The World Series of Poker returned to ESPN on Thursday for the first time since 2021. And Peyton Manning’s Ohama Productions, newly in charge of the event’s TV coverage, arrives with at least one trick up its sleeve: artificial intelligence.
Omaha has enlisted an AI model that can identify when players are likely bluffing—and when they might have the nuts hand. The tool, developed by independent AI engineer Luke Geel, analyzes past results and players’ activity—from posture to blink rate—spotting connections that might be imperceptible to the average viewer but visible to top pros.
Omaha will be cautious with how it uses the feature on the broadcast, focusing only on players after they’ve been eliminated. As Omaha expands its live production portfolio, the company aims to marry character-driven and analytically minded coverage.
“We’re trying to bring back some of what was great about the World Series during the [Chris] Moneymaker boom and some of what’s been great about poker in the last 5-to-10 years,” Omaha head of content Dan Gati said. “A lot of people think that because poker is not on mainstream television that it’s not doing as well. Live poker is as robust as it’s ever been. And I think the next step is bringing it back to ESPN for the mainstream to see it again.”
