Fox Sports' venue selection for the first-ever live broadcast of a poker tournament has proven to be an aptly chosen one. Last night at the Turning Stone casino, located in Verona, NY, more poker history was made - and a new stone turned - when the nearly four hour broadcast came to it's conclusion. The producers spared nothing in hyperbole touting the amount of security for the broadcast. The commentators were secluded in a guarded room out of earshot of the players; spectators were searched and screened before allowed in, plus if they left the area, they were not allowed back in; the cards were read by a computer for instant identification; and there was a five minute delay in the broadcast. All this to insure that the game would not be polluted with illegal information or collusion.
Recent discussions on internet bulletin boards and the musings of several of the top poker bloggers have opined that the second season of The World Poker Tour had lost some of it's luster and had become predictable - it's 3 minutes to the end of the program, the last two players have gone all-in, and it's obvious who will win the hand and the game. The producers of The World Series of Poker changed things up some this year by showing final tables of all the Series' events, however any true poker fan already knows the results. Fans were missing the suspense of live action.
Fox Sports successfully solved this problem with its Turning Stone broadcast of the American Poker Championship and fans got the true flavor of a final table in a major tournament. From the little in-between hands to the big all-ins, the expert commentary from poker pro Howard Lederer helped viewers gain an understanding of not only the skill in playing the cards, but the skill in playing the people as well. The color commentation wasn't over the top and suit the tempo and atmosphere of the tournament well. The audience was a bit too subdued, it was almost as though no-one was there. Perhaps they had been admonished not to cheer and shout, but, if so, that's too bad. That's part of what makes these events exciting and fun.
The set was classy (however the pastel chips left something to be desired), but the producers opted to eliminate one aspect of final table action which was disappointing. Traditionally, when a match reaches heads up action, the cash prize is ceremoniously dumped on the table for all to see. Not so with this tournament. Instead, the table remained uncluttered and oversized cartoon-like checks were presented to the winner (Phil Ivey) and the runner up (John D'Agostina). Bring back the cash, guys - it's what defines poker...and add a nice looking trophy for the shelf as well.
With the success of this broadcast, odds are that poker TV is definately here to stay and the poker boom will continue to grow. This is one poker player who will take the odds on that and is eagerly awaiting the next one!
