US Poker Players Being Teased Each Week By ESPN WSOP Coverage
Sep 21, 2011 Gambling Consultant
ESPN touts itself as the Worldwide Leader in Sports. As part of living up to that standard, the network ensures that they cover every sport imaginable on a full, or part-time basis. Poker is considered by many to be a sport, and ESPN has shown taped versions of the World Series of Poker in recent years.
With each passing year, the coverage of the WSOP has grown, with less time being allowed for editing, and more close to real-time play being shown on telecasts. This past week, ESPN began airing their coverage of the main event at the WSOP, and it has US poker players feeling confused.
On one hand, the coverage of the main event is great for poker players. They get to sit back and watch all of the best hands from the tournament, and how each player maneuvered through those hands. It is a tool that has helped the viewers get better in their own game.
On the other hand, however, this years showing of the WSOP main event has players feeling upset. Since Black Friday, millions of Americans have been unable to play the game they love online, and that has caused some harsh feelings towards the government. Watching the main event on television and not being able to go to the computer and play, has some poker enthusiasts mad.
How is it possible that they can show poker on television, and tout it as a highly competitive competition, and then turn around in another breath and say the game is luck and that it should be illegal online, said Maurice Hines, a poker player from Maryland. It just seems like there is a double standard in this country.
That double standard may soon be coming to an end. Several bills have been proposed in Congress that would end online poker prohibition for real money. Lawmakers are starting to take the issue seriously, and some analysts believe that online poker legislation could be passed in the US before the end of the year.
While lawmakers grapple with the details of the online gambling regulations, players will be left to watch highlights of the main event for the next few months. By the time the final table resumes at the WSOP in November, many players are hoping that the ban on Internet gambling is lifted.
I think it would be great if they (government) reinstated our rights as Americans to play poker online in the comfort of our own home, said Hines. His view is shared by many, but only a select few in Washington hold the cards that can make playing the game of poker meaningful again.
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