I have read that WPT years ago had to fight tooth and nail to get permission from the travel channel for episodes to be two hours long. Yet as we all know, showing just 80 minutes of footage from an event that might take ten or twelve hours means missing alot.
Apparently GSN is being alot more liberal with WPT, and the winners are the viewers. (I wonder if such considerations were part of why WPT left the travel channel)
For anyone who didn't see it, there was a huge drama that played out in tonight's episode very early in the final table. From the table talk I think this all happenned in less than an hour (it took about an hour of broadcast time). Basically the player who came in as the massive chip leader quickly bled away all his chips till he was the short stack. Then went all-in on a straight flush draw. He made the draw and doubled up. Then he battled his way back to being the chip leader.
Interestingly he joked after regaining the chip lead that the whole last hour would probably not be shown on tv because after all that craziness, no one had been eliminated and the chip counts were almost back to where they started. I am certain that in seasons 1 through 5 he would have been absolutely correct. (I wonder how many such dramas we have missed over the years)
The show was 90 minutes old before a player was knocked out, and it ended with four players still left. (and a message to tune in next time for the conclusion)
I hope this is something we see more of in the future. Every complaint you tend to hear about WPT was not true of tonight's broadcast. The double size episode means that there were many typical hands, not just cutting from one dramatic hand to the next. Typical hands also meant more typical table talk (or as typical as you can get with Mike the Mouth there)
About the only complaint I have is that nobody warned me this was even possible! During the last 30 minutes I kept waiting for some absurd hand that knocked out multiple players; when there was just 15 minutes left I felt for sure it would have to be as stupid as the final hand in "Casino Royale". Yet not only did this hand not come up, but the hands they were showing were some of the most mundane ever aired on WPT. Finally on the last hand of the night, the short stack tried to make a move, but got called and eliminated by big slick.
Anyway, kudos to WPT and to GSN. I hope we see a whole lot more two-parters.
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