Starting in 2008, in an effort to build excitement in the WSOP and to increase ratings for the tape-delayed televised shows, Harrah's Entertainment and ESPN decided to delay the final table until shortly before its scheduled broadcast.
[3][4] In 2017, Poker Central announced a television and digital media rights agreement with the WSOP and ESPN which returned the final table to the tail end of the rest of the tournament.
"[7] ESPN's Senior Director of Programming and Acquisition, Doug White, stated, "The movement of the final table has definitely helped in terms of creating buzz.
"[2] Nonetheless, coverage of the 2008 final table garnered more than a 50 percent increase from the previous year in both the number of viewers and households that watched it.
Kelly Kim, who had the fewest chips entering the final table, was an established professional player who cashed in numerous events but never won a major tournament.
[14] However, an article on the Card Player website indicated that Shulman's supposed disdain for Harrah's Casino was not based on its partnership with Bluff Magazine.
"[16] He also indicated that, if he won the bracelet, he would not throw it in the trash, but instead would pursue one of four options: hold an auction and donate the money to charity, hold a tournament for the players shut out of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, give it away as part of a promotion on SpadeClub.com (an online poker site sponsored by Cardplayer), or give it to television personality Stephen Colbert.
[16] Other notable finalists included seven-time bracelet winner Phil Ivey and former Bear Stearns senior executive Steven Begleiter.
[18] Martin Staszko, Badih Bounahra and Anton Makiievskyi were the first players to make the final table from their respective countries: Czech Republic, Belize and Ukraine.