Casino Buzz

COACHELLA, Calif. - The Twenty Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians is dumping Donald Trump from its casino.

The tribe has announced an early $6 million buyout of its partnership with Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts Inc. The initial $11 million deal two years ago renamed the tribe's Spotlight 29 Casino the Trump 29 Casino. Daily operations were turned over to Trump's company as part of a $60 million expansion.

The buyout announcement comes after Trump Hotels filed for bankruptcy last month. A bankruptcy judge this month signed off on a $100 million loan that will keep Trump's casinos in New Jersey and Indiana open while the bankruptcy case winds through the courts.

The tribe's contract with Trump's Atlantic City corporation would have expired in 2007, but included an early buyout option beginning in April 2005.

"We are proud of what we have done together with the tribe, starting with the financing and development of the property and culminating in the record-breaking results," Trump said in a statement this week. "It's now time for the tribe to assume management responsibility."

A bankruptcy judge handling the Chapter 11 reorganization of Trump Hotels and Casino Resorts has set a Jan. 21 hearing. The buyout is not final until a bankruptcy judge approves it.

"No Indian tribe would want to get involved in someone else's bankruptcy," said Gary Kovall, the tribe's attorney.

Tribal spokesman Paul Speirs said he's not sure when the Trump name and other trappings will be removed.

"These are not things that can be accomplished in a few days," Speirs said, adding that it was likely that the casino would be renamed Spotlight 29.

Las Vegas — It's a weekday afternoon in the poker room at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and something strange is going on: It's packed.

The 30 tables wedged into a far corner of the casino are filled, mostly with young and middle-aged men clicking chips and shuffling cards, as a line of people waiting to ante up spills out the door.

“The game has been revived,” said Bill Thompson, a public administration professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and author of a gambling encyclopedia. “Until the last four or five years, (poker) had sort of been an old man's game for Friday nights.”

But thanks to televised tournaments and a handful of celebrity card players lending glamour to the game, poker has exploded into popular culture — forcing Vegas casinos to jump on the bandwagon.

Caesars Palace is expected to announce plans to open its first poker room in more than a decade. The MGM Grand will reopen its poker room — closed for years — in late March. Bally's unveiled new poker tables this summer, and the Mirage added seven more tables to the 24 it had.

“You can't find a casino in Vegas that isn't scrambling to open up a poker room in order to get people in it,” said Steven Lipscomb, creator of the televised World Poker Tour and president of WPT Enterprises.

Most players deal in Texas hold ‘em, seven-card stud or Omaha, with bets starting at a few dollars and reaching thousands of dollars.

Don McGhie, a gaming consultant, said that poker accounted for just a small percentage of a casino's profits and that the rooms usually were buried in casinos' nooks and crannies.

To make money off poker, a game where the players are competing against one another, the casinos skim a percentage of a table's winnings, charge a fee per hand or, in higher-stakes games, charge for the time a table is used.

But expanding poker offerings isn't just about cashing in; it also entices a new generation of gamblers.

“Poker is more of an experience,” said Scott Ghertner, director of sports and promotions for MGM Mirage.

And it's a safe bet that some poker players will wander into the craps and blackjack pits — pouring easy money into casino coffers — when they're not holding out for the next flush.

“It's such a popular game right now; it's driving a lot of patrons into these properties,” said Dennis Neilander, chairman of the Nevada gaming control board.

As the game favored by cowboys and World War II soldiers faded in popularity, many casinos folded their poker rooms in the 1990s, replacing them with more lucrative slot machines, Thompson said.

But the World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker —where regular-guy amateurs have taken home championship millions — and Bravo's “Celebrity Poker Showdown” have hooked a new, younger viewing audience on the classic card game. The WPT's “Battle of Champions,” which aired on NBC in February, drew an estimated 10 million viewers.

“It just exploded,” said Jack McClelland, poker tournament director at the Bellagio and a 28-year industry veteran. Lipscomb described the game's renaissance as a “social phenomenon.”

You have aces. You have the nuts. You have to get the most out of them.

Even when your opponent knows you have aces. Especially when your opponent knows you have aces.

Andy Bloch, a poker pro who graduated from MIT and Harvard Law School, faced that situation in an amazing hand in a $10,000 buy-in tournament. He drew aces under the gun, and Young Phan, a tight player, raised out of the big blind. Bloch reraised. Phan called.

The flop came: king of hearts, queen of spades, jack of hearts. "I know the only strong hands he'd play that way are aces, kings, queens, jacks and maybe K-Q," Bloch said. "He checked and I checked behind him."

The turn came a blank, at which point Phan made a bet equal to almost half of Bloch's stack. Bloch thought for a while, then called.

"Once I called, he knew I had aces," said Bloch, who is one of the playing pros on fulltiltpoker.com. "We had been playing with each other the last couple weeks. We had been at a final table together of a stud tournament and a lot of live games, so we were in tune with what each other was thinking."

The river came a low heart, so there were three hearts on board. Phan went all in, and since Phan had Bloch covered, Bloch would be out of the tournament if he lost - while holding the aces that Bloch knew that Phan knew he was holding.

"It was a pretty big pot and it was fairly early on the second day," Bloch said. "I thought for a long time. Someone asked for the clock on me. When someone asks for a clock on you, you have a minute to make a decision.

"At the time they asked for the clock, I wasn't going to call. He had to have me beat. But he knew I had aces. And I thought and I thought and I thought. With about 10 seconds to go, I decided he really didn't want me to call, so I called, and he turned over A-K.

"Half the people at the table were thinking I couldn't have taken that long to decide when I had two aces.

"I think they're hard to play. A lot of people misplay them. They don't get full value out of them. When their stacks are too big, they usually call too much. And when their stacks are in between, they don't get full value."

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Greg Raymer, the 2004 World Series of Poker champion, apparently knows how to wield more than a stack of chips when everything is riding on it.

The soft-spoken patent attorney from Stonington, Conn., fought off a pair of attackers Dec. 20 at the Bellagio hotel-casino after he had finished playing a cash game of poker, according to a Las Vegas police report.

Raymer, 40, was returning to his room about 2 a.m. when two men jumped him, Raymer said in an interview. Raymer said the men then tried to push him in the room.

But the heavyset Raymer resisted and began struggling with the men, the report said. As he was fighting, one of the men pulled out a gun and said: “We just want the money.”

But Raymer didn’t give up, and yelled for security after knocking one of the men down, he said. Seconds later, the men fled the hallway.

A security officer said one of the suspects was a poker player and also recognized him from a previous incident.

Police made an arrest in the case but the report didn’t identify the person.

Raymer, known as the “Fossilman” in poker circles, won the WSOP Texas Hold’Em title and $5 million in cash. He beat out a field of 2,576 in May to win the prestigious event.

On a poker message board, Raymer recently wrote: “I don’t write this to brag, I just want any robbery-minded people out there who hear about this to know that I’m a tough mark, and they won’t get that much off me even if they succeed.”

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 28, 2004--Poker Tour International (PTI), announces the first quarter Texas Hold'em Poker tournaments for 2005. Dates are as follows: February 7-13, 2005 -- Isle of Capri Casino, Grand Bahama Island, Bahamas; March 12-16, 2005 -- Circa's Hispanola Resort and Casino, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and April 13-18, 2005 -- Norwegian Cruise Caribbean Spirit Ship. Rates for the trips, including buy-ins, travel, and accommodations, run $2,999. Re-buys are available at $500. Winnings include $250,000-$500,000 (depending on number of participants), seats to other PTI tournaments, and seats to the Semi Annual Multi Million Dollar Classic Finals.

PTI production team includes Pro Players Lee Watkinson, who has won $1,453,573 from final tables this year alone and rated #1 in the World by Bluff Magazine; Ted Lawson, winner of this year's Las Vegas Omaha World Poker Series; "Unabomber" Phil Laak, winner of the WPT Invitation 2004; Humberto Brenes, known as "godfather of Costa Rican Players"; regular at final tables Steve Kates, partner of Royal Oasis Casino; and Tournament Organizer Burt Kravette. Together, the PTI team has set plans in motion for a series of multimedia poker events in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America sponsored in part by PartyPoker.com.

"PTI is a mid-range tournament series specifically designed for the guy next door to win big next to pro players," says Kates. Satellite tournaments for winners to win all expense paid trips will be held on PartyPoker.com.

To participate, contact PTI at 1-866-79-POKER, 1-877-38-POKER, or 305-933-5256.

Upcoming tournaments in the Poker Tour International are scheduled for Puerto Rico and St. Kitts.

LAS VEGAS — It's a weekday afternoon in the poker room at the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, and something strange is going on: It's packed.

The 30 tables wedged into a far corner of the casino are filled, mostly with young and middle-aged men clicking chips and shuffling cards, as a line of people waiting to ante up spills out the door.

"The game has been revived," said Bill Thompson, a public administration professor at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and author of a gambling encyclopedia. "Until the last four or five years, [poker] had sort of been an old man's game for Friday nights."

But thanks to televised tournaments and a handful of celebrity card sharks lending glamour to the game, poker has exploded into popular culture — forcing Vegas casinos to jump on the bandwagon.

Caesars Palace is expected to announce plans to open its first poker room in more than a decade. The MGM Grand will reopen its poker room — closed for years — in late March. Bally's unveiled new poker tables this summer, and the Mirage added seven more tables to the 24 it already had. Several other casinos on the Strip are considering expanding their poker operations or creating new ones.

"You can't find a casino in Vegas that isn't scrambling to open up a poker room in order to get people in it," said Steven Lipscomb, creator of the televised World Poker Tour and president of WPT Enterprises.

Most players deal in Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud or Omaha, with bets starting at a few dollars and reaching thousands of dollars.

Don McGhie, a gaming consultant, said that poker accounted for just a small percentage of a casino's profits and that the rooms were usually buried in casinos' nooks and crannies.

To make money off poker, a game where the players are competing against one another, the casinos skim a percentage of a table's winnings, charge a fee per hand or, in higher-stakes games, for the time a table is used.

But expanding poker offerings isn't just about cashing in; it also entices a new generation of gamblers to Sin City.

"Poker is more of an experience," said Scott Ghertner, director of sports and promotions for MGM Mirage.

And it's a safe bet that some poker players will wander into the craps and blackjack pits — pouring easy money into casino coffers — when they're not holding out for the next flush.

"It's such a popular game right now; it's driving a lot of patrons into these properties," said Dennis Neilander, chairman of the Nevada gaming control board.

Which explains why major casinos in Vegas and beyond are striving to make seven-card Texas hold 'em or nine-card Omaha available to the growing ranks of neophyte gamblers.

As the game favored by cowboys and World War II soldiers faded in popularity, many casinos folded their poker rooms in the 1990s, replacing them with more lucrative slot machines, Thompson said.

But the World Poker Tour and World Series of Poker — where regular-guy amateurs have taken home championship millions — and Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" have hooked a new, younger viewing audience on the classic card game. The WPT's "Battle of Champions," which aired on NBC in February, drew an estimated 10 million viewers.

"It just exploded," said Jack McClelland, poker tournament director at the Bellagio and a 28-year industry veteran. Lipscomb described the game's renaissance as a "social phenomenon."

Where the World Series of Poker competition at Binion's Horseshoe Hotel & Casino used to draw several hundred contestants, this year more than 2,500 card players raised the stakes, competing for nearly $50 million in prize money.

The World Poker Tour on the Travel Channel, which employs a tiny camera that reveals players' face-down "hole" cards, went from 14 tournaments and $10 million in prize money in 2002-03 to 16 planned tournaments worth a total of $70 million this year.

"Real people can relate to it," McClelland said. "They can see it happening to them."

That's just what professional poker player Jake Warren, 54, likes to hear.

"That's the beauty…. You have hundreds and hundreds that come in every day and see it on TV and think they can play, and 99.9% go home a loser," said Warren, roaming around the Bellagio in a black leather jacket and baseball cap waiting for a table.

Novices try to sharpen their skills by watching pros bluff their way to victory in televised tournaments or by joining the millions of players who each day place $166 million in online bets on hundreds of poker sites, according to industry tracker Pokerpulse.com. Sites are pulling in $4.5 million daily in usage fees, up from $300,000 in January 2003, founder Dennis Boyko said.

And for established brick-and-mortar poker operations, business is booming.

"We've seen an influx of new business in the last two years," said John Griffo, casino development manager at Commerce Casino, home to the world's largest poker room: 180 tables.

Griffo estimated that low-limit Texas hold 'em business at Commerce has increased 20%; Lipscomb estimated 30% to 50% boosts at casino stops on the World Poker Tour. "It's the young, hip thing to do," Griffo said.

For Vegas in particular, poker's resurgent coolness has brought a buzz back.

"It gives excitement to the town," UNLV's Thompson said. "This is a way of tapping the 20- and 30-[year-old] crowd. It's a way of legitimizing" the game.

You don't have to tell that to veteran player Pat Callihan, 74, a retired oil company executive sporting a cowboy hat, suspenders, fresh Wranglers and a sizable gold cross around his neck, perched in the high-stakes section at the Bellagio. He's relieved his grandkids can finally tell friends, without embarrassment, what he does for a living. And he welcomes all those fresh-faced players with open arms.

"If they keep playing with the old pros every day, we'll eventually get their money," he said, raking in $1,100 worth of chips with a laugh.

t's one of the most dangerous hands for novice no-limit hold 'em players: straight draws, especially smaller straight draws, because you're chasing to start with, and even if you pair up, you're still at the mercy of big cards, which means you could be jeopardizing your stack by chasing two kinds of dicey hands.

But that kind of danger makes a straight draw a hand that more experienced players can take advantage of.

Take Erick Lindgren, for instance. A young, aggressive poker star, Lindgren plays a lot of hands and believes he can bluff his way out of a lot of post-flop situations. That can mean collecting a lot of chips when he's up against a predictable opponent.

"I'll play a straight draw against the straightforward guys - guys who are only raising with the big hands, the really tight players," said Lindgren, who won the Party Poker Million and Ultimate Poker Classic during the last World Poker Tour season.

This is where you have to be able to put your opponent on a hand. You have to know his game and be able to break down his raising and calling patterns to determine what he's holding.

Lindgren cited a hand where he held 4-6 of clubs and the flop came 7-5-3 rainbow.

"I got lucky," said Lindgren, who plays against the public on Fulltiltpoker.com. "I had gin on the flop. I made a straight. The problem is, he's not going to fold his two queens. He bets, and I make a big raise on him, he's just going to push in."

The turn and the river were no help to either player, so Lindgren's opponent was done because he didn't have the discipline to get away from an overpair that might have looked good but wasn't the best.

Lindgren read his opponent as a big-card player, and the opponent played true to the scouting report.

"You look for stubborn players to play those hands," Lindgren said. "But I'm not going to play those hands against guys like Daniel (Negreanu) and Gus (Hansen) and Phil Ivey - guys who are super dangerous. Not only do they play a lot of hands, so I don't know where they are in the hands starting, (but) they might have a trap hand like mine. Even though I have position, I'm not inclined to mix it up with them.

"With the straightforward guys, I'm much more inclined to give them a little gamble pre-flop in hopes of busting them later."

Chuck Chancey knew he had a gambling problem. Not a bad one, he says, but "I was just going way too often, and I was spending way too much time, and it was getting kind of out of hand."

So, to get control of it, the Orland Park business owner started going to Gamblers Anonymous meetings. He signed a form that required Illinois casinos to ban him. If he did get in and win, he agreed to have any winnings turned over to charity.

Then, one day late last month, he felt like playing poker.

So he headed across the state line to Harrah's Casino in East Chicago on Nov. 22 and settled in at the poker tables. Poker wasn't going so well, so he headed to the slots, where -- bingo -- one chance came up a $4,000 winner.

A casino employee asked for his ID before paying him. His name popped up on a list of banned gamblers because he had signed up for the Illinois Gaming Board's "self-exclusion" program.

Harrah's staff told him his winnings would go to a Downers Grove charity, the Outreach Foundation for Problem and Compulsive Gamblers.

Chancey wasn't happy.

"I thought they were kind of being jerks about it," he said. "It was my right to have that money."

He got a lawyer, William Borah of Homewood, who wrote and called Harrah's demanding Chancey's money.

Borah argued that the Illinois board had no legal force in Indiana.

It worked. With one catch.

"They responded with a letter and said, here's your money, and you will be considered a trespasser, and you will be arrested if you come on the property again," Borah said.

Harrah's lawyer Tom Thanas wouldn't talk about Chancey. But he said it's casino policy that any gambler who asks to be excluded from one Harrah's casino because of a gambling problem is excluded from all of them.

"If you've admitted to that problem, we want to make sure we don't provide patrons with an opportunity to compound that problem," Thanas said.

Eric Randell laid his cards down with a slow flourish, and a man to his left groaned.

The kid's straight had just taken the hand.

Randell leaned forward, scooping the pile of chips to his chest. He deftly sorted them into neat stacks several rows wide across the green felt.

"I knew I was going to sit down at this poker table for a while," he said.

Around him, the office Christmas party was in mid-rip.

But he was staying put. His party was at the table.

Poker is the game of the season, apparently.

It's been turning up everywhere this year - from company get-togethers to college campuses to department-store shelves - driven by a nationwide Hold 'em fever started by cable shows that have turned the game into a public pastime.

Most of the credit usually goes to ESPN and the no-limit Hold 'em games at the World Series of Poker.

The series is an annual tournament played in Las Vegas, open to anyone who can front the $10,000 buy-in and make it through the qualification rounds.

ESPN has broadcast coverage of the series for the past few years. There was little hype at first.

Then came Chris Moneymaker. All it took to turn it into a phenomena was one amateur who made it big.

He was a 27-year-old accountant from Tennessee in 2003 when he entered an online-poker tournament and won a stake to the series. He borrowed travel money from friends and headed to Vegas to take his seat.

With only three years' playing experience, Moneymaker managed to outlast a casino full of pros to take the championship. He won the final round with a full house and took home $2.5 million.

And his win earned major ratings for ESPN.

"That's where most of the people have gotten the craze, watching it on ESPN," said Randell, a 20-year-old from Tallahassee who attends the University of Florida.

He saw it on TV his senior year of high school.

"It looked like fun," he said. "And it looked like you could make a lot of money if you were good.

"You know, everyone loves to take risks. Especially when there's money involved."

Everybody's doing it

Other cable networks jumped in for a piece of the action, too.

Travel Channel spokesman James Ashurst said his network's most popular show now is a weekly series called the "World Poker Tour." Meanwhile, Bravo has launched its own "Celebrity Poker Showdown" series with actors playing for charity.

All that TV coverage has helped give the game a whole new profile.

"Poker really has become part of mainstream America," Ashurst said. "We took it from the backroom and put it in the forefront."

Randell said he plays at least once a week, either online or with his frat brothers at UF. Spend $10 to get into the game, drink some beers, eat some pizza, and maybe do well enough to walk out with $100, he said.

It's a good time and hard to get in trouble staying at home with friends, he said.

Brian Rewiski owns an entertainment company in Tallahassee called GT Entertainment Casinos. He's been booked for 17 Christmas parties this year, and the poker table is always a hit, he said.

One frequent question he hears: "Is this the game I saw on TV?"

"It's kind of a hobby that people have taken to the next level," Rewiski said.

And retailers are betting on the fad for big sales this Christmas season.

Walgreens, Wal-Mart, Target, Sears, Toys "R" Us and dozens of other national chains are stocking everything from chips to hand-held video-poker games for holiday shoppers.

"It's huge right now," said Robert Davis, store director at the Toys "R" Us on Apalachee Parkway.

Last year, the store didn't have much in the way of poker. This Christmas, there isn't much the store doesn't have - poker chips, tables, cards and "all sorts of poker sets," Davis said.

Davis said most of the buyers are men ages 18 to 30. And he's even a poker player himself.

"I play it with my friends," he said. "It's a lot of fun."

Getting in on the game

The woman in the sequined dress squeezed into a seat next to Randell.

They were at a Christmas party thrown by a Tallahassee medical practice. Rewiski provided the entertainment.

"What are we playing?" the woman asked.

"Texas Hold 'em," Randell said. "You've got to get the five best cards."

That's the game most new poker converts swear by.

A dealer gives each player two cards, then deals three more onto the table, face up. The players try to put their two together with the table cards to come up with a winning hand.

If not, they each increase the bet, and the dealer lays out another card. Players can either fold or keep raising the bet until the dealer has cards on the table.

Then the best hand wins.

The appeal is that the game is fast-paced and easy to learn, according to Randell.

Not everyone can be a star football or basketball player - but anyone can learn to play Hold 'em, he said.

So there it is.

You just may get a deck of cards and some chips in your Christmas stocking this year. You'd better start practicing - the next World Series is only six months away.

And as Randell says:

"It's gotta beat working for a living."

CARTER LAKE, Iowa - A local business plans to capitalize on the popularity of poker by starting a tournament here Jan. 7 similar to the World Series of Poker, but on a smaller scale.

The ultimate winner of the 10-week tournament featuring Texas Hold 'em poker, in fact, would receive $10,000 to pay the entry fee for the World Series of Poker.

David Richter, a Council Bluffs attorney, told the Carter Lake City Council that the tournament would be played at Chez Paree, 1301 Locust Ave.

"It's going to be a very small-scale event," Richter said.

The tournament would be operated by David Richter Jr., Richter's son. The younger Richter plans to rent the building from M & F Inc., which is owned by businessman Butch Levell. The building formerly housed the White Horse Grill, which closed recently.

During the 1930s and 1940s, Chez Paree was the name of an illegal gambling casino in Carter Lake. Often described as the biggest gambling house between Chicago and Las Vegas, the Chez Paree was closed by Iowa authorities in 1949 and burned down four years later.

How the tournament proposed at the new Chez Paree stands under the law, however, is being debated by the State of Iowa and the Pottawattamie County Attorney's Office.

City Attorney Joe Thornton said he has not come to a conclusion on the matter.

Richter said he initially sought an opinion on the tournament's legality from the state. The Iowa Attorney General's Office indicated that his question was not clear.

Richter sought a determination from Pottawattamie County. County Attorney Matt Wilber responded by saying that the type of tournament Richter had described "would not likely be prosecuted by this office."

Wilber said it appeared that state law allows "bona fide contests" if certain requirements are met. Such contests can include "cribbage, bridge, chess, checkers, dominoes, pinochle and similar contests, leagues or tournaments."

"It is my opinion that the type of poker tournaments that you describe could fall under 'similar contests' and would therefore be lawful as a bona fide contest," Wilber wrote.

However, the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals describes Wilber's position in a letter sent Monday as "contrary to law."

Wilber disagreed in his reply to the department, essentially arguing that the tournament would fall under a loophole in the law.

Councilwoman Marcy Hawkins asked how Richter planned to proceed in light of the differing opinions.

Richter said he believes that the tournament is "clearly an exception" to Iowa law and would proceed. He has advised tournament operators that the event would be a "window of opportunity" that the Iowa Legislature probably would close.

"Right now it's legal, and I'll stand on that," he said.

The tournament would be run on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The entry fee initially would be $50. Once in, participants would not be able to cash in or leave.

"This has to be run like a tournament," Richter said.

Prizes would be awarded at various levels, and there would be various ways to qualify for a grand event.

The Chez Paree would not hold a liquor license, but operators might give beer to participants, Richter said.

1 Daniel Negreanu $1,770,218
2 Humberto Brenes (Miami, FL, United States) $923,475
3 Vinnie Landrum (Winnetka, CA) $462,851
4 Jennifer Harmon (Las Vegas Nv) $299,492
5 Steve Rassi (Morton, IL, United States) $217,812
6 Nam Le (Huntington Beach, CA, United States) $152,468

The prohibitive chip leader since early yesterday, Daniel Negreanu ended this taped WPT Championship event with a King kicker over an eight kicker. Humberto Brenes went all-in for over three million when the flop came 7 4 3. Brenes had 8 7. Daniel called the all-in quickly with K 7.

Since there were nearly 12 million in chips on the table and the starting blinds were only 20k/40k it was logical that it would take awhile to remove the first player. But right after the blinds were raised at the end of the first hour, the fireworks began.

Vinnie Landrum made a move to steal the blinds with K J off. Nam Le raised all-in with a dominating K Q. But he only has 210k more, so Vinnie called reluctantly. Vinnie was real sorry when he saw Nam's hand. But a Jack flopped to knock Nam Le out in 6th. Bad beat.

It looked like this would be another day when Jennifer Harman could do no wrong. Like two days ago when she went all-in against Hasan Habib with 8's against Jacks and flopped an 8. Or yesterday when she went all-in with pocket 5's and was covered by Humberto Brenes and pocket 6's. Then a 5 flopped. Today she called Steve Rassi's under the gun all-in with A Q from the big blind for all her 750k. Steve had Q Q. And an Ace flopped.

Steve has 50k left and is out on the next hand in 5th when he's all-in with Q 5 drawing dead to a 5 against Daniel Negreanu's A Q.

But today the luck ran out for the crowd favorite Harman.

Jennifer's out in 4th. She called Vinnie with A 7 from the small blind with her last 580k. Vinnie Landrum had pocket 3's. The three on the turn sealed her fate.

Humberto Brenes has the pocket 3's this time and they are golden once more. Vinnie Landrum has only 135k left when he calls Humberto's all-in from the big blind. Landrum has the A Q of Clubs and he gives the crowd a thrill when two clubs come. Brenes had flopped a set of 3's and he was holding on for dear life.

Vinnie Landrum is 3rd when all he has left goes in on the next hand. Both players check. Daniel hasn't looked at his hand and makes a straight.

Heads up Daniel has almost a 4-1 chip lead on Humberto Brenes. 9,000,000 to 2,300,000.

After Daniel makes quad 5's, on the next hand Humberto has pocket Q's and wins a 1.7 million pot to stay alive.

And that's when the inevitable happened.

Daniel Negreanu takes over the all-time WPT money lead along with the Player of the Year title he won yesterday.

From beneath the brim of his signature green Red Sox hat, Dan Harrington stared down his last three competitors in the 2004 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Two players had folded, and Harrington put his chips into play. After the first three cards -- the flop -- fell, Harrington moved his chips all in, a tactic that would either send him home or double his chip count if David Williams, the only other player in that hand, called his bet. Harrington, a professional player trying to push the amateur around, caught a bad break. In a rare bluff, Harrington lost the hand to a full house and walked away with $1.5 million, far from the first-place prize of $5 million, an all-time high.

Still, Harrington finished fourth at the tournament, held in May; last year he finished third, and back in 1995 he was the World Series champion. Harrington, who grew up in Belmont, is one of the most successful players in the 35-year history of the event. And now, with televised poker tournaments all the rage, Dan Harrington has become a household name.

"What Harrington did is one of the two or three top accomplishments in the history of the World Series of Poker," said Norman Chad, the color commentator for ESPN's coverage of the event, commenting on Harrington's performance in the past two years. Chad says Harrington's feats are even more noteworthy since the field of players at the tournament grew from 839 in 2003 to 2,576 this year.

Harrington is one of the poker players who have turned back-room card games and weekends at casinos into national fame. These superstars, such as 2003 World Series champ Chris Moneymaker and legend Howard Lederer, have ridden the wave of poker popularity that began in March 2003, when networks started airing tournaments.

"Ever sit in a restaurant and think people are talking about you?" Harrington said of his newfound fame. "They are talking about you now."

In a world where poker players are often characterized as sore losers, hotheads, and eccentrics, Harrington has carved out a niche as a pleasant exception. "There are a lot of young punks who are just filing into card rooms," Chad said. "They don't know how to win or lose with grace. Dan is a class act all around on the short list of the class acts."

The more than $3.5 million he has won playing poker are not the only millions Harrington has to his name. Unlike many of his competitors, poker is not Harrington's main source of income. He is one of the principal partners at Anchor Loans, an investing and mortgage company he started in Santa Monica, Calif., in 1994.

Harrington has applied his business mind-set to his poker playing. He is known as "Action Dan," an ironic nickname for a guy known as one of the most conservative players in the game. "I'm more like an investment banker," he said. "I am very conservative. I take limited chances."

In 1980 Harrington left Boston for Philadelphia to be closer to better poker games and to Atlantic City. By 1989 he had moved to California, where card rooms are legal and Las Vegas is reasonably close.

Growing up a diehard Red Sox fan, Harrington attended Christopher Columbus High, a private Catholic school in the North End. He stayed in Boston for college, attending Suffolk University, where he received his undergraduate and law degrees. It was at the Suffolk lunch tables that Harrington was introduced to competitive chess, backgammon, and poker. He was fascinated with games that involved mental stamina and probability.

In college, Harrington befriended Bill Robertie, a student at Harvard College, while climbing the ranks of the chess and backgammon players around Boston. Both earned the title of master chess players, and Harrington went on to win state championships in Massachusetts and New Jersey.

The two stayed in touch while Harrington crossed the country. After Harrington hit success at the World Series of Poker, the two began to collaborate on a three-volume book series. The first volume, "Harrington on Hold 'Em: Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments" (Two Plus Two Publishing), was released this year. The other volumes will be out next year.

Harrington said he loves Boston and might come back when he retires.

"I cherish it," he said. "But if you are a poker player Boston is not a good place to be. I have to be in retirement if I go back to Boston."

Institutional and venture capital investors’ appetite for egaming firms is running at record levels, according to the CEO of online casino giant, Carmen Media.
Tim Johnson, CEO of Gibraltar-based Carmen, said a private company could easily match the US$300m raised by publicly-listed Sportingbet for its acquisition of Paradise Poker in the current climate.

“The money for investment is there from big blue-chip companies should anybody require it, and you could very easily raise US$300m overnight even as a private company,” Johnson said.

“The desire to do co-owned joint ventures from blue-chip companies at the moment is that strong.”

Johnson’s comments echo those of many industry insiders who predict 2005 will see some of the larger egaming firms looking to raise capital to fund an acquisition drive.

Gibraltar-based iGlobalMedia hinted earlier this month it was looking to acquire a string of smaller poker sites to cement the dominance of its Party Poker subsidiary.

And several casino and sports betting firms are known to be pursuing IPOs in order to raise capital to buy up

“The industry has grown up to the point now where consolidation is just natural,” Johnson said.

“It’s been coming for a long time, but I think it will speed up in the next two years and it will be survival of the fittest.”

BELFAST - With the poker game Texas Hold 'Em drawing national TV audiences, an area veterans group is seeking permission to allow it in a local club. The City Council on Tuesday will consider a request from the Randall F. Collins Veterans of Foreign Wars Post for a permit to hold the poker games at the VFW's Field Street club.

The games are sanctioned by the state, but require a local permit as well.

Well-established in southern Maine, the game is growing in popularity in service clubs in northern and eastern Maine.

"Everybody wants to play, and we feel it would be good for us to have it," said local VFW bar manager Bill Sullivan on Thursday. "It's everywhere. It's all over TV and very interesting to watch. People who enjoy watching it are looking for places to play."

He said the Belfast veterans hope the game will boost interest in the club. He said many of the members enjoy playing bingo and other games of chance and that holding Texas Hold 'Em games seemed like a natural way to build on that.

Barry Hathaway, an inspector with the state police gaming division, said Texas Hold 'Em is licensed as a game of chance, "and clubs can hold the games within the confines of any game of chance that is licensed by the state. ... The only issue is the bet limit, and in Maine the limit is $1. That's the most a person can gamble with any one chance to win."

Under the rules of the seven-card game, players are dealt two cards face down. Three other common cards, known as the "flop," are dealt face up in the center of the poker table. A series of raises and calls is usually required before the final two common cards, known as the "turn" and the "river," are revealed. The person with the best five-card poker hand wins the pot.

Hathaway noted that because state law prohibits players from wagering more than $1 on any single game, Texas Hold 'em is usually played with poker chips.

As an example, a club could establish a $40 buy-in and players would receive 1,000 chips, thereby setting the value of each at 4 cents. That would enable a player to bet 25 chips per game before reaching the $1 limit.

"At some point in every poker hand a player can only risk $1," he said. "The organization has to police the bet limits."

Hathaway said some clubs sponsor tournaments that are open to the public, while others restrict the games to members and guests. The games can be run for profit, and the cost of a license is $15 per week. He said clubs can serve alcohol during games.

Hathaway noted that unlike skill games such as pool, darts, pinball or golf, whose players have been known to wager with one another, poker is considered a game of chance and is controlled by licensing and state law.

"Games of skill are not regulated," he said. "When you're looking at the skill of the player versus lady luck, that's when a game of chance comes in."

Sullivan said the Belfast club plans to run the poker games for a few weeks to precisely gauge their popularity. He said the club would still hold its Friday night bingo and also schedule pool and dart tournaments on a regular basis.

"We're just doing it for the entertainment factor," Sullivan said. "We're trying to get the club built back up and get things the veterans like to do. ... It's a good, fun game to play and everybody likes it."

Las Vegas, Nevada -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The eighth stop on the World Poker Tour (WPT) kicked off today at Bellagio, Las Vegas.

This year's event attracted 376 players for a $5,470,800 prize pool, a $2,426,050 increase over last year's event which drew 314 players.

The winner of this year's $15,000 buy-in event will take home $1,795,218 and will advance to the WPT World Championship when the Tour's season culminates at Bellagio in April 2005.

The World Poker Tour is the highest rated series in the history of the Travel Channel, airing Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Season's Three's total prize pool has already topped the $30 million mark at $30,456,770, a $13,736,490 increase over Season Two stops to date. The high stakes No- Limit Texas Hold'em tournaments are increasing the number of players at every stop on the Tour and are averaging a "poker millionaire a month." This season's prize pool is anticipated to reach $70 million.

Many recognizable faces were spotted today at the tables, including the likes of Annie Duke, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson, and John Juanda.

The public is invited to be a part of the WPT Final Table television audience when the Five Diamond World Poker Classic concludes at Bellagio on Saturday, December 18. Fans will be admitted from the WPT Viewing Party located in Ballroom 6. Admission is free and seating is first come, first serve; viewing party doors open at 3:30 p.m. and seating begins at 4:30 p.m. Fans will also have the opportunity to attend a second viewing party on Sunday for the taping of a new television special, WPT Young Guns of Poker.

This Season Three special will feature six of the game's youngest and hottest players. Location and admission times are identical to those of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic.

The ninth stop of the World Poker Tour's 16-tournament season will be the PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure from January 5-12 at Atlantis Resort in Paradise Island, Bahamas. For a complete WPT tournament schedule and casino contacts, please visit www.worldpokertour.com.

About WPT Enterprises, Inc.

WPT Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq: WPTE) is a media and entertainment company engaged in the creation of branded entertainment through the development, production and marketing of televised programming based on poker and other gaming themes.

It's another poker night, and Matt Bartkowski has just pulled off a great bluff with a lousy hand of a 6 and a 9. He dons a pair of boxing gloves, waves them in the air and hoots like the 16-year-old he is.

Several hands later, his hockey pal Tony Valerino fingers his chips and blurts out a confession: "I lose all my profit margin at Wendy's. It's amazing. You can play two hands for a Junior Bacon Cheeseburger."

These Mt. Lebanon boys are playing Texas Hold'Em, the poker game that has swept the nation and has trickled down to teenagers who wear sunglasses and roll chips with the swagger of pros like Daniel Negreanu. If you listen to their boyish banter, you might think teenage boys are just playing for fast-food change, but some of them will walk away with much more.

Without mowing a blade of grass or shoveling a flake of snow, Valerino won $720 playing poker almost daily in the summer, including $137 from a nine-hour game. (Alas, he has lost his golden touch after taking two months off).

Joe Petruska, 17, another of the eight players at this game, recently used $300 of his summer poker earnings to buy a guitar.

And Rick Beuke, 16, plays well enough to stash his $400 take this past year inside a flower pot in his bedroom.

Beuke, the host of this game, says a few teenagers might get hooked on poker, but most are just having fun.

"If they lose, they still go home and have a house and everything," Beuke says. "If you spend $10 on a Friday night of poker, you are entertaining yourself."

Fun or threat?

Poker, it seems, is everywhere these days. On TV screens. In volunteer fire hall tables. On office computers.

The game is so mainstream that if you walk into KB Toys, you will see poker chip sets across the aisle from the Fisher-Price Tickle 'n Teach Porcupine. Boys as young as 11 are betting for money, addiction experts say, because the game is glamorized so much on ESPN and other TV channels. Some teenage boys find it more exciting to watch than football.

Is it fun or addiction?

"Instead of whipping out the Monopoly boards, more and more kids are saying, 'Let's play Texas Hold'Em,'" says Jeffrey Derevensky, co-director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors at McGill University in Montreal.

Addiction experts are divided on whether this is a fairly innocuous fad or the latest worrisome youth trend.

Derevensky says 4 to 6 percent of youth in North America have a serious gambling addiction, double the rate of adults. While there is no breakout for poker addicts, he has treated a 17-year-old who lost $1,800 a month playing poker in after-hour clubs and others who go to bed dreaming of hands they should have played. "What starts as a simple social get together escalates into wagering with money they don't have."

He tells parents not to let their teenagers play for money because they have trouble setting limits. "Most parents view gambling as relatively innocuous, not as bad as other stuff," he says. "Yet if you talk to an individual who has had gambling problems, and many have had drug or alcohol problems too, they say the worst addiction is gambling."

But Ken Winters, professor of psychiatry at the University of Minnesota, sees no problem with parents supervising home poker games with teenagers and their friends.

"There are a lot of reasons not to pathologize this fad," he said. "There are a lot worse things teenagers can be doing with their free time -- binge drinking, drug use and driving around in cars under the influence and speeding. It requires more brain activity than other things kids do with their free time, such as watching TV."

Teenagers have bet on cards for decades, he says, without ending up at Gamblers Anonymous meetings. "I don't see it as having addictive potential for the overwhelming majority of teenagers" the way drugs do, says Winters, who believes the youth gambling statistics are inflated.

But he advises parents to set loss limits such as $10 per player per game.

Torey Beuke, the mother of Rick, monitors his gambling. She refused Rick's request to set up an online credit card account for him even though he offered to give her the $50 to fund it.

"Forget it. This is ridiculous," she told him.

"I had a fear it would get out of hand. I don't mind if he plays with his friends. It's a great social activity.

"He is pretty cautious," she says. "There are times he could lose $20, but he does win. That is the kicker about gambling. You think it is easy. You think you win because of skill, not luck. If it were that easy, we would all quit our jobs."

Torey and her husband, Richard, prefer the social interaction of poker games over video games and instant messaging. His sons' games remind Richard of the "nickle-dime-quarter" games he played in the '60s and '70s.

Chips, nerves, big talk

On a recent night at the Beuke house, the game's allure is evident. Between playful trash talking, you could almost feel the adrenaline rush as the momentum shifts between the hockey players gambling after a team dinner.

Beuke wins an early hand, neatly clinks down his chips and says, "One of the best things about poker is stacking chips."

His friend talks about one kid who is addicted and whose mother, he says, subsidizes his $40-a-night Hold'em habit.

"If your Mom gives you money," Beuke says, "there is no incentive to stop."

Bueke is going through his own money faster than usual this game. Two and half hours into the game, a player across the table says, "Beuke is so quiet. Usually he never stops talking."

A polite honor student who is wearing a Detroit Tigers cap, Beuke has won $70 the past five days, but is on his way to losing $30 in three hours. Because the game is at his house, he has broken his rule to leave the game once he lost $20. As he buys another $10 worth of chips, he says, "It's really annoying to watch other people play. It's not like you can leave."

Steve Millhouse, a 16-year-old wearing goggles he found, says, "When I lose, my mother always says, 'How much did you make?' I say, 'I had fun.'"

Everyone laughs knowingly.

Millhouse is bemoaning the fact that he is going to lose, and wishes he had stopped when he was up by $8. "I should have cashed out," says Millhouse. "I should have cashed out. I should have cashed out."

But he plays one final hand, where everyone else folds but him and Bartkowski. The chips fly as the other players hoot. Millhouse wins with a pair of jacks over Bartkowski's 10 and 9. He is up $20, less than the $45 of the winner, but enough to salvage the night.

"I want to thank everyone who helped me win money," Millhouse says as he scoops up the chips giddily.

Before walking out of the game room, Millhouse says, "The nerves are still jumping."

Boys will be boys

Some girls know the river from the turn card, but teenage poker players are overwhelmingly male, gambling experts say.

"Boys certainly tend to do it more often and earlier and with more money," says Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling. Derevensky says girl gambling is on the rise, too, but young women are more likely to wager on sports bets and on lottery tickets.

Jessica Viola, 17, a student at North Hills High School, plays poker only occasionally. "It's mostly the guys. They rip each other off and take each others' money."

Her younger brother, Frank, 14, doesn't have much money, so he only bets about $10 a month on poker. He and his ninth grade friends at North Hills Junior High School goof around, pretending like they are the poker pros on TV. "Everyone acts like we are grown up," he says. "We mess around with each other. We act like we run the place. We pretend we have poker faces. We put the glasses on."

Derevensky says poker pros on shows such as ESPN's "World Series of Poker" are so appealing because they represent "rags-to-riches fame. It is glamour brought to everyday life. They look like bums. They wear their baseball caps turned around. This is not Pierce Brosnan walking in with a tuxedo."

Tim Giangarlo, 16, of Jefferson Hills, prefers watching poker to football on TV. "It's really exciting to watch. You can go in with the worst cards and win. You can go in with the best cards and lose. The worst player in the world can win. The worst football player in the world can't win."

On a recent day, Giangarlo wolfs down some Cocoa Puffs before playing a for-fun game with his friends, soccer pals from Thomas Jefferson High School. Giangarlo wins this game inside the Pleasant Hills home of his friend because he is loose. No money was exchanged. Lacking a good poker face, he does better when he plays for-fun games or online.

The previous night he and his friends had lost $10 each to Mike Pappas, 15, who walked away $70 richer.

"I like to bluff," says Pappas. "I'm kind of calm. They don't know if I have a good hand or bad hand. I get invited to people's houses to play a lot."

But once a teenager gets too good, other kids don't want to play with them. Joe DiCicco, 18, of North Fayette, has that problem.

He is skilled enough to compete against adults in the Lebanese Club in Aliquippa, where he placed sixth out of 91 in one major tournament.

His nerves are on end playing at that level. "I go and see adults who drop $100 to $150 a night without batting an eye. I lose $20 and I cry."

He likes playing with friends at West Allegheny High School on weekends, but some kids have stopped inviting him to games.

"It's kind of bad in a way," DiCicco says. "They don't want me to take their money anymore."

It began innocently enough. A couple of San Diego State boosters, enamored with the poker fad sweeping the country, proposed a No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament that would double as a fund-raiser for athletic scholarships.

The boosters met with SDSU officials and got the OK. They'd find 100 people at a $1,000 buy-in each, with $25,000 going to payouts and the rest toward the school's athletic scholarship fund. They'd hold it at the poker room at Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino east of San Diego.

Out went the invitations.

The status of the poker night is uncertain, however. After the Union-Tribune tried several times to contact Poway Sports Council President Max Gelwix, whose group was promoting the event, and ask about the appropriateness of the event, a sports council representative said it has been canceled. SDSU Athletic Director Mike Bohn says it merely has been "postponed."

Either way, the whole ordeal is the latest example of what is becoming an increasingly sensitive issue for universities, particularly those with Division I athletic departments trying to make ends meet (which is most of them). And particularly in light of the NCAA's recent emphasis on curbing what it calls a "disturbing" frequency of gambling among its student-athletes.

The Texas Hold 'Em tournament would have netted SDSU $50,000, maybe a bit more – not its biggest fund-raiser but a nice single-day take for an athletic department that regularly operates in the red.

The bigger issue, though, may be the athletic department's longtime association with the Barona Band of Mission Indians and its business enterprises, which includes a resort, golf course and casino. It goes back 12 years, and SDSU recently celebrated Barona's cumulative sponsorship topping $1 million. The Aztecs are in the second year of a five-year deal that Bohn says is worth about $200,000 per year, or roughly 10 percent of the department's annual income from corporate sponsorships.

It's also the exact type of relationship in the crosshairs of the NCAA's Sports Wagering Task Force, which is scheduled to release a report next month that addresses, among other things, whether member schools should be taking money from gambling interests.

There is no NCAA rule or policy preventing it, and there doesn't figure to be any such legislation in the immediate future. Bill Saum, the director of agent, gambling and amateurism activities for the NCAA, would not disclose the exact wording of the report, saying only that the task force will not skirt the issue.

"I can say that the task force has discussed it and recognizes it is a growing issue across the country as schools try to maximize their revenue streams," Saum says. "It's going to be very clearly stated as a 'best practice' (in the report). It won't be a rule. But we want people to think about it and discuss it."

The blue-ribbon task force was assembled last spring after the NCAA released the results of an exhaustive survey of 20,000 student-athletes and their gambling habits. Two-thirds admitted to participating in some form of gambling over the past year, and one-third of males said they engaged in some type of sports wagering.

Perhaps most troubling, 1.4 percent of football players "admitted having affected the outcome of a game because of gambling debts."

The NCAA is most concerned about sports wagering and, more specifically, about betting on an athlete's own team or receiving money to affect an outcome or point spread. And Barona's casino, like all American Indian gaming entities in California, does not have a sports book.

But the NCAA also acknowledges that any type of wagering is worrisome and potentially addictive, and gambling experts talk about the slippery slope from the friendly pool-hall bet to the blackjack table to sports bookie.

"One thing may lead to another," says Jeffrey Derevensky, the co-director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems at McGill University in Montreal and a member of the NCAA task force. "If you start losing on one thing, and you're now in debt, and you think you have knowledge about college games, the next thing you know you're wagering on them."

There are no figures on how many athletic departments have relationships with gaming interests, but it appears to be a small number. The NCAA's Saum says "a lot of schools are turning down" the offers.

The Pacific 10 Conference "discourages" accepting such sponsorships "given the emphasis that the NCAA has placed on gambling" but leaves the ultimate decision to its member schools, according to Assistant Commissioner Mike Matthews. He says a few have been approached by Indian casinos and declined.

The Mountain West Conference has no direct sponsorship deals with alcohol or gaming interests.

"We don't pursue those types of sponsorships," Assistant Commissioner Dan Butterly said. "We're aware of the NCAA issues with it . . . But our member institutions have been adamant: Don't tell us who to get or who not to get as sponsors."

The result: UNLV has had relationships with Las Vegas hotels that feature casinos and sports books. SDSU has Barona and some smaller deals with other area tribes that have casinos. New Mexico's athletic department has deals with three different Indian gaming interests worth an estimated $150,000.

"It's a real concern in college athletics," said Darren Dunn, UNM's associate athletic director for corporate development and a San Pasqual High alum. "But I think we work closely with our student-athletes to know what they can and can't do. If we totally banned casino gambling and alcohol advertising, I don't think people are going to stop gambling and stop drinking.

"You just can't flaunt it, and I don't think we do."

Most of the schools accepting casino money tend not to belong to the major football conferences that can rely on millions in annual income from Bowl Championship Series payouts.

"How about if we take away their BCS money?" Dunn says. "Let's see if they take (Indian casino money) now."

While Bohn did not negotiate the current deal with Barona, he supports it wholeheartedly. He also had a similar sponsorship arrangement in his previous post, at the University of Idaho.

"Our agreement is not solely with the gaming establishment," Bohn says. "It's with the entire tribe, and I salute the way they present themselves in our sponsorship. Never have they pushed or encroached upon the gambling arena. It's all about their tribe and their association with this community and their commitment to education.

"We understand the fine line we tread upon. Some people might say they're always promoting gambling. I'd say that's not the case at all . . . You've seen the signs. It says Barona. It doesn't talk about go out and gamble. We don't promote the gaming."

And indeed, the signage across the scorer's table at Cox Arena says Barona Valley Ranch Resort. The deal stipulates that the word "casino" does not appear as part of on-campus advertisements, which is where some people draw the line between an acceptable and unacceptable sponsorship in a university setting – particularly for a casino, such as Barona, that allows over-18 gambling.

"If it says Holiday Inn resort versus Holiday Inn resort and casino," the NCAA's Saum says, "there's a difference there."

But look closer, and the line begins to blur. Barona's radio ads during SDSU men's basketball broadcasts claim it has the "luckiest slots." A banner to cover upper-deck seating at Qualcomm Stadium during Aztecs football games says "Barona Valley Ranch Resort and Casino," and a message from Barona on the stadium video board makes reference to the casino. A few years ago, a 10-paragraph news release from the SDSU athletic department about Barona's sponsorship of a golf tournament mentioned "casino" five times.

"I don't see why they have to advertise at all," says Derevensky. "Are they buying advertising or are they donating money to a scholarship fund? I think the two should be mutually exclusive . . . If they're just giving money to the university with no strings attached, I'm the first one to say: Take it, that's fine.

"But they shouldn't be advertising this thing as part of that."

Barona's deal with SDSU represents about one-fifth of its $1 million in annual community giving, according to David Baron, the tribe's director of government affairs.

"(Advertising) is in the package they offer us," says Baron, who participated in Aztecs crew in the mid-1980s. "If you're an entity such as Barona Valley Ranch and Resort and you're going to put out a large amount of money in a public way, you want to have some sort of recognition."

A No Limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament to raise scholarship money crosses the line even further, according to several members of the NCAA task force.

"It's probably inappropriate," Saum says. "Human beings are involved, participating. We're now engaging people to participate in the act of gambling. There's money being risked."

Adds Derevensky: "It sends a mixed message. We're telling athletes they shouldn't gamble, and yet we're getting scholarship money for them through gambling . . . I'm not sure if the athletes will ever know if their scholarship was paid by gambling losses, but I think it's quite silly. I mean, would you sell beer on campus to get money for a binge-drinking prevention program?"

Bohn disagrees, saying he is hopeful the poker night's off-campus organizers will reschedule.

"There's no difference from some of our golf events in a competition-like format," Bohn says. "It's based on the popularity of the Texas Hold 'Em format. They just want to get together and have fun and have something to compete for while raising money for scholarships. That's all it is. It's taking advantage of a fad.

"I don't have a problem with it."

Snooker star Matthew Stevens has won $500,000 (£260,000) after swapping the green baize for the poker table.

The Carmarthen potter who only started playing the card game 18 months ago won the UK's richest poker tournament.

Stevens beat tennis star Yevgeny Kafelnikov and darts champion Phil Taylor in the televised final.

The 27-year-old has flown out to New York on a holiday to spend some of his winnings due to the exchange rate.

Before he left Stevens said: "This is absolutely unbelievable and I am in a complete daze.

"It's a dream to win a poker tournament having only been playing for a short time.

"I was quietly confident going into the final but if at the start of the tournament you'd have told me I'd be winning it, I'd have thought you were barmy."

The final, screened on Sunday night, was pre-recorded and Stevens has already set about spending some of the money.

Stevens, who is ranked the sixth best snooker player in the world, became a father earlier this year.

His agent Brendan Parker said due to the current exchange rate between the pound and the dollar Stevens was away this week in New York.

"It's somewhere he had always wanted to go so he is away on a week's holiday spending some of his winnings," he explained.

To get to the final Stevens had to beat poker professionals and online qualifiers that made up a field of 108 hopefuls.

World darts champion Taylor finished second and Kafelnikov, who has announced his retirement from tennis to concentrate on professional poker, came third.

Taylor said: "I couldn't have been beaten by a better person than Matthew. This tournament has been one of the highlights of my life."

To be an ace at poker, you've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em - or just know when to tune in.

Televised tournaments have stoked poker's popularity in the last couple years, teaching the game to countless new players, young and old.

Now, felt tables, cards and casino-quality chip sets are featured in many retail stores and look to be popular holiday gifts this season.

Locally, the increase in people wanting to learn the sport has led to Dealer's Choice owner Phil Hawkins looking for a new location to expand his card room on Bowman Road.

It's just another sign that the poker craze sweeping the nation has come to Auburn.

The city boasts many top-notch players. Just last weekend, Hawkins won Five-Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. He took home over $100,000 in the Omaha Hi/Lo Split event, beating out one of the world's highest-ranked players, "Miami" John Cernuto.

The card room on Bowman Road holds games and the occasional tournaments Wednesday through Sunday.

They usually play Texas Hold'em, Hawkins said, because it's the easiest to learn and most requested game.

Many newcomers to the table approach him, and Hawkins doesn't mind passing on his expertise - he learned the game from his grandmother as a 6-year-old playing for jellybeans.

"That was a lot more precious than money back then," he said.

Players for Wednesday night's hold 'em game are regulars. They sit with stone poker faces and talk little, no doubt mired in thoughts of strategy and reads on their opponents.

Hawkins' wife, Linda, who is also a player and deals many nights, tosses out two hole cards to each player. They peel back the corners to take a peek at their prospects. Many play one to two times a week.

"It's really an American pastime. It's always been there, but TV has really brought it out," said Jeff Sardella, a regular player who is looking to partner with Hawkins on a new card room.

Players say The Travel Channel show "World Poker Tour," along with ESPN's coverage of the World Series of Poker have brought a lot of new people to the sport.

"A lot of people were afraid to come in and say I don't know how (to play). But Texas Hold'em is the easiest poker game and now you can learn on TV," said Geno Davis of Auburn, who has played in some 20 tourneys.

Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" and other celebrity poker players have upped the ante for poker's "it" factor. Notorious poker-faced celebs include Ben Affleck, who pulled down $356,400 in a state championship this summer in Commerce, Calif. Affleck is even set to star next year in an untitled comedy set against a backdrop of the World Series of Poker.

But before poker was Hollywood, it was seedy.

Poker was first played in this country on Mississippi River boats where it was a popular "cheating game" that used only aces, kings, queens, jacks and tens.

It then moved westward. With the influx of people and money brought in with the California Gold Rush, it was not uncommon for several saloons in one mining town to be offering the game.

Today, poker has evolved into dozens of variations, from Pass the Trash, where players give their discards to the person on the left, to Acey Deucey, where aces and twos are wild.

The pros in this sport are now like other athletes, with sponsors who pay for their buy-ins to tournaments and hotel stays.

And with the money to be won, they are paid like other athletes, too. This year's World Series of Poker winner was Greg Raymer, who beat out 2,576 players to claim a $5 million prize. Last year, Chris Moneymaker edged out only 839 players for a measly $2.5 million.

John Bingham of Hobby Monkey in Rocklin said he's noticed sales of his store's poker products surge since ESPN aired the 2004 World Series of Poker this summer. Now that other large retailers such as CostCo, Wal-Mart and Target have begun selling them, sales have dropped off but the interest is still there, especially with younger players.

"More so than adults, the biggest thing I've seen is kids are far more aware of it and far more likely to play at home," he said.

Zack Hoyer, 26, of Auburn, said he's known the game since he was 8 and took $30 in winnings from a family poker night. He started playing at Feather Falls Casino at age 18 while going to school at Chico State. Now, old college roommates are jumping on the bandwagon, asking if he wants to get together for a poker night.

He even knows of families who had Texas Hold'em tournaments after Thanksgiving dinner this year.

"So many people who haven't ever been in a card room before are playing now," Hoyer said.

One place that cuts the card room out of playing poker is the Internet, where by simply logging on, players can transfer money and lay down their chips with a click of a mouse.

It's a good place to learn the basics, but nothing can replace the thrill of spotting a tell for Hawkins.

"On the Internet you can learn the basics," Hawkins said. "But the whole thing in poker with high limits - when someone puts $30,000 out on the table - you're going to have to be able to look them in the eye and know they're lying."

COLUMBUS - The West was wild and wooly when Calamity Jane last dealt cards in Columbus.

Starting next week, she'll be back, more than a century later, dealing poker at the New Atlas Bar.

Dianne Gleason is opening the New Calamity Jane Card Room at the back of the bar on Dec. 18. Festivities begin with free food and beer beginning at noon, followed by Gleason, playing Calamity, performing her historical show free at 2 p.m. The betting begins at 4 p.m. when Calamity shuffles the cards for the bar's first game of poker in years. Beginning Dec. 19, she'll be dealing cards every Sunday, from 4 p.m. to midnight.

"If there are enough players, I'll stay till 2 (a.m.)," Gleason said.

Dana Burchell, who manages the New Atlas, thinks the new twist on gambling should be a draw for the bar.

"I think it'll be fun, especially with her celebrity," Burchell said. "She's quite a colorful character."

Gleason is not only a colorful character, some say she could be Calamity Jane reincarnate. She took on Calamity's persona several years ago as a champion cowboy action shooter and moved from Deadwood, S.D., to the Livingston area last spring. Since then, she's been entertaining crowds with her nightly performances in Livingston and her presence at local rodeos and parades.

Gleason is a walking encyclopedia of Calamity Jane lore. She claims her namesake drank and dealt a game called Faro in the Columbus bar in the late 1800s – years before it became the "New" Atlas. The original Calamity's Faro outfit, complete with a German silver dealer box, is on display downstairs at the Peter Yegen Jr. Yellowstone County Museum at Logan International Airport.

Gleason says it's a misconception that Calamity spent all her time in Deadwood. In fact, she says, Calamity crisscrossed Montana off and on for 23 years.

"She was heavy in this area from 1884 to 1901," Gleason said, noting that Calamity lived in a cabin up Canyon Creek north of Laurel, at the same spot where a monument now marks the Nez Perce Battle.

According to Gleason's research, a butte just above the cabin served as a cache for horses stolen by two of Calamity's compadres, Rattlesnake Jake and Long-haired Owen. When the two men were shot dead on the main street of Lewistown on July 4, 1884 - for beating a town local - a band of vigilantes went after Calamity. She saved her own life with some quick talking, Gleason said.

"She walked the line - she was never into serious crime, but she walked a fine line," she said.

Whenever Calamity was ready to pull up stakes, which she did frequently, Gleason surmises that she would have headed down to Columbus or Billings to catch the train.

"She wasn't always welcome in Billings," she said. "She was run out of town several times for her shenanigans on Montana (Avenue)."

Back when the original Calamity dealt cards in Columbus, the game of Faro - not poker - was king. Played similar to roulette, only with cards instead of a wheel, Faro gave just about even odds to the player and the house.

"The only thing was, there was no such thing as an honest game of Faro," Gleason said.

The game was eventually banned by supporters of the temperance movement, who believed that "if you could outlaw alcohol and Faro, you could keep your husband home," she said.

Back in its heyday, Gleason said, Faro was referred to as "buckin' the tiger." Wherever a game was in progress, they always hung a picture of a Bengal tiger out front.

Gleason's got her own "buckin' the tiger" banner that she'll hang at the Atlas when she's dealing cards. Only this time, it won't be Faro but a rousing game of "Texas Holdum," the poker game, usually spelled as "Texas Hold 'em," that's been sweeping the country.

"It's huge. Women and young people - a whole spectrum of people - play Texas Holdum now," she said.

That includes Annie Duke, who lived in Columbus off and on during the 1990s and still has family there. In August, Duke took home the $2 million prize for winning the 2004 ESPN World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions.

At the New Atlas, Texas Holdum will be played on one of the original poker tables. The game can be played with a minimum of four players, up to a full table of nine. The poker variant is limited to $300 per pot in Montana, Gleason said, so that means bets typically start at $3 to $6.

Gleason is looking forward to bringing Calamity back to one of her old haunts.

"I get to walk in her footsteps when I'm doing this," she said.

Besides dealing weekly poker games at the New Atlas, Gleason will spend Thursday nights this winter at the Huntley Lodge in Big Sky, performing her one-woman show. Like Calamity, Gleason is a woman willing to rope opportunities that come her way.

"Those were hard times," she said, referring to the Victorian era in which the original Calamity earned notoriety for bucking tradition. "She was just trying to get by."

Nyla Wells, 44, is a mother of four. But when her daughters are in school, she puts her motherly duties aside and heads to a different kind of table.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on many days, she can be found at one of the local Indian casinos, partaking in one of the fastest-growing leisure activities — poker.

"I do good," said Wells, of Mira Loma, as she sat at a table at San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in Highland. She learned to play poker in her grandmother's poker house. "I win about 85 percent of the time."

Two centuries ago, poker was considered a game of cheats and hustlers, found only in Old West saloons or on Mississippi riverboats. Today, the face of poker has changed and poker players are emerging from all walks of life.

"Poker is clearly shedding its back room, rough and tough image, as more people find out how intrinsically interesting it can be," said Steven Lipscomb, creator and co-producer of the Travel Channel's "World Poker Tour." "Influentials in Hollywood and the business world have embraced poker as a charismatic game of strategy, psychology and showmanship."

Within the last two years, poker has become increasingly popular, dealing its way into family living rooms across the nation. Poker connoisseurs credit its revived popularity to the advancement in technology, but agree that its fan base has always existed.

Jill Philbrook, marketing director for San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino in Highland, said television shows, especially with celebrities playing, have drawn a lot more people to the game of poker, who regularly don't play.

"It" s the last two to three years that we've seen a surge in popularity," Philbrook said. "We" re certainly seeing more customers wanting to come in to play poker and a lot of customers waiting to play."

She said the casino, which has seen an increase in business, will be opening a new gaming facility in January with a poker room twice as big as the one they have now.

"There" s certainly a rise in popularity and customers playing the game," Philbrook said. "We have certainly seen an increase in interest in poker."

Andrew Hill Newman, one of the executive producers of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," said people have been playing poker "for a long time, and now people get to see how fun it is because of the massive media coverage."

Each of that show's episodes features five celebrities competing against each other for $250,000 that is donated to a charity.

"I think for our show, people come for the celebrities and stay for the poker," Newman said.

The producers came up with the idea while actually participating in private games where they found themselves sitting next to celebrities, he said.

"One of the things that is extremely entertaining at our show is that you" re seeing a side of these celebrities that you don't get to see anywhere else," Newman said. "I think if you want to get to know someone, sit across a poker table and you" ll see what they're really like."

The popularity in poker isn't confined to state lines. Nevada casinos have seen an increase in players, said Keith Copher, chief of enforcement for the Nevada Gaming Control Board. Copher said although poker revenue is combined with other games because it's not that substantial, there are other indicators of its popularity.

"Several casinos have increased the size and remodeled their poker rooms," Copher said. "It has been very beneficial."

Philbrook said Internet gaming has also contributed to poker's popularity.

"I think the Internet is a way where people can check out poker," Philbrook said. "It gives people an opportunity to try it before they come down to San Manuel."

Newman said the Internet has capitalized on the trend as well as added to the popularity of the game.

"I personally prefer playing real poker with real people, but it certainly has helped keep the expansion of poker alive," he said.

Newman said what players like about Internet poker sites is that they can log on at any time and play with people all over the world.

However, this convenience has led to another problem. Copher said the U.S. Attorney views any type of Internet wagering in the United States as illegal and a violation of the Wire Act.

"The Web site itself, the operators are functioning legally, but once they are crossing to the U.S., they are functioning illegally," Copher said about many of the Internet poker sites that are operated out of the Caribbean.

Internet sites also offer many variations on traditional casino favorites, like Texas Hold 'Em, Omaha and Stud.

Colton resident Tyler Huisken, 24, said he began playing poker two years ago after a trip to Las Vegas, and he now plays about twice a week either at home or at local casinos.

"It" s just entertainment," he said. "I" m not going expecting to win. … I'm not hoping to win the big jackpot, but it would be nice."

Huisken has played Five-Card Draw, Seven-Card Stud and Omaha, but he recently began playing Texas Hold 'Em after seeing it on TV.

"When you" re at a table, you can tell who knows how to play and who doesn't," he said.

Huisken said he enjoys playing because it really is a game of wits.

"There" s so much involved that you have to think," he said. "Some of the (casino) games, you don" t have to think; you just throw your money out there and they play it for you."

Ontario resident Russell Rubio, 31, said he learned to play poker from his dad when he was 15 years old and now he has his own poker nights, which can bring crowds of up to 40 people.

"It" s not just a bunch of guys sitting around either," Rubio said. "They bring their girlfriends, or their wives and their friends."

He occasionally watches poker shows like "World Series of Poker' and "World Poker Tour' to study what moves the players make.

"It" s not just the chips and the cards, but how you read somebody," Rubio said.

Gary Thompson, spokesman for Harrah's Entertainment, which owns "World Series of Poker on ESPN, agreed.

"It" s a very simple game to understand and a very complex game to play," Thompson said. "It" s easy to read the cards and know hands are out there, but it's very hard to read the player."

Thompson said it's a very complicated and psychological game because of this human element.

"You see what a player" s character is like when they are in a situation where there is a big amount of money or prestige at risk," he said.

Thompson said one of the things that adds to the popularity of poker is that it is a game everybody can play because it is based on skill as well as luck.

"I can" t beat Tiger Woods on a golf course, but I can sit at a table and play the same hand that a guy just played and win $5 million," Thompson said.

Lipscomb said poker is a psychological game based on outmaneuvering or outwitting other players.

"I think people love it and keep coming back not just for the high stakes and the money — it" s for the rush of putting all of your senses on the line in a contest against other people," Lipscomb said.

Lipscomb said the poker industry was actually in a decline before "World Poker Tour' was created.

"It" s just increasing the number of people who are finding the great American card game and finding a way to incorporate it into their homes," Lipscomb said.

TEXAS CITY — More than 80 people will have to ante up $183 to the city following a Texas Hold ’Em poker raid.

Despite the bar owner’s contention he checked the legality of a poker tourney, Texas City police say they have all the chips.

Police raided a Texas Hold ’Em poker tournament at the Shenanigan’s Nightclub Sunday. The club’s owner was arrested, and 83 people were issued citations for gambling.

Texas City municipal court clerk Carol Grady said her office received several phone calls Monday from people seeking information on the possible fines and what steps to take to challenge the charges in court.

Grady said those who received citations would have to pay a $183 fine if they do not challenge the charges in court.

All of the citations are class C misdemeanors that would go before the city’s municipal court.

It was not the amount Dickinson resident Jack Johnson was expecting to ante up when he sat down to play Sunday. He was one of the people cited.

“This is one of those situations where a little bit of communication would have gone a long way in this situation,” said Johnson, who was playing in the club’s regular Sunday afternoon tournament for the third time when police came in. “This is exactly the sort of format I have seen in pool or dart tournaments, so I didn’t think it was that big a deal.

“It should be the same thing.”

But Texas City police spokesman Sgt. Curtis Pope points to Section 47 of the Texas Penal Code, which notes even the most innocent game of poker becomes illegal when it’s in a public establishment such as Shenanigans.

“The (law) is set out pretty clear,” Pope said. “This was a licensed premises open to the public, and no one can question that poker is not gambling.”

While Texas law does allow for poker games in one’s individual household under certain conditions — namely that the “house” does not take a cut of the winnings or sets a fee for other services — a game in an establishment such as a nightclub constitutes a gambling place under the law, Pope said.

While the law does makes exceptions for entry fees and payouts to take place in games of skill, such as pool or dart tournaments, it does not, according to Section 47.02, do the same for card games.

Part 3 of that section notes that, “A person commits an offense if he plays and bets for money or other thing of value at any game played with cards, dice, balls or any other gambling device.”

That, said Pope, was the reasoning behind the raid, which followed up a “short-termed investigation” of the game.

Club owners said the tournament had been going on for the past five weeks at the nightclub.

Because the gambling as defined by the law took place in a public establishment such as a nightclub, the club’s owner, Frank Skaggs — a former mayoral candidate in Texas City — as well as a woman listed as the tournament’s organizer, were arrested for keeping a gambling place under Section 47.04 of the penal code, Pope said.

Police said Skaggs posted the $1,000 bail for the class A misdemeanor and was released.

This is not the first run in Skaggs has had with the city over what some consider gambling in his establishments.

Last year, the longtime club owner sued the city over what he considered an overbearing ordinance on 8-liners, the electronic devices similar to slot machines that can be found in game rooms across the county.

Texas City commissioners had barred such machines from operating in the city limits.

Skaggs eventually settled the lawsuit with the city that included a less restrictive ordinance.

He eventually opened a large game room next door to his nightclub.

Johnson said he doesn’t believe Skaggs or anyone who was playing poker did anything wrong.

“If that’s what the law says, then that’s fine, but it should be changed,” he said. “People had no earthly idea what was going on, and we figured that a man like Frank would have covered his tracks.

“I just wish the law would make it known what is and isn’t OK because you see this sort of stuff everywhere.”

MERRIMACK, N.H. and LAS VEGAS, Dec. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Running the tables this Holiday season, specialty retailer Brookstone, Inc. has teamed up with poker legend and best-selling author Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson to launch a premiere line of poker products and promote Brunson's highly anticipated new book Super/System 2.

Beginning today, poker fans around the country can register to win a limited, autographed copy of Brunson's Super/System 2 by logging onto http://www.brookstone.com and typing "Doyle Brunson" in the search box.

In addition, Brunson will conduct a book signing and poker exhibition on Thursday, Dec. 9, from 2-4 p.m. at the Brookstone store at Rockefeller Center in New York. Brunson will sign advance copies of Super/System 2 while they last and will play Texas Hold'em poker using Brookstone's premiere Professional Poker Set with randomly selected people who attend the book signing.

"Brookstone is pleased to be the only retailer in the entire country to offer customers a chance to purchase or win a limited, advance copy of this highly anticipated new book by Doyle Brunson, the renowned patriarch of modern poker," Brookstone Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Michael Anthony said. "We feel this partnership with Mr. Brunson underscores Brookstone's position in the marketplace as the retailer of choice for Holiday gifts and complements our premiere line of authentic poker products, including our Professional Poker Set."

"I've been a fan of Brookstone for many years and believe the retailer is a great venue to promote Super/System 2 to a customer base that is accustomed to innovation and quality," Doyle Brunson said. "I'm looking forward to making the insight and experience contained in Super/System 2 available to players of all levels who want to learn more about how to play and increase their chances of winning at the wonderful game of poker."

Brookstone's premiere Holiday poker lineup includes the Professional Poker Set ($125), which features 400 professional weight chips at 11.5 grams and five instructional cards in a deluxe felt-lined carrying case, as well as a variety of other poker products that range from casino sets, to card shufflers to electronic handheld games.

People who attend the book signing at the Brookstone store at Rockefeller Center in New York can buy advance copies while they last, and Brookstone will give away 100 autographed copies to randomly selected entrants who register online at http://www.brookstone.com.

About Brookstone, Inc.

Brookstone, Inc. is a specialty retailer that operates 286 Brookstone Brand stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico. Typically located in high-traffic regional shopping malls and airports, the stores feature unique and innovative consumer products. The Company also operates five stores under the Gardeners Eden Brand, and a direct marketing business that consists of three catalogs titles -- Brookstone, Hard-to-Find Tools and Gardeners Eden.

About Doyle Brunson

Doyle Brunson, affectionately known as "Texas Dolly," has reigned over five decades of poker and has sold more than 300,000 copies of his definitive poker guide Super System around the world. His book has gained the respect of both fellow poker pros and serious amateurs who love the game. Brunson, one of the most important figures in the history of poker, continues to promote gambling as a respectable profession. As a member of the world renowned Poker Hall of Fame, he has won nine gold bracelets in the World Series of Poker and claimed poker's biggest prize -- the main-event World Championship -- back-to- back in 1976 and 1977.

CABAZON - Doyle Brunson, the patriarch of modern poker, has a small wager going with relative newcomer, Eli Elezra.

They've got $5,000 on who can guess the randomly drawn number that will determine where they sit in the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament that began Thursday at Morongo Casino. Twenty-four numbers, 24 players.

Elezra's 18 comes close enough to his guess of 13 to collect the loot.

Another player laughs.

"That's what they call a cute bet a small bet," Johnny Myung says.

So, if five grand is cute, what's serious?

He shrugs, "Hundred."

As in $100,000.

Welcome to the world of high-stakes professional poker.

Fox Sports Net began taping the second annual edition of the tournament Thursday on a closed set in a banquet room in the new quarter-billion-dollar Morongo casino, resort and spa. The $40,000 buy-in, Texas Hold 'Em matchup will air as a series on the cable sports channel March 13 through October 30.

The tournament, which tapes through Tuesday, has brought to town many of the world's best players, including Brunson, Poker hall-of-famer Johnny Chan and the man with the most appropriate name around, Chris Moneymaker.

Brunson, 71, has been gambling longer than most of his young buck colleagues have been breathing. And things have changed a lot since he roamed the state of Texas playing in seedy, unorganized games.

"I never did believe it would happen," Brunson said in his trademark drawl, recounting the meteoric rise of poker.

He attributed the recent popularity of the game to the easy accessibility of online poker and the televised tournaments, such as the invitational.

Poker can be found these days on ESPN, BRAVO, the Travel Channel, network TV and, of course, Fox Sports, not to mention in casinos like Morongo and at countless home games.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians hopes to capitalize on some of poker's growing appeal as it prepares for the new casino's official opening Dec. 10.

"We're gonna get a lot of exposure," said Tribal Chairman Maurice Lyons, with a smile as wide as a kid at Christmas. "When our people see what we've done here, they're going to be impressed."

The players got going Thursday morning with a table that included Chan and Moneymaker. Tables of five cycled through every couple of hours. No one is eliminated in these early rounds, but those with the most chips coming out of the first few days will have the early advantage as the competition gets more serious.

Chan was wearing a shirt that looked a lot like lycra with a flamboyant tiger print encompassing every inch, front to back. Moneymaker slipped on a pair of dark sunglasses before play started but pushed them to the top of his head after some peer pressure and good-natured ribbing from his naked-eyed comrades.

Just like any number of home games, there was some confusion as to how much the big and small blinds would be. Blinds are minimum bets required before a hand starts. Unlike most amateur games, however, the amounts were set at $2,500 and $5,000 and doubled a scant half hour later.

There were a few snafus. One card fell to the ground and flipped over while another sailed onto the dealer's chair. But those things can be endearing to the casual fan.

People are attracted to poker because they can identify with the biggest stars of the game. Scotty Nguyen doesn't fly through the air like Michael Jordan. Barry Greenstein can't crush leather balls 400 feet into the ocean a la Barry Bonds.

Moneymaker, who has become one of the famous players on the poker tour, was an online amateur in 2003 when he plunked down all of $40, won a qualifying tournament and turned the paltry amount into $2.5 million by winning the World Series of Poker.

Greenstein, who won a few early pots at the invitational Thursday, said it's often tougher for him to play against amateurs because he hasn't seen them before and doesn't understand their styles.

"People are playing more Hold 'Em," Greenstein said. "Anyone's capable of winning."

Well, not just anyone.

Like anything else in life, becoming one of the best poker players in the world takes practice.

"The only way," Brunson said, "is to keep playing."

Poker and recreational expo combines to create exciting series of events that start in Reno/Lake Tahoe in April 2005. The tournament is free to anybody who wishes to play with the ultimate series prize being a buy in to one of the major televised poker tournaments. The recreational expo that surrounds the play will highlight everything from boats to big screen TVs and offer the attendees several chances to win big money.

Reno, NV (PRWE November 2, 2004 -- Bledsoe Productions LC of Dallas, Texas, today announced Reno, Nevada as the first venue in the series of five Poker on the Road Recreational Expo and Tournaments. www.pokerontheroad.com.

Produced by Dynamic Solutions Group of Carlsbad, California www.dynamicsolutionsgroup.net and hosted by the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno www.atlantiscasino.com, the first tournament and expo will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd, 2005. The Recreational Expo will be held at the Reno/Sparks Convention Center adjacent to the Atlantis Casino www.renolaketahoe.com. Plans for the expo include an extensive variety of toys for all ages, from poker accessories and consumer electronics to big boy toys for the indoor and outdoors. The expo will have something for everyone. Create an ultimate game room or check out the latest in recreational excitement!

The Poker On the Road and Recreational Expo series will combine an exhilarating competition of No-Limit Texas Hold’em (single table shoot-outs) with the excitement of a diverse exhibition of today’s latest recreational products. Over five venues, the tournaments will narrow down thousands of poker players to a table of ten, all vying for the grand prize, a buy into one of the major national poker tournaments.

“Poker on the Road offers every poker player no matter their skill level the opportunity to gain entry into one of the major poker tournaments. The best thing about the tournament is that is FREE to all players. The Poker On The Road Tournament is a great way for poker players to work their way into a major tournament, one that they might otherwise not have the means to do so,” says David Bledsoe, President of Bledsoe Productions and executive producer of the shows.

“To combine one of America’s favorite pastimes with an exhibition highlighting recreation as a whole made it a project DSG could not refuse,” said Paul Graham, Executive Strategist at Dynamic Solutions Group. “The fact that the tournaments are absolutely free and open to the public will ensure a strong turn-out and add substantial value and exposure for the exhibitors.”

“Dynamic Solutions Group has the resources and organization to develop one of the most exciting and fun poker opportunities anywhere. This will truly be the tournament poker amateurs can play in an atmosphere charged with excitement. Atlantis provides a luxurious and glamorous venue for this marquee Poker Event,” observed John Carter, Director of Sales at The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

Bledsoe Productions was formed specifically to executive produce the series.

Dynamic Solutions Group staff have been involved in over 3,000 trade shows and productions in the USA and Europe. DSG brings its experience and a highly effective team to the event, providing all production services needed for this world-class tournament and exhibit.

The Atlantis Casino Resort Spa offers luxurious hotel rooms (Reno’s only concierge hotel tower), a first class salon and the ultimate casino gaming experience. Voted Reno’s “Most Generous Slots,” Atlantis Features 1,400 of the latest casino slots, 150 casino table games and award-winning spa and restaurants. No wonder the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa was voted the “Best Casino” in Reno and Northern Nevada!

# # #

For more information on Poker On the Road’s poker tournament and/or recreational expo please visit www.pokerontheroad.com

Media Contact
Paul Graham
858-342-9495
e-mail protected from spam bots

Potential Tournament Sponsors and Recreational Expo Exhibitors should contact

Andrew Dunning
775-762-3662
e-mail protected from spam bots

For accommodation information at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa please visit www.atlantiscasino.com or call 1-800-723-6500 or 775-825-4700

SAN JOSE, CA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 12/01/2004 -- As the poker bug is beginning to spread across the nation, three poker pioneers join forces to offer the first-of-its-kind poker seminars for poker enthusiasts. The Poker Camp is a new venture conceived by Anthony & Juli Beebe and Dylan Simpson, veteran poker players who saw a niche for poker enthusiasts seeking out their dreams of playing the final table at a major tournament.

"Poker is a sport that truly is available to anyone. While other sports involve a great deal of time mastering skills in order to merely play against the professionals, an average player can compete against a poker professional simply by putting up the entry fee," says Dylan Simpson, co-founder of The Poker Camp. "Poker players, young and old alike, can get the chance to win a major tournament. Their chances of achieving their dream are even better than winning a major golf tournament, becoming a professional athlete or even winning the lottery."

Dedicated to the education of poker players, The Poker Camp aims to increase the poker enthusiast's skills and enjoyment of tournament poker through educational seminars while increasing the opportunity to make it to the final table. The Poker Camp seminars are two-day weekend getaways at a resort casino and include lodging, meals, poker workshops, practice, and a tournament with cash prizes. Seminars cover basic and advanced skills, betting strategies and feature a workshop with a major poker professional.

The Poker Camp's debut seminar, The Final Table, takes place January 29-30, 2005, at the Jackson Rancheria in Jackson, California, and focuses on No Limit Texas Hold'em. Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, one of poker's hottest stars, is featured as a guest speaker and coach. The youngest player to ever win a million-dollar poker tournament prize, Esfandiari holds numerous other titles including 1st place at the 2004 L.A. Poker Classic and at the World Poker Tour televised event.

"It's really exciting to be able to offer our first seminar with such a renowned poker champion," says Juli Beebe, operations director for the Poker Camp. "Esfandiari symbolizes the poker enthusiast's dream of making it to and winning at the final table. The essence of The Poker Camp is to help enthusiasts realize their dream, just like Antonio Esfandiari."

The Final Table seminar also features Lee Jones, a 20-year poker veteran, poker room manager at PokerStars.com and author of "Winning Low Limit Hold'em," to coach participants during the workshops and tournament practice.

Registration for The Poker Camp's seminar "The Final Table at Jackson Rancheria," January 29-30, 2005, is now open. Packages begin at $1,295. Participants can register at www.thepokercamp.com or call (209) 830-6556 for more information.

Denverpoker.com has launched a new and comprehensive resource for home poker games, charity and commercial tour players and providers. Services are free to those looking for or looking to promote a Denver or Colorado poker game.

(PRWE December 2, 2004 -- Players looking for a game may post their requests in local forums to find games close to home.

Game providers can also post in a separate forum to find players to fill their poker games.

Charity poker events are welcome to advertise their events here.

We provide an ever growing section for those pubs, bars and other establishments that have regular poker games, tours or events.

We provide targeted forums for college games, local metro area games, strategy discussions, book and video reviews and a you rate the game section where you can review any games you have played in.

We offer a large Knowledge Base containing many articles on play and game improvement are available onsite.

We are currently signing up local players to vie for a FREE seat in the Poker Millionaire Challenge where players will compete across the nation to play for a $1,000,000 final table prize.

Current updated news from the world of poker is posted and available on site as well so you are always in touch with all the latest happenings.

Visit us at http://www.denverpoker.com and get into the game.

MORONGO INDIAN RESERVATION, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The new, $250
million Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa in Cabazon, California has been tapped to
host Fox Sports Network's (FSN) second annual Poker Superstars Invitational
Tournament, where 24 of the world's top players will compete. Among those
anteing up are poker legend Doyle Brunson, 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP)
Champion Chris Moneymaker, two-time WSOP Champion Johnny Chan and numerous
other WSOP bracelet winners.
Starting with a special two-hour premiere on March 13, 2005, the series
will air weekly on Sundays at 8:00 p.m. for 34 episodes, culminating in the
final hand being dealt during a two-hour on Oct. 30, 2005.
In order to qualify for the invitation-only tournament, players must have
a history of successful cash game play for at least 10 years or been involved
in a string of final tables at major poker tournaments in the last three
years. These top players will compete in a five-day, $40,000-buy-in, no
limit, Hold'em tournament, beginning at 10:00 AM PST on Thursday, December 2.
The field will be narrowed down to sixteen after three days of competition
and eight after the fourth day. On the fifth day, the eight quarter finalists
will compete in two groups of four and the winners along with the runner ups
from each group will advance to the semi-finals. The semi-final will be two
head-to-head matches with a best two-out-of-three format to determine the
finalists. The two finalists will again engage in a heads-up match with best
two-out-of-three winner capturing the championship of the Poker Superstars
Invitational II.
The tournament will be held under the direction of Mori Eskandani and Eric
Drache.
"We're privileged to bring the best poker players in the world to take
part in and celebrate the grand opening of the new Morongo Casino, Resort &
Spa. Poker Superstars Invitational II is a continuation of our successful
major championship poker on FSN," said Eskandani.
"Being selected as the site of FSN's second annual championship poker
tournament is a tremendous opportunity to host some of the world's best
players at the new Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa, the premier, high-stakes
gaming and entertainment resort on the west coast," said Bill Davis, general
manager of the Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa.
"Viewers will be treated to the highest level of poker playing, and
world-class poker players will be among the first to enjoy this fabulous
property, including one of the largest casino floors outside of Las Vegas and
a sequestered 14-table poker room."

Located on 44 acres of beautiful desert landscape, the $250 million
Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa is California's grandest Indian-owned resort
destination, and will open in December 2004. Offering visitors a cool respite
from the high desert, the resort combines the heat of high-stakes gaming, Las
Vegas nightlife and five-star dining with the ultimate in relaxation in
four-star caliber hotel accommodations, a luxury spa and oasis-inspired pool
area.
The casino resort is located 90 minutes west of Los Angeles and 20 minutes
east of Palm Springs off the I-10 freeway, close to the Cabazon Desert Hills
Outlets and Hadley Fruit Orchards. For hotel reservations, call toll-free at
(888) MORONGO or visit http://www.morongocasinoresort.com. For groups of 10 rooms or
more, ask for the sales director.

FSN reaches more than 82 million homes through its network of 20 regional
sports channels. FSN, based in Los Angeles, serves as the cable TV home to
62 of the 81 MLB, NHL and NBA teams based in the United States, and produces
over 4,600 live events each year. In addition to home team games, FSN
telecasts a wide variety of national sports events and programming, including
Best Damn Sports Show Period, I, Max and Beyond the Glory. For the latest
up-to-the-minute sports news and opinions, visit the FOX Sports/FSN website at
http://www.FoxSports.com.

For further information please contact Emily Hallford of
Burson-Marsteller, +1-310-226-3016, for Morongo Casino, Resort & Spa.

PLAINFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 30, 2004--Eagle Games announced today that world-class professional poker player Annie Duke will be endorsing and appearing on its best-selling software game, DD Tournament Poker: No Limit Texas Hold'em.

Annie Duke is the leading money winner among women in World Series of Poker history. In August she successfully battled it out with the biggest names in poker to win the 2004 ESPN World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions(R) and the two million dollar first prize.

"We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Annie Duke. She is one of the best players in the world and a wonderful ambassador for the game of poker." said Glenn Drover, president and founder of Eagle Games. "Poker has become a true phenomenon over the last year or so, and the DD Tournament Poker software product line fills the huge demand for a software title that allows players to practice what they have learned from television and books."

"DD Tournament Poker is a great game for introducing people to the world of Texas Hold'em poker," said Ms. Duke. "One of the biggest challenges for new players is to learn the game without risking any money. DD Tournament Poker solves this problem by allowing novice and intermediate players to play against savvy computer opponents and to develop a solid understanding of the game before venturing into cash games."

DD Tournament Poker: No Limit Texas Hold'em is published by Eagle Games (http://www.eaglegames.net) and developed by Donohoe Digital (http://www.ddpoker.com). It has spent 12 weeks on the best seller list(1) so far this Fall. The new Collector's Edition packaging featuring Annie Duke is available at fine retailers everywhere.