ESPN to Offer Final Table of World Series of Poker via PPV

ESPN will deal out live pay-per-view coverage of the final table at this year’s World Series of Poker with The World Series of Poker Final Table Live!.

This will mark the second year in a row that ESPN will broadcast the final table live for PPV viewers. Poker fans who do not purchase the PPV package ($19.95) July 17 will have to wait until October, when the network concludes its showing of delayed coverage of the entire tournament.

The special live coverage will include live interviews with many of the 2007 bracelet winners, as well as past main-event champions. In a new addition to this year’s coverage, fans will be able to text-message their predictions for the next player to be eliminated from the final table. Also, viewers will be able to e-mail questions they have, and selected e-mails will be answered by the hosts during the final table.

The World Series of Poker Final Table Live! will be available either through PPV or through an online-video stream on ESPN.com.

“This year’s live pay-per-view coverage of the final table will bring fans inside The World Series of Poker,” ESPN senior producer Jamie Horowitz said in a prepared statement. “We are focused on delivering a unique viewer experience with access to players, commentators and information. With real-time text-message and e-mail communication available between their homes and the tournament in Las Vegas, fans will be part of poker's most exciting night in a way they've never been before."

Live PPV coverage of the event will begin at 3 p.m. (EST) July 17 and won’t end until a player enters poker supremacy by finishing in first place.