Big WPBT News

I've been working on this for a while and am finally able to announce it.

When PokerStars announced it was sponsoring the Blogger Championship in October, I once again realized how damned nice it is to work for a company that "gets it."

Further, when Wil Wheaton announced he was coming to the WPBT Winter Classic., I was proud to know that a member of Team PokerStars was going to be on hand to compete with he best bloggers in the land.

And now...this.

PokerStars has generously offered (and I have accepted on the WPBT's behalf) to put up some great stuff for the Winter Classic. So, when we all head out to Vegas here in a few weeks, we will not only be competing for each other's money. Here's what else will be in the prize pool.

* PokerStars will be adding $2000 to the prize pool of the WPBT Winter Classic. If my rudimentary math skills are serving me well, that means (based on 100 players) we'll now be playing for $7000 instead of $5000.

* The winner of the WPBT Classic will receive the the coolest (and, frankly, most expensive) item from the PokerStars FPP store: the wool PokerStars letterman's jacket (since we don't know who will win, we'll get it ordered for the winner after weekend is over--although if CJ's rush lasts another month, we might as well just order the large now).

* Famed poker author and player Nolan Dalla will be on hand to talk to all of us about this crazy game we play and all that he's seen during his time in the business. If you haven't already met Nolan, he is one of the coolest poker writers and players in Vegas. He's written for just about every poker publication and also serves as media director for the WSOP. Oh, yeah...he also just happens to have co-authored the best poker book of the year, which leads me to...

* Every member of the Winter Classic Final table will receive a signed copy of Nolan's book, "One of a Kind". This book has already received rave reviews and could soon be the basis for a blockbuster Hollywood movie.

* And if you're not CJ, Bill Rini, Felicia, etc...and figure to be at the bar within the first few levels, PokerStars will have some great shirts, hats, CDs, and other stuff for the bust-out inclined.

So, thereya go. PokerStars gets it and I'm proud to work for them. There's no quid quo pro, here. It's just PokerStars being cool. However, if you'd like to thank them via your blog, it'd make me happy.

Now, find a way to make it through the next 17 days without getting so excited your wife/husband/boss decides to keep you at home.

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