ESPN

ESPN's Coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker Begins Tuesday, July 28th at 8 PM ET/5 PM PT
 
Despite a sluggish global economy, poker enthusiasts from 115 nations and territories descended on the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas this summer to break a number of event records at the 40th Annual World Series of Poker, including the mark for most total player entries.
 

The 60,875 entries in this year’s 57 tournaments eclipsed the previous record of 58,720 entries established in 2008. The strong showing helped propel the total WSOP prize pool past $1 billion since the tournament’s inception in 1970. The total 2009 prize pool surpassed $174 million and, for only the second time in WSOP history, every member of the Main Event final table will win $1 million or more.

"Our results have exceeded every expectation," said WSOP President and Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack.

For those who didn’t get a chance to check out the action at the Rio this summer, don’t worry.  Our friends at ESPN were on hand throughout the tournament to document this year’s events.

ESPN’s coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker from the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas will air every Tuesday from July 28 through Nov. 10.  From July 28 through Oct. 6, ESPN presents back-to-back WSOP episodes from 8-10 pm ET.  From Oct. 13 through the culmination of the Main Event on Nov. 10, the WSOP will air in the 9-11 pm ET time slot.

Norman Chad and Lon McEachern return to call all the action.
 
Below is this year’s telecast schedule on ESPN

DateTimeEventEpisode #
28-Jul8:00 PM ET"Special 40th Annual $40,000 No Limit Hold’em"1
28-Jul9:00 PM ET"Special 40th Annual $40,000 No Limit Hold’em"2
4-Aug8:00 PM ETWSOP Champions Invitational3
4-Aug9:00 PM ETWSOP Champions Invitational4
11-Aug8:00 PM ETAnte Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Event5
11-Aug9:00 PM ETAnte Up For Africa Celebrity-Charity Event6
18-Aug8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1A7
18-Aug9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1A8
25-Aug8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1B9
25-Aug9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1B10
1-Sep8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1C11
1-Sep9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1C12
8-Sep8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1D13
8-Sep9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 1D14
15-Sep8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 2A15
15-Sep9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 2A16
22-Sep8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 2B17
22-Sep9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 2B18
29-Sep8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 319
29-Sep9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 320
6-Oct8:00 PM ETMain Event Day 421
6-Oct9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 422
13-Oct9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 523
13-Oct10:00 PM ETMain Event Day 524
20-Oct9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 625
20-Oct10:00 PM ETMain Event Day 626
27-Oct9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 727
27-Oct10:00 PM ETMain Event Day 728
3-Nov9:00 PM ETMain Event Day 829
3-Nov10:00 PM ETMain Event Day 830
10-Nov9-11:00 PM ETMain Event Final Table31