CINCINNATI, Oct. 27 -- It's the pinnacle of poker, where participants,including some of the greatest gamblers in the world, play hard for a chance at poker immortality and caches worth millions of dollars. Set in Las Vegas, Nevada, the 34th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw a record-breaking 839 poker players battle it out at Binion's Horseshoe casino in one of the highest stakes games in town -- the No Limit Texas Hold'Em, the tournament's 'Main Event,' which had a $10,000 buy-in and $2.5 million first-place prize that included the coveted world-title bracelet.
On November 2nd, ESPN and DVD Marketing Inc. will bring the entire 2003 ESPN telecast of The World Series of Poker (WSOP) on a double-disc DVD, equating to seven ours of un-cut, commercial-free action in full screen digital video. The DVD will be available in retail outlets and online with an SRP of $34.95.Viewers now have the supreme opportunity to study poker masters at work, including the legendary Doyle Brunson (1977, 1978 WSOP Champion), stone-cold Johnny Chan (1987,1988 WSOP Champion, immortalized in Rounders), Sam Farha, poker bad boy Phil Hellmuth (1989 WSOP Champion), the showman Scotty Nguyen (1998 WSOP Champion) and Annie Duke, one of women's best poker players (recent guest on David Letterman), as they handle the pressure over a course of five edge-of-your seat, action-packed days.
The WSOP is reality TV at its best. Chris Moneymaker, the out-of-nowhere 27 year-old amateur who won a seat in the 'Main Event' by winning a $40 online tournament, stunned the industry when he walked out with the
world champion title and the cool $2.5 million. Hosted by ESPN's Lon McEachern and sports columnist Norman Chad, the double-disc DVD comes replete with revealing interviews of star players, a 'how-to' on playing the
game, chapter points at the key rounds, and special highlights of ESPN's Cold Pizza and Pardon The Interruption tournament coverage.
"Poker has really taken off on every level around the country, and we couldn't be happier about bringing poker's top event to home entertainment," said Rick Alesandri, senior vice president and general manager, ESPN Enterprises. "We expect this trend to continue and look forward to offering even more to poker fans in the near future." The poker
industry is booming. More than one million television viewers tuned into each of the seven ESPN telecasts of the 2003 WSOP. Entries for the 2003 tournament rose by 33% from the previous year breaking yet another attendance record. This year's WSOP tripled those numbers with 2,576 players, an increase largely due to amateur entrants and the meteoric rise in cyberpoker.
Contact The Poker Net.com if you are interested to get a DVD.
