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The polls for the 2010 Poker Hall of Fame have closed and the ballot now includes 10 players for nomination. They include (in alphabetical order by last name) Chris Ferguson, Barry Greenstein, Jennifer Harman-Traniello, Dan Harrington, Phil Ivey, Linda Johnston, Tom McEvoy, Daniel Negreanu, Scotty Nguyen, and Erik Seidel. The Poker Hall of Fame Governing Council will now select the final players, which is comprised of the 16 living Hall of Fame members, as well as a 17-person media panel. The individuals selected as the Hall of Fame class of 2010 will be inducted in a ceremony in November as part of the World Series of Poker Main Event Final Table festivities.

Speaking of the World Series of Poker, a new stop has been announced on the 2010-2011WSOP-Circuit. The Choctaw Casino Resort in Durant, OK will host its first WSOP-C event next year from January 6th through the 25th, and will include another 10 WSOP-C rings to be awarded. The Choctaw Casino Resort has just completed a $300 million expansion, featuring a brand new 30-table poker lounge on the casino floor. “After visiting the property, it was a must that we brought a WSOP-Circuit stop to Choctaw Casino Resort,” says WSOP Vice President Ty Stewart. “This is a huge poker market that has clamored for high stakes tournament poker and we’re ecstatic to be hosting a WSOP-Circuit in this gorgeous property in Durant come January.”

The WSOP-Circuit’s first stop was completed last Tuesday, with Blair Hinkle emerging with the first WSOP-C Championship of the season at the Horseshoe Council Bluffs in Iowa. In addition to receiving the diamond-encrusted WSOP-C Championship Gold ring, Hinkle netted $88,553 in prize money for conquering the 261 player field for the $1,600 buy-in Championship event, which included Dwyte Pilgrim finishing in 3rd for the event, and Bernard Lee finishing in 10th. As a result of the win Hinkle also secured the very first spot in the first-ever World Series of Poker Circuit National Championship, which will be held in May at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV. The $1 million freeroll bracelet event is open to 100 players who have qualified in one of 4 ways, one of which is winning a Circuit Main Event. The second seat was awarded to Robert Georato, who earned the distinction of “Casino Champion” by virtue of the number of points he accrued at the series of events at the Horseshoe Council Bluff’s Circuit stop. For more information on upcoming WSOP-C events, check WSOP.com.

The International Poker Players Association Championship event has announced the largest poker tournament buy-in ever with a staggering $250,000 entry fee. The 48-player event will be played in Monaco at the end of November with the winner taking home $5 million. Live satellites are available in Monaco or at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles, CA. Players already registered in the event include Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Michael Mizrachi, Huck Seed, Gus Hansen, Johnny Chan, Tony G, Bruno Fitoussi, Freddie Deeb, Allen Cunningham, and John Hennigan.

Finally, the World Poker Tour has announced a broadcast and promotional agreement with Fox Sports Network to cover the next three years of the tour. The next 3 seasons will all be broadcast on FSN with primetime national air times of 8:00 pm and 11:00 pm on Sundays as well as additional airings throughout the week. The first episode of season 9 of the WPT will debut in January with a new segment called “The Raw Deal,” and will introduce the Royal Flush Girls as well.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 7th, 2010 at 9:31 am and is filed under Featured Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.