Annie Duke is one of the finest female poker players to ever grace this planet. She has earned over $2m in poker prize money, has 4 career titles, has had over 69 cash finishes and is one of the most respected players of the modern era. It was announced this week that she would head a new Pro Poker League.
Federated Sports and Gaming has linked up with the Palms Casino Resort to deliver this new Pro Poker League and they have appointed Annie Duke as the commissioner to ensure its success. The schedule will revolve around four rake-free tournaments and a further championship event in Las Vegas.
The tournament intends to be open to only the top 200 players in the world who will be ranked based on a mathematical formula mixed with historical achievements. It intends to bring the best players in the world together, with no outside inexperienced players, to determine who the best of the best is.
Duke will be assisted by the former President and Commissioner of the WSOP, Jeffrey Pollack, Michael Brodsky, David Goldberg and Jeffrey Grosman. They have brought in all the big guns to make sure that this tournament is not only a success in the short term but also has the potential to create a legacy that is so strong it could rival the World Series of Poker.
Four televised tournaments will take place between August and December with the championship in Las Vegas being scheduled for January 2012. The WSOP is the flag ship tournament of the poker world but there are aspirations that this might be the new diamond in the poker circuit. The WSOP is famous because the every man can rise to success and create a reputation from nothing. However, there is little opportunity to see how the best ranked players in the world can fare when their only opposition is their fellow player who is ranked just as highly. This will truly determine who the best players are.
The only worry is that this venture might be deemed as an intention to rival and eventually eliminate the WSOP. Those involved firmly believe that the two tournaments can co-exist and the new poker league is already attracting some positive feedback from several professional players out there. This league could be an introduction to the gamethat makes everyone sit up and take up notice.
