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Players face off Friday in NHUPC
The NHUPC is the granddaddy of all made-for-television poker tournaments. The heads-up format allows for the players' personalities to shine through, and the one-on-one drama matches that of any other televised sporting event. Then there's the money: whoever wins takes home $500,000.
The first-round brackets won't be determined until the draw party at Pure nightclub in Caesars Palace later tonight. The entrants for the tournament, however, have already been confirmed.
As usual, the field is composed mostly of world-class professional poker players and others who have won major tournaments. Eleven former WSOP Main Event champions, including 2005 NHUPC winner Phil Hellmuth, will compete this year. They'll be joined by five players who have finished runner-up at the WSOP Main Event, including Paul Wasicka, the defending NHUPC champion.
Players who had incredible success in 2007 will be well-represented this weekend. WSOP Player of the Year Tom Schneider will get a chance to spotlight his skills, as will all three players who won Player of the Year plaudits from major poker publications last year: David "The Dragon" Pham, Bill Edler and J.C. Tran.
The NBC event has always had a celebrity factor, and this year is no exception. Actor Don Cheadle, former WSOP women's event champ Jennifer Tilly, High Stakes Poker co-host Gabe Kaplan and 2007 NHUPC semifinalist Shannon Elizabeth all return for another crack at the tournament, while ex-Seinfeld star Jason Alexander and former Los Angeles Dodger Orel Hershiser get to try their hands for the first time.
This year's field will feature a number of younger players known as much for their online play as their live success. Jonathan "FieryJustice" Little, Brian "sbrugby" Townsend, Daniel "Rekrul" Schreiber, Tom "durrrr" Dwan and Scott "BigRiskky" Clements will all make their NHUPC debuts on Friday at Caesars Palace.
Thanks to a few seats set aside for qualifiers, three other players will join the world's best at the NHUPC. Two players - business owner Hooman Nikzad and former Wall Street executive Tom Kelly - won their seats through satellites held at Caesars Palace. Alisha Kunze, a 23-year-old nursing student from Greensburg, Ind., won the final seat through a free promotion on PokerStars.net.
NBC will air the first two-hour installment of its tournament coverage on Sunday, April 13, at 12 p.m. (EDT), and subsequent episodes will air each of the next five Sundays.
In alphabetical order, here are this year's competitors, followed by the prize pool breakdown.
| 1. Alexander, Jason | 33. Hershiser, Orel |
| 2. Antonius, Patrik | 34. Ivey, Phil |
| 3. Bellande, Jean-Robert | 35. Juanda, John |
| 4. Benyamine, David | 36. Kaplan, Gabe |
| 5. Bloch, Andy | 37. Kelly, Tom (Caesars Palace qualifier) |
| 6. Brown, Chad | 38. Kunze, Alisha (Online qualifier) |
| 7. Brunson, Doyle | 39. Laak, Phil |
| 8. Brunson, Todd | 40. Lederer, Howard |
| 9. Chan, Johnny | 41. Lindgren, Erick |
| 10. Cheadle, Don | 42. Little, Jonathan |
| 11. Clements, Scott | 43. Matusow, Mike |
| 12. Cloutier, T.J. | 44. Moneymaker, Chris |
| 13. Cunningham, Allen | 45. Mizrachi, Michael |
| 14. Deeb, Freddy | 46. Negreanu, Daniel |
| 15. Duke, Annie | 47. Nguyen, Scotty |
| 16. Dwan, Tom | 48. Nikzad, Hooman (Caesars Palace qualifier) |
| 17. Edler, Bill | 49. Pham, David |
| 18. Elezra, Eli | 50. Raymer, Greg |
| 19. Elizabeth, Shannon | 51. Rousso, Vanessa |
| 20. Esfandiari, Antonio | 52. Schneider, Tom |
| 21. Farha, Sam | 53. Schreiber, Daniel |
| 22. Ferguson, Chris | 54. Seed, Huck |
| 23. Fischman, Scott | 55. Seidel, Erik |
| 24. Forrest, Ted | 56. Singer, David |
| 25. Gold, Jamie | 57. Smith, Gavin |
| 26. Gowen, Clonie | 58. Tilly, Jennifer |
| 27. Greenstein, Barry | 59. Townsend, Brian |
| 28. Grizzle, Sam | 60. Tran, J.C. |
| 29. Hachem, Joe | 61. Tran, Kenny |
| 30. Hansen, Gus | 62. Wasicka, Paul |
| 31. Harman, Jennifer | 63. Williams, David |
| 32. Hellmuth, Phil | 64. Yang, Jerry |
First place: $500,000
Second place: $250,000
Third & fourth place: $125,000
Fifth-eighth place: $75,000
Ninth-16th place: $25,000
PokerListings.com will be live on the scene as well once the cards hit the felt to bring you live updates, reports, interviews, photos and more from the NHUPC. Check it out in the Live Tournaments section.Visit PokerListings.com
EC takes action against Greece, Netherlands
The Commission announced today it has formally requested that the two nations amend their respective laws, following consideration of their replies to its official requests for information about their online gambling policies.
The EC was seeking to verify whether the restrictions in question are compatible with Article 49 of the EC Treaty, which guarantees the free movement of services.
The complaints against Greece involve the fact that providers lawfully licensed in another EU Member State are not allowed to provide sports betting services and other games of chance in Greece. Those restrictions also extend to the promotion or advertising of the services and to whether Greek nationals can participate in the game.
According to the EC, the Dutch investigation relates only to the provision and promotion of sports betting services.
The EC inquired into the compatibility of both nations' laws with the EU law after receiving complaints made by a number of service providers and on information gathered by Commission staff.
After receiving responses from Greece and the Netherlands, the EC has determined that restrictions in question aren't compatible with EU law.
The EC said in a press release that "the measures taken by these Member States to restrict the free movement of gambling services have not been shown to be necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory."
The EC also said it considers that because both nations have recently introduced new addictive games and intensive advertising, and neither has implemented concrete measures against gambling addiction, there is clear evidence that neither country is promoting a consistent and systematic policy aimed at genuinely reducing gambling opportunities.
The European Gaming and Betting Association said today it welcomes the EC decision on Greece and the Netherlands' online gambling laws and the formal request to have the countries amend their laws.
"Today's reasoned opinions send a clear signal that national gaming legislation, which does not serve any genuine consumer protection or public order interest, has no future," said Sigrid Ligne, EGBA secretary general. "Leading European online operators are now calling on Greece and the Netherlands to implement sustainable reforms that will guarantee a fair, open and regulated market access".
Greece and the Netherlands have two months to respond to the EC's request to amend their online gambling policies. If the EC doesn't receive a satisfactory reply within two months, it may refer the matters to the European Court of Justice.
The European Court of Justice has previously ruled that any restrictions which seek to protect general interest objectives, such as the protection of consumers, must be "consistent and systematic" in how they seek to limit gambling activities.
"A Member State cannot invoke the need to restrict its citizens' access to gambling services if at the same time it incites and encourages them to participate in state lotteries, games of chance or betting which benefits the state's finances," the EC said in a press release.
Related Articles:
- EC Eyeing Germany, Sweden Net Gambling Laws
- Dutch Stepping Up Net Gambling Restrictions
- EU Moving on German Net Gambling Ban
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