Yeah, I almost forgot, too … was reminded by @ESPN_Poker:

Don’t forget, the 2009 WSOP debuts tonight on ESPN at 8 p.m. with the $40,000 no-limit hold ’em event

We’re way past complaining that ESPN is showing only four events, right? Because I’ll be missing tonight’s episode, and I’ll be honest … I might not even set the Tivo were it a $1,500 donkament.

OK, I’m lying … I’m not setting the Tivo for this one either. Will catch it on a rerun, I’m sure. Spoiler alert: Vitaly Lunkin wins.

What I would wanna watch, personally … Any PLO $5k or higher, any Omaha Hi-Lo (because I really think I’m starting to learn that game), and No-Limit 2-7 Lowball Single-Draw, especially were Phil Ivey to make the final table.

This season, as we know, is going to be all about the main event, which we can only expect by the extra weeks to be more of a reality TV-type experience. And then of course the final table being semi-live … yes, live poker is often pretty good, and I look forward to seeing ESPN’s improvements on their second go at the November Nine.

Seriously, not trying to hate on ESPN’s WSOP coverage by letting you know I don’t really care about tonight’s show. On the contrary, props to them for recognizing that poker-on-TV coverage continues to evolve, and they need to mix it up a bit to stay relevant. But I do wonder how knowing this, knowing the role TV plays in getting pros to pony up the bigger buy-ins and online sites to pony up patch-wear overlays, might affect future WSOP tournament schedules.

UPDATE: OK, admittedly I am getting a bit more interested, and see how the $40k will presumably set the stage for the main event reality show after reading this and watching the teaser for Episode 2: