The Federated-Sports-plus-Gaming-and-Semi-Nebulous-Professional-Poker-League-now-with-more-Heartland-Poker-Tour got itself a Twitter-friendly name today — the Epic Poker League … just in time for their upcoming $1,500 Pro-Am at the Palms (no longer a Maloof Casino Resort).
I happen to get a near-front row seat, as everything leading up to their first event — a 3-day $1,500 pro-am, August 5-8 — takes place at the Palms, a place where the Pokerati Game, you all know, has found a delightfully raucous, if not cozy home for our brand of “high-stakes action for low-stakes players” in the form of 1/2 NLH/PLO.
It should be an up-close look at one of the more interesting side stories of the 2011 WSOP — the birthing of Jeffrey Pollack and Annie Duke’s poker lovechild emergence of a new professional poker league … a difficult labor to be sure!
Meanwhile, in my initial exploration of Epic (before I even understood how “Epic” it would be) … I happened to win a satellite this weekend into the first $1,500 event. So now I’m a pro, obv! I’ll get an even closer look — behind the rails with actual chips in play — at how this league is really taking shape, what it means for players looking at it as a vehicle for future poker success, and even though I never wanted to be a real poker pro … a chance to more legitimately claim status as a card-carrying pro at stake.
The Federated Pro Poker League had taken a decidedly neutral stance on online poker. They weren’t gonna let online powerhouses Tilt and Stars muck up their game, it seemed, but at the same time they weren’t ready — at least prior to April 15 — to kick the online sites to the curb. Now it seems clear the FPPL will be moving forward with the indicted online poker operations — whatever that may or may not mean. Regardless, @JeffreyPollack is apparently committed, as he confirmed his recent resignation as Executive Chairman of PBR to focus on Federated Sports+Gaming, which has its first pro poker event in just barely 90 days.
The plan for seating players involves a complex algorithm awarding 2-, 3-, and 5-year cards based on some sorta formula that takes into account tournament wins and possibly shoe size? 218 mad the cut for 2011. Click here to see who gets to play in their non-open overlay events at the Palms … which, btw, now happens to be home of the Pokerati Game. The pro league’s schedule of exclusive, not-yet-televised events is below, along with the details on what it takes to get your card.
Hey, check it out … former WSOP Commish Jeffrey Pollack has been elected to the Professional Bull Riders Board of Directors as Executive Chairman.
On last week’s episode, we took a deeper look at Jeffrey Pollack’s split with the WSOP, discussed what Joe Cada may or may not mean for poker, speculated wildly on WhoTF this Isildur1 character is … and then they turned to the Wolfman for an update on all things UIGEA, where my take was pretty much: Dec. 1 … I dunno … your guess as good as mine! But could Isildur really be Darvin Moon?
Click below for parts 2 and 3.