The countdown to the 2025 WSOP starts here. 100 bracelets. All the poker players. And PokerOrg will be on the floor from start to finish.
Lon McEachern and partner-in-crime Norman Chad have long been familiar and friendly voices as commentators for the WSOP Main Event.
McEachern had been a veteran sportscaster with ESPN for many years, covering a lot of ‘weird’ sports, including the X Games, before coming to work on the WSOP final tables.
The first WSOP job the network prepped McEachern for was the 2002 Main Event, with the iconic Gabe Kaplan, where McEachern learned poker on the go.
As this feature goes to press, McEachern still doesn’t know if he and Chad will return to commentate this summer. But he stated to PokerOrg, ‘That is how it’s usually been with the WSOP each year.’
What are you looking forward to most for the upcoming WSOP series?
I'm looking forward to hopefully working on the series this year. As Norman mentioned, we don't know if we will be working at the WSOP yet.
Besides that, it's a hundred bracelet year this summer. That's exciting. I tell people I run into, if you've never been there, you’ve got to go. It's just the excitement of hearing the chips and feeling the energy. New millionaires get made in every series. It's just the fun atmosphere of it all. I never get tired of all that.
What was the first year you commented on the WSOP?
In 2002, I was called by a guy who had a production company in Vegas. He had shot a lot of the final tables. I'd been a regular at ESPN doing a number of weird things along the way.
I agreed to do the voice-over with Gabe Kaplan. That was a really weird session, not because of Gabe but because the show wasn't all put together. It was a little bit of a mess. That was a unique year for me. ESPN did fully pick up the show the following year though.
When you did the commentating in 2003, did you have any idea how Chris Moneymaker’s win would affect the poker world?
No, I got no sense of the grandeur of what was about to happen. We did the show, and of course, it was several months before it aired. That's when I got a feeling that something crazy was going on at that point.
What triggered that for you?
The show was constantly airing on ESPN. You couldn't go anywhere without seeing the final table with Farha versus Moneymaker.
We only did six hours of the WSOP Main Event that year, but I heard ESPN aired it 1,300 times. There was a definite buzz in the TV world. People started talking about it, and it hit the news big time and even made Time Magazine.
When was the first time you met Norman Chad?
I was a big fan of his weekly NFL picks column because it ran in the San Jose paper in California, where I was living. I already knew he was really funny; then I heard he would be there with us.
I was thrilled because I knew Norman was a professional. We first met on the floor at Binion's during the Main Event. He still greets me today like he greeted me on day one. As I walked up to him that day, he said, ‘Hey.’ That was it. That's still the way we talk to each other.
He is always an under-the-radar, low-key type of guy. We’ve become closer as friends, and we talk a lot more now.
Do you have a favorite player you've worked with over the years who's commentated in the booth with you and Norman?
We love working with Antonio Esfandiari; we all got along great. I love Jamie Kerstetter’s sense of humor. I love Maria Ho and the smarts that she brings. Everybody brings something different.
I worked with Dara O'Kearney last year on the senior high roller. He and David Lappin are good friends of mine. I think they light up when they come in and are excited to be part of the product.
When I did many livestreams a few years ago, I took after David Tuchman. He set the mold for the livestream and doesn't get as much credit as he really deserves in poker.
Did you know the game well when you first started on air?
I had to learn enough to introduce the expert. That's how these shows started with a Q&A with Norman throughout the first couple of shows. I was learning along with the audience. He was the poker expert.
But no, I was not a player at the time. But we all learned together, including the crew. I loved reading about it at that time. The Harrington books were my favorite. So, I got a taste of that.
Two years ago, I won a circuit ring. It was a senior event at my home casino at Thunder Valley. I hold that over Norman as much as I can every show.
Last year, Norman auditioned for several jobs at the WSOP and failed miserably in a series of fun videos by Jesse Fullen. What job besides commentator do you think you would do well at the WSOP?
I would love to cook and work as a sous chef at Martha Stewart's restaurant, at the Bedford. I think that would be great. My daughter works in the restaurant business in Minneapolis. I absolutely love good food. That would be my choice of jobs.
If you had to have a piece of one player for the entire series, who would it be?
Erik Seidel is often my pick as the best performer over a lifetime. For one thing, he's older than the World Series of Poker, which is amazing, but still at the top of his game.
I mean, when Caesar’s runs out of money, they go to Erik and ask for a loan [laughs]. But despite all the accolades I've heaped on Erik through the years, the man ignores me. So, screw you, Erik Seidel. No deal. So, it’s between Phil Ivey and Maria Ho.
I don’t think Phil Ivey has said eight words to me in 23 years. But the stats don't lie. Maria has more WSOP cashes than Phil and she's bought dinner for me more times than Phil. So, I'm going to go with Maria Ho.
Good choice. I love Maria. Mr. Hellmuth said he would not play the WSOP Main Event due to the brutal hours and long days. Do you think he will change his mind?
The Main Event's always been about the brutal hours. Everybody goes in with their eyes wide open. And yeah, people will age out. It's painful to say, ‘I really can't do this like I did before.’
You know, Norman and I will age out of this job. Maybe we have already. The youth is not wasted on the young at the Main Event, they really know how to take advantage of it. And frankly, I don't mind it.
Bottom line, I'm fine with it. I love that the Main Event is tough, it should be tough. It's 10 million bucks. If you think you can't handle it for $10,000,000 million bucks, we'll see you in the Super Senior event.
And as far as Phil goes, we will miss him. But most of the time we miss him after Day 2 or Day 3 of the Main, anyway. I'm sorry to see him go. We move on. The big wheel keeps on turning.
Additional images courtesy of Graton Resort & Casino/WSOP.
