I am a huge fan of televised tournament poker, and the most prestigious tournament in the world, the World Series of Poker, made a huge announcement today. I think this was a very smart decision on the part of ESPN, and good for poker in general. Here is the story.

USA Today Reporting WSOP Final Table Delayed Until November

A conference call is scheduled for 11:00am Las Vegas time tomorrow, but it seems that the rumors that have been flying in the poker world may be true. If you make the final table of the World Series of Poker, you will have to wait 117 days to find out exactly what place you finish – and how much money you will win.

The much rumored adjustment is being reported on USAToday.com, and according to the USA Today piece, the main event players will play down to nine as originally scheduled in mid July, then begin play at the final table on November 9th – almost 4 months later. The final table broadcast would be on ESPN on November 11th, and the WSOP Champion would be crowned live that night.

The move is designed to build drama for poker’s biggest event, and also to build interest in and knowledge of the players participating. Both heightened drama and heightened interest should result in better ratings, something that has execs at ESPN excited. “The champion will be crowned on the day of air. We’re very excited about this change,” ESPN senior producer Jamie Horowitz told USA Today.

Rumors of this change have been swirling since the 2007 WSOP, with some WSOP staff admitting as late as last week that with all the logistics involved, the change was not an odds on favorite to happen.

With months of prep time, and months for the public to find out about the human side of the players that made it to the final nine, this change promises dynamics in the months leading up to the final table that will be completely new to the WSOP, and in fact to the poker world as a whole.

The drama will build as the players could be in line for money that would change their life a little – or a whole lot. To put it in perspective, last year’s 9th place finisher, Philip Hilm, took home $525,934. That’s a far cry from the $8.25 Million dollars champion Jerry Yang took home on the same night. Imagine going to bed for four months not knowing whether you’re going to cash out for $500k or $8 mil. That might make for some sleepless nights.

So, let’s say a player is ill, passes away, or is otherwise unable to play on November 9th – what happens? The rules would be just like any other event. The player would simply be blinded off – which would make for a very interesting final table. Who wants to be known as the player who couldn’t beat the guy that didn’t show up?

Further details will be made available at the press conference tomorrow at 11am. We will update this story, as well as have a report from the press conference. Stay tuned for updates to this breaking story.