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:

Hey, we know that guy! Met Eric Baldwin and his crew while he was taking down the $2,500 main event of last quarter’s Venetian Deep Stacks. Guys to watch out for, obv … serious “unknown” up-and-comers (save for Shannon Shorr, and maybe Justin Young) with the Hendon Mob resumes to do some real damage to good players who may not realize what they’re up against.

http://pokerati.com/2009/04/26/deep-stacks-heads-up-mini-marathon/
http://pokerati.com/2009/04/26/venetian-deep-stacks-report/:

– The (plenty drinky) crew sweating Baldwin includes Cody Slaubaugh (on a tear of late), Adam Geyer from Austin, Justin Young (who finished 8th in the WPT World Championship this weekend), and Shannon Shorr (who finished 5th in the WPT Championship today). Needless to say, these guys are all having a good weekend and month … with nearly $1 million in winnings amongst them … probably more if you include their online tournament results.

The WSOP website has put out their Staff Resource Guide, containing over 230 pages of various information about this year’s World Series of Poker. There you can find floor plans for the three poker rooms that will be in use this year (no tournament tables at the Poker Room or Buzio’s, their seafood restaurant). You’ll also find the structures for every tournament one can take part in the Rio. You’ll also find a copy of the tournament rules and procedures, a dealer’s reference guide, how the tournament and floor staff will be compensated, and a copy of the daily calendar. The calendar also includes their projections on how many entrants will be in each bracelet event (and a comparison from last year when available), which is as follows:

More…

This just in over the transom, from WSOP Headquarters:

PRE-REGISTRATION NOW OPEN
FOR 2009 WORLD SERIES OF POKER®

LAS VEGAS – March 11, 2009 – Harrah’s Entertainment, Inc. said today pre-registration for the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) is now open.

Players can pre-register online at www.worldseriesofpoker.com under the “Event Registration” tab or in person at the main cage of the Rio® All-Suite Hotel & Casino, host property for the 2009 WSOP. Pre-registration instructions and tournament rules are posted on the website.

It is important to note, capacity is limited and entry is on a first come first serve basis. Once an event’s maximum attendance is reached or the expected table capacity is filled, the event will be declared a sellout.

“As now customary, no alternates will be seated at the 2009 World Series of Poker,” said Jack Effel, WSOP tournament director. “We encourage players to pre-register early to guarantee their seats.”

Acceptable forms of payment include cash, cashier’s checks, wire transfers and Rio casino chips.

Any foreign entrants who wire transfer monies will receive the exchange rate into U.S. dollars at the time of the wire transfer, thus locking in their exchange rate in advance.

The 40th edition of the WSOP will run from May 26 through July 15, 2009, and will include 57 bracelet tournaments. Buy-ins for open events will range from $1,000 to $50,000. The buy-in for the Main Event – the No-Limit Hold’em World Championship – remains at $10,000. The November Nine, the final nine participants of the Main Event, return November 7-10 to declare a champion. The full event schedule is at www.worldseriesofpoker.com.

And, of course, nicely color-coded at Pokerati.com.

From the WSOP … click below for a breakdown of what has changed from 2008 to 2009:

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Click below for complete details. It’s a lot to digest, I know … Interesting to note:

• $40,000 NLH — opening big with pros
• $1,000 NLH “stimulus” tourney — opening big with amateurs
• No unlimited rebuy tournaments — bracelets not for sale
• “Triple Chance” event — 2 rebuys? 1 rebuy 1 add-on?
• 2-7 NL Single-Draw (w/out rebuys) — best game ever
• No mention of TV events — TBD?
• Main Event break day moved
• And, of course, return of the November Nine

More…

A handful of us know a little secret … and are preparing morning posts revealing the details of and changes to the WSOP schedule for 2009. There’s plenty of exciting stuff to discuss, but for the most part, I think all in the poker media are respecting the info embargo. But oops … silly to expect an AP reporter (and editors of AP-subscribing papers) to do the same. After all, the organization known for its WSOP drop-ins that always require at least one poker-media-er to give up his or her feature-table seat has ignored similar requests from generals and presidents before … and the local-paper editor(s) who may or may not actually be the ones behind embargo-shembargo decisions could obviously care less about whatever national security interest related to the WSOP is in play.

Anyhow, the first cat out of the bag, via the San Jose Mercury-News, is that the November Nine concept — 4-month break included — is coming back for another go.