SHOOTING STARS: World Series of Poker, Latin Grammys share spotlight

Baseball’s World Series ended a week ago after only five games.

The World Series of Poker, by contrast, ends tonight after almost five months.

At 8 p.m., the last two players remaining — from the 7,319 players who entered this year’s tournament — will begin their final showdown at the Rio’s Penn & Teller Theater.

And the poker players aren’t the only ones gambling on the outcome.

ESPN has 81 crew members and 28 high-definition cameras covering tonight’s head-to-head showdown, which was determined at Sunday’s “November Nine” final table.

“That’s comparable to the Super Bowl,” according to Seth Palansky, Harrah’s World Series of Poker communications director.

But the saturation coverage seems fitting for an event that’s “part reality show, part game show,” he comments.

The World Series of Poker began July 5 and paused July 18; ESPN has been airing edited tournament footage since August as part of a 16-week series, which makes Tuesday’s telecast of the finale “almost in real time,” Palansky points out. “We’re really no different than ‘Bachelor’ or any other reality show. It’s all post-produced.”

To make Tuesday night’s air date, however, ESPN officials will be working virtually around-the-clock, editing tonight’s footage, providing voice-overs and graphics — and adding all-important hole card camera views, which are not allowed during live Internet coverage of the tournament, according to Nevada gaming regulations.

Tonight’s final table is open to the public — with free seats in the Rio theater open to those over 21 on a first-come, first-served basis.

With almost 1,500 seats available, participating players “come with 50 to 200 of their closest friends and family,” Palansky says, giving the tournament a “major sporting event” vibe.

Which, of course, it is.

After all, “they’re playing for $29 million,” he notes. “The average guy walks away with $3.2 million — and you don’t have to eat worms or tarantulas to do it.”

Grammy time: The 11th annual Latin Grammy Awards go live from Mandalay Bay’s Events Center Thursday night on Univision. (The ceremony begins at 5 p.m. — prime time in the East and Central time zones.) Actor and comedian Eugenio Derbez and actress and singer Lucero host the telecast, which features performers ranging from Marc Anthony (pictured) to nominee Nelly Furtado.

Red-carpet coverage is set to begin at 2 p.m., with Giselle Blondet (“Nuestra Belleza Latina”) and Chiquinquira Delgado (“Mira Quien Baila”) hosting.

But the awards telecast is far from the only TV coverage surrounding the event.

On Wednesday, Univision plans to originate three additional shows from Mandalay Bay: the entertainment news show “El Gordo y La Flaca” (“The Scoop and the Skinny”), the news magazine “Primer Impacto” (“First Impact”) and the entertainment discussion “La Tijera” (“Scissors”) on Univision’s sister network, TeleFutura. Univision’s morning show “Despierta America” (“Wake Up, America”) also may be beaming from Mandalay Bay’s Mizuya Lounge during Latin Grammy week; specific details hadn’t been determined by deadline.

TV crews from Mexico, Spain and Honduras also were expected at Mandalay Bay to cover the festivities. And “Reventon Countdown,” which airs on Telemundo’s Mun2, plans to shoot Tuesday through Thursday at Mandalay Bay and the Artisan Hotel, on the Strip and at the Fremont Street Experience, featuring host Yarel Ramos and regional Mexican artists, reports production manager Mica Camacho.

True Brits: Britain’s “Noel’s Christmas Presents” serves up a heaping holiday helping of heartwarming TV, rewarding “the nation’s most deserving, hardworking and selfless individuals with a Christmas present they’ll never forget.” This year, the gift lineup on the 90-minute special includes Las Vegas.

“Noel’s Christmas Presents,” produced by Britain’s Two Four Broadcast, plans to shoot today and Tuesday along the Strip and at The Mirage and Flamingo — complete with presenter Noel Edmonds, director Pete Woods and contributors Janet and Frank Lavin.
The show will air around Dec. 19, with a Christmas Day repeat, on Britain’s Sky1 channel, according to series producer Liz Foley.

Quick hits: Las Vegas’ reigning tennis legends, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, are scheduled to join a contest winner on the Darling Tennis Center courts today to shoot a video destined for HEAD Racquet Sports’ YouTube page. The Food Network’s “Cupcake Wars” is expected here this week to capture footage for the show’s upcoming season, which begins airing Dec. 7. Also on tap: continuing reality-TV shoots for MTV’s “The Real World,” based at the Hard Rock Hotel, and History’s “Pawn Stars.” And a crew from “The Oprah Winfrey Show” also planned to shoot here over the weekend for an upcoming episode of the daytime queen’s final season.