TV executives have already trotted out a number of poker-related shows in an attempt to captivate audiences and bring in major sponsorship revenue. But nobody has presented the idea that Inside Deal brings to the table yet because it’s an original webcast show that appears on ESPN.com. Inside Deal debuted Tuesday on ESPN.com and it is very similar in format to SportCenter as it’s also filmed in Bristol, Connecticut.
On the show, hosts Bernard Lee and Laura Lane discuss lots of news and other happenings around the poker world. The topic of discussion during Tuesday’s show was none other than the WSOP Main Event final table. As expected, the pair talked about the November Nine with Phil Ivey garnering a lot of attention within the discussion. Lee mentioned that Ivey can really cement his legacy with a big finish on the final table. The issue of Jeff Shulman saying he’d trash the Main Event gold bracelet if he won it was also brought up with both anchors admonishing his behavior.
Some of the other good stuff that they talked about included the controversy that arose when over 500 players were locked out of Day 1D of the Main Event. Lee gave good insight on this by saying that poker players are known as procrastinators and this was just one more good example of that fact. Chris Moneymaker was the special guest on the show and he finally admitted that he can’t hang with Texas Hold’em players anymore and has switched to Omaha because he can actually make money there.
Whether or not the Inside Deal will continue (I don’t know if it can survive away from the WSOP days) is up for question, but this was definitely a fun first episode to watch.