“There’s one way to gauge how much more room the World Series of Poker has left to expand on ESPN. It hasn’t gotten big enough to where Chris Berman has demanded a part of the show.
But who’s to say that’s not in the cards.
The network that since 1988 has given credibility and visibility to the pursuit of a royal flush as a sports-slash-entertainment spectacle launches a new round of WSOP Main Event shows Tuesday, starting with back-to-back hour-long episodes at (5 and 6 p.m., followed by dozens of repeats for the next eight weeks.
It doesn’t matter that a month ago, Temecula’s Jerry Yang won the $8.25 million final table in a 14-hour event that was shown live on pay-per-view. Channel surfers will invariably lock in on this stuff as if it’s a “Seinfeld” re-run, even decades later as it ferments over on ESPN Classic.
What’s now? Poker. Same as what was then.”
San Gabriel Valley Tribune (08/17/07)
The Popularity of America's Card Game 