When people speak of the rise of poker over the last few years, they often point to the impact that the Chris Moneymaker effect had in 2003 where a small-time accountant with little previous poker playing experience won his way into $2.5 million. But I definitely don’t think that you can attribute all of this solely to the Chris Moneymaker effect.
Because, without ESPN there to catch all of the action at the WSOP Main Event in ‘03, we wouldn’t have the footage of Moneymaker’s intense (and stupid) staredowns along with the proof that any no-talent player can have at least one glory day in poker.
Now as we get set for the biggest poker event in the world once again, the ESPN cameras will be rolling and looking to catch all of the special moments from the Main Event. And this time, ESPN will be increasing its coverage from 20 hours to 32 hours because of the demand by fans.
The fact that people are demanding to see more of the WSOP Main Event just goes to show how popular poker really is today. And it’s only going to grow more popular due to the increased TV coverage that the Main Event will be receiving.
Of course, ESPN also helps poker’s cause by showing a few non-Main Event tournaments too which shows that there are other options for people to strike it rich with poker. When people can see others winning hundreds of thousands of dollars (or even millions) on television in just a single poker tournament it really helps draw more people to the game.