Best Changes to the WSOP of All-Time

As we now sit and wait for the 4 months between the November Nine forming and the final table being played out to subside, I thought it would be fun to reminisce about some of the best changes of all-time to the WSOP.  One of the first ones to come off the top of my head was the introduction of the ladies-only event which occurred in 1977.  Back then it was very rare to see a woman in the game of poker so something definitely needed to be done to draw women into the game, and this was the perfect thing.

Another great change to the WSOP was when gold bracelets were introduced in 1974.  Before this time, players were given a silver cup to commemorate winning the WSOP, but there were no awards for the preliminary events.  After the gold bracelets were introduced, we then had a way of determining who the greatest players of all-time have been.

The intro of TV broadcasts for the WSOP are another thing that has boosted the popularity of the annual event as well.  CBS first filmed the event through an hour-long documentary that was done by Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder.  After Snyder’s hour-long documentary, CBS began filming the event every year until ESPN took over in the late 80′s.  Eventually, ESPN would expand their coverage which also helped to popularize the WSOP even more so.

And the most recent change that has had a major impact is the introduction of the November Nine.  When this idea was first brought out people hated it since the November Nine concept delayed the crowning of the WSOP champ.  However, with a 46% increase in TV viewers for the final table, it looks like the November Nine idea is only going to drive up the WSOP’s popularity more.