It appears we’ve been snookered by of all people the World Series of Poker! After a Tweet Tuesday night claiming the end of the November Nine, it was revealed today –when the full schedule and format changes were revealed—that the end of the November Nine is more of a technicality. Due to the 2012 elections, the WSOP has decided to move the final table broadcast up 1 week, landing at the end of October. So yes, technically the November Nine era is over, but in reality it still lives on.

In addition to the early April fool’s joke we were victims of; the WSOP did announce a number of legitimate changes, including adding nearly 100 extra tables which will see the WSOP Main Event use only three starting day flights. In addition to losing a day from the extra tables, the main event will also extend each day by playing five levels, shaving a second day of the Main Event. Finally, the WSOP has decided to scrap the day-off in between the starting day flights and Day 2, shaving three full days off of the Main Event.

It will be interesting to see if the numerous players speaking out in favor of the end of the November Nine may cause the WSOP and ESPN to reconsider the format.

It was also revealed that the World Series of Poker Main Event final table will air on ESPN on a 15-minute delay for the second straight year. We will likely see additional “live” coverage for the lead-up to the final table on ESPN 2 and ESPN 3 once again.

Here is a look at the other changes and new events players can expect at the 2012 WSOP:

* Re-Entry Event

Event #9, a $1,500 NLHE tournament, will be the first tournament in WSOP history to use a re-entry format. Players eliminated on Day 1a can re-enter the tournament on Day 1b.

* 4 More bracelet events

There will be a total of 61 Bracelets awarded during the course of the 50 day 2012 WSOP tournament series.

* Nearly 100 extra tables

The WSOP will use an additional 92 poker tables allowing for larger starting fields and higher caps in Heads-Up tournaments

* Weekend Warrior Events

Every Saturday the WSOP will host a $1,500 NLHE tournament, and every Sunday the WSOP will host a $1,000 NLHE tournament

New additions to the WSOP schedule in 2012:

* $3,000 Heads-Up No Limit Holdem/PLO tournament (bracelet event)

* $5,000 Mix Max No Limit Holdem tournament (bracelet event)

* $2,500 4-Handed No Limit Holdem tournament (bracelet event)

* $1,500 Ante-Only No Limit Holdem tournament (bracelet event)

* $1,000,000 Big One for One Drop Platinum Bracelet Tournament

* Exhibition Event: $560 Doubles No Limit Holdem tournament

* Exhibition Event: $560 Bracelet-Bounty No Limit Holdem tournament

Check back for the complete schedule for the 2012 World Series of Poker when it is released. For more information on the2012 WSOP you can head on over to www.wsop.com

Tags: 1a, April Fool, Bracelets, Broadcast, ESPN, Espn 2, Format Changes, Joke, Live Coverage, Minute Delay, Poker Main Event, Poker Tables, Series Of Poker, Technicality, Tuesday Night, Tweet, world series, World Series of Poker, World Series of Poker Main Event, WSOP Main Event

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 8:12 pm and is filed under Poker News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.