IS 2008 WSOP FINAL TABLE DELAY CAUSING SHEER PARANOIA?

If you read this article that appeared in the UK Guardian, you´d have to say YES! Aside from all the cheating and collusion articles that I and many others have been talking about, now there´s mention of blackmail...and even worse...death! With each passing day more probabilities and possibilities, all of them sordid, are popping up and being bandied about. I mean, it´s getting a little bit out of hand. I highly doubt any serious blackmail threats are going to breed from Harrah´s decision to delay the play of the final table 117 days after the qualifying players are determined. And as far as what would happen if one of those players died during the interim?...Well, what would happen if there were no delay of the final table play and one of the players died the night before? I don´t know, but I guess whatever decision was made to fill that void (pardon the pun if it is one) would be the same if a player or players died during the 4 month interim.

In any case, let the cheating and scamming begin once the players for the 2008 WSOP are determined!

Here´s the UK Guardian article:

When Harrah's, the giant hotel-casino chain, took over the rights to the World Series of Poker a few years ago, they moved the tournament from May to July. This was a bad result for the players: July is too hot in Las Vegas, there are no good shows, and it's a nasty clash with the school holidays for anyone who prefers not to expose his children to quite such a rich seam of sunstroke and prostitution. But it was a good result for Harrah's, who can now fill their hotel rooms with World Series contestants at a time when nobody else is dumb enough to go there.

Having established July, Harrah's have just announced that they are going to delay the final of the main event - which would normally be on Day 13 - until November! This will "maximise coverage", which I assume is code for "increase the revenue Harrah's get from TV".

Never mind the players, eh? Never mind that a four-month gap after naming nine people, one of whom will win at least $12m, throws open the door to possible blackmail or cheating scams. Never mind that a player might be unable to return in November due to an illness or family problem - or even die - during that time. Never mind the thousands of punters who used to enjoy, having been knocked out, sticking around to watch the final.

Harrah's are messing with the very definition of a poker tournament. It is as though the Chinese Olympic committee had decided to stage the first three legs of the 4x100m relay, then do the last leg four months later. But they wouldn't; compared with Harrah's, China looks like a soft touch.