Former host of the World Series of Poker, Binion’s casino in Las Vegas was to host 52 weeks of nationally televised poker tournaments.
However, the filming of the The Ultimate Poker Challenge which was to be a year long series of events hosted by Binion’s has been cancelled.
With increased pressure on online poker rooms to pull out of the US, the advertising dollars they put into the game have followed their swift exit.
In the case of the Binion’s promotion, with no major sponsor, they have had to pull the plug on the cameras. Binion’s have offered assurances that the tournaments will still go ahead, just without the TV camera’s.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of the postponement of the previously scheduled filming of two popular poker shows, High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark.
Both shows had a sound stage at the South Point Casino booked for a week or more of filming this month, but both were put off to an indefinite future date. One of the shows has since re-scheduled a possible filming date for next month.
It would appear that the attack on online poker is now starting to affect other aspects of one of America’s favorite pastimes, and as far as television coverage the WPT or the WSOP could be next.
Shane @ CarbonPoker.com
Most poker shows are over hyped, poorly produced and way to gimmicky. ESPN and a few others have it right. Focus on the cards with some player backgrounds. The WPT really needs to knock off the player showboating and get back to the game. That is why poker is popular it is a great game.