+2 standards in 2003, they were not "names" by the standards of ESPN and their advertisers.

If you truly believe they were, you need to turn off your computer and go outside sometime.

[MrTrik]

[ QUOTE ]
ESPN has a product which will sell no matter what. They will tell a story as they see fit and judging from the action so far, they'll have no trouble painting the picture as they desire. I wouldn't mind seeing an online qualifer winning this thing because it will keep the "dream" alive and result in more fish coming into the game.

[/ QUOTE ]

Exactly. I don't care about ESPN ratings or overall public perception of the game. I do know the relate to what I really care about. But not enough to make any single thing matter that much. What I really care about is more fish and their $$ coming into the game. That is what is +EV for me.

[-Skeme-]

[ QUOTE ]
Check over the 2003 players again.

[/ QUOTE ]

As I understood it, 2003 was the major year for the poker boom as a result of the World Series. I wasn't involved in poker in 2002 and didn't witness the result of Varkonyi's win first hand.

I understand that 2003 had big poker names, but not majorly known people. Perhaps we're talking about different spectrums?

I don't think Amir Vahedi was a huge name. He's not even a huge name now. Especially not to the casual watcher which ESPN is hoping to reel in. Tomer Benvenitsi wasn't a big name. Sam Farha became famous from this appearance, not before. Dan Harrington is the biggest name in the poker world at the table, but I really doubt many people watching knew him in 2003. I don't think David Grey was either. Moneymaker and Singer defintely weren't big names.

[Joe_d72]

Thats something else that the 26th and 27th stack going into the day went out 11th and 10th.

[Morpheus]

This final table is boring after Matusow left.

It's like a table full of Varkonyi's or something.

[IQ89]

[ QUOTE ]
ESPN can't be too thrilled

[/ QUOTE ]

ESPN could probably care less as long as the biggest star of the event shows up...

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=money/v=2/SID=w/TID=I051_83/l=IVS/SIG=12b7s6thc/EXP=1121566504/*-http%3A//www.discount-cigarettes.org/newsimages/money.jpg

[dogsballs]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ESPN can't be too thrilled

[/ QUOTE ]

ESPN could probably care less as long as the biggest star of the event shows up...

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=money/v=2/SID=w/TID=I051_83/l=IVS/SIG=12b7s6thc/EXP=1121566504/*-http%3A//www.discount-cigarettes.org/newsimages/money.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]



HEH. GOOD POINT. But I still want the truck driver to win.

[vulturesrow]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
ESPN can't be too thrilled

[/ QUOTE ]

ESPN could probably care less as long as the biggest star of the event shows up...

http://rds.yahoo.com/S=96062883/K=money/v=2/SID=w/TID=I051_83/l=IVS/SIG=12b7s6thc/EXP=1121566504/*-http%3A//www.discount-cigarettes.org/newsimages/money.jpg

[/ QUOTE ]



HEH. GOOD POINT. But I still want the truck driver to win.

[/ QUOTE ]

Total hijack here, but I love that pic of your dog, DB, makes me crack up each time I see it.