This Sunday, Doyle's Room will be running their Grand Finals Tournament where they will be awarding prize packages (valued at $5000 each) for the First Annual Super System Poker Camp. The excursion will be held in Montana May 19-23rd of this year.

Providing instruction at the camp will be Doyle himself along with Todd Brunson, Mike Caro, and Jennifer Harman, all co-authors of Super System 2.

If you are interested in winning one of the packages, the tournament begins at 5:30pm ET on Sunday, January 7th, and the entry fee is $50. If you don't win your way in but still want to attend, the cost is $4000. Attendance is restricted to 200 people.

For more details on the camp, you can visit their official website via the "read" link below.

Doyle's Room will be hosting a special tourney tomorrow night (Thursday, September 28th) in honor of it being their 50th Bounty Tournament. Mike Caro, Doyle, and Todd Brunson will have bounties on their heads as usual, but Nicky Hilton, Cyndi Violette, and Hoyt Corkins are also scheduled to make an appearance. They will also be awarding the tournament winner a gold ring, as pictured.

As always, if you knock out one of the aforementioned pros/celebrities, you will win $500. If you knock out two, it is $15,000. Knock out all three, and you will win $50,000.

Doyle Brunson never ceases to amaze me. As if he isn't busy enough already, he is now co-hosting the Super System Poker Camp which will be held in Montana next spring, May 18th through May 21st. At the camp, Doyle will be joined by his son Todd Brunson, Mike Caro, Daniel Negreanu, and Jennifer Harman.

The camp is limited to 200 entrants, so if you are interested I suggest signing up as soon as possible. Cost is $4,000, and they require a $500 deposit to guarantee your spot.

Included in the package: (from the website)

• Room, based on double occupancy
• Daily lectures & one-on-one session with the speaker of your choice (subject to availability)
• Televised tourney
• Welcome party
• Farewell cocktail party
• Transportation to and from airport (subject to space and time constraints)
• A Super System poster signed by all the speakers
• A Super System Reality Camp shirt
• Entry into daily tournaments

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Thursday, May 18 Welcome Party
Friday, May 19 Camp Day 1
Saturday, May 20 Camp Day 2
Sunday, May 21 Camp Day 3
Monday, May 22 Camp Day 4
Tuesday, May 23 DoylesRoom Televised Tournament

If you don't want to buy in directly, you can take a shot at winning your ticket at DoylesRoom.com:

1. You can buy-in directly to the $55 + $5.50 buy-in Super System Camp Grand Finals Satellite on Sunday, October 29th, 2006 at 5:30pm EDT (21:30 GMT).
2. Play in the Daily $10 + $1 buy-in Feeders to Super System Camp and win a seat into the Grand Finals Satellite. Feeders will run daily starting this Sunday, Sept. 17th at 9:30 EDT (1:30 GMT).

For more information on the Camp, you can visit the website via the 'read' link below.

(Source & image: SuperSystemPokerCamp.com)

Today is Thursday, which must mean it is bounty tournament night. Instead of the regular line up of Doyle, Todd, and Mike Caro, Nicky Hilton and Hoyt Corkins will be Doyle's special guests for the tourney. Though I still haven't played this, I keep meaning to. They are actually letting new players try the bounty tournament for free - you deposit at least $55 into a real money account, play the tournament, and then they will rebate your buy-in afterwards.

I'm going to make a prediction - it wasn't long ago that Pam Anderson was Doyle's special guest in these tournaments, and now she is the face body name behind Pamela Poker. How long do you think it will be before the Nicky Hilton Poker Room opens?

Last week Doyle's Room brought back their Bounty Tournaments after a hiatus during the World Series of Poker, and apparently a record number of players participated, making the prize pools higher than ever.

The tournament costs $50 to enter, and there are three bounties - Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, and Mike Caro. If you knock out any one of those three you win $500. Knock out two of them and you will win $15,000. If you manage to be lucky enough to knock out all three of them, you will win $50,000. Ok, ok, I know that isn't very likely to happen, but still. Personally I like the format of this tournament, and having an extra chance to win some $$ is always a good thing. Has anyone out there played it? I'd be interested to hear what you think of the tourney.

The tournament is tonight at 9pm ET.

Last week we looked at what happened in the first decade of World Series history: WSOP in the 1970's. The 1980's saw the World Series of Poker evolve from a small collection of tournaments into an internationally recognized event. Here is a look at the results year-by-year:

1980
Stu Ungar was the big winner in 1980, beating Doyle Brunson for a first place prize of $365,000. Top five players in the 1980 Main Event were:

1st:  Stu Ungar $365,000
2nd:  Doyle Brunson $146,000
3rd:  Jay Heimowitz $109,500
4th:  Johnny Moss $73,000
5th:  Charles Dunwoody $36,500

Other results:
$1000 Seven-Card Stud Split - Mickey Appleman
$1000 NLHE - Robert Bone
$2000 Draw High - Pat Callihan
$400 Women's Seven-Card Stud - Debby Callihan
$5000 Seven-Card Stud - Peet Chris
$10,000 Deuce to Seven Draw - Sarge Ferris
$1500 NLHE - Gene Fisher
$1000 Ace to Five Draw - Jim Fugatti
$600 Mixed Doubles
$500 Seven Card Stud - Bobby Schwing

1981

(Note: Due to the large number of events that started taking place in the 1980's, I'm going to look solely at the Championship event from here on out.)

Stu Ungar claimed the title of World Champion in back-to-back years after defeating a final table that included some of the top poker players of the time: Perry Green, Gene Fisher, Kenny Smith, Bill Smith, Jay Heimowitz, Bobby Baldwin, Andy Moore and Sam Petrillo. Ungar earned $375,000 plus the gold bracelet for his outstanding play.

1982

Jack 'Treetop' Straus was the World Champion in 1982, earning a record-breaking $520,000. Remarkably, Straus came back from being down to just one $500 chip, only to end up winning the entire event. Hence the phrase, 'A Chip and a Chair.'

Again, the final table was full of well known names. Top nine finishers and their prize money were as follows:

1 Jack Straus $520,000
2 Dewey Tomko $208,000
3 Berry Johnston $104,000
4 Doyle Brunson $52,000
5 A.J. Myers $52,000
6 Dody Roach $41,060
7 Buster Jackson $20,800
8 Sailor Roberts $20,800
9 Carl Cannon $20,800
                  

With the 2006 World Series of Poker approaching in just under two weeks, I thought it was high time to take a look back through the decades at the history and champions that have shaped this event into the phenomenom it is today.
              
Starting today off with the 1970's, I will continue the series by decade throughout the week.

1970
The inaugural World Series of Poker was held in 1970 at Binion's Gambling Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada. Johnny Moss, a native of Odessa, Texas, was elected as Champion by his peers through collective vote.

1971
Moss went on to win the 1971 event as well, clearly proving (as if there were any doubt) that he was indeed one of the best players in the world. In addition to the title, he took home $30,000.

This was the final year that featured only one event.

1972
In 1972, two events were held. The first was Five-Card Stud, and Bill Boyd was the winner. He collected $20,000.

The Main Event was won by one of the most well known names in poker history, Amarillo Slim Preston, who took home $80,000.

1973
Puggy Pearson owned the 1973 World Series, winning not only the Championship Event but also two more of the six events held: No Limit Hold'em and Seven Card Stud. Puggy's earnings totaled $179,000.

Other winners in 1973 were:
Sam Angel, Seven-Card Razz $32,000
Aubrey Day, Deuce to Seven Draw $16,500
Jack Straus, Deuce to Seven Draw $16,500

For those of you who play in the bounty tournaments regularily at Doyle's Room, you may be happy to hear the bounties have now increased, but the entry fee has also gone up. The tournament now costs $50 to play. If you knock out any of the three professionals or special guests, you win $500. Knock out two of them and you will win $15,000. In the (very improbable) event that you knock out all three of them, you will win $50,000.

Tonight they are back to the regular line-up of Mike Caro, Doyle, and Todd Brunson. If any of them happen to win the tournament, everyone who played will get their entry fee back. The tournament starts every Thursday night at 9pm ET.

(image: DoylesRoom.com)

Here's a quick glimpse at what is new or currently running at some of the major online poker sites. If you hear of additional events or would like another site added to this list, please let us know.

Poker Stars

• NEW: $200 plus 15 weekly No-Limit Texas Hold'em tournament now has a ith a guaranteed prize pool of at least $750,000. Every Sunday at 4:30 pm ET.
• NEW: PokerStars introduces their new VIP Club (running year-round)
• CHANGED: Tuesdays are the new Fridays: WWdN: The Invitational Tournaments are now running on Tuesday nights
• Thursdays: WWdN West Coast Warm-Up Tournament
• EPT events in France and Monte Carlo   

Party Poker

• NEW: Guaranteed Half-Million dollar prize pool tournament each week  
• NEW: Million Dollar guaranteed prize pool tournament on February 18th
• NEW: Cabin Fever Freeroll daily between now and Feb. 11
• European World Series of Poker  

It is thirty days until the Oscars, but only twelve until the Player of the Year Awards Banquet Gala. Which is more exciting? If you are a poker player, I can only hope your answer is the latter. The event will be held on February 15th at the Henry Fonda Music Box Theater in Los Angeles, and is sponsored by Card Player Magazine along with Bodog, who are also producing the show. Set to emcee the event is none other than Brad Garrett - best known for his role on Everybody loves Raymond, though he is also an avid poker player himself.

Even though we already know who wins Player of the Year, (Men Nguyen, in case you haven't been paying attention) the other winners will be kept secret until the night of the event.

Additional categories are:

• Best Cash Game Player
• Poker's Top Ambassador
• Most Entertaining Player
• Best Heads-Up Player
• Best No-Limit Player
• Best Mixed Game Player
• Most Feared Player
• Most Underrated Player

Card Player has also been taking votes for the People's Choice Awards in the following two categories:

Favorite Overall Player (Final nominees listed)

• Doyle Brunson
• Chris Ferguson
• Phil Ivey
• Mike Matusow
• Daniel Negreanu

Best Celebrity Poker Player

• Gabe Kaplan
• Tobey McGuire
• Jennifer Tilly

UPDATE: You can read the full list of winners via this link!

For all you closet Hilton Sisters fans out there (and you know who you are) this will probably come as good news. Doyle's Room has upped their bounty tournaments to include some of the most recognizable faces in the entertainment world. This week, Kevin Connolly from HBO's Entourage, and Nicky Hilton of...well, of Nicky Hilton fame, will join Doyle Brunson at 9pm EST as his special guests.

Format is the same as the other bounty tournaments - if you knock out either Doyle, Nicky, or Kevin, you win $250. Knock out two and you will receive $10,000. If you happen to knock out all three, you earn the grand prize of $25,000. The buy-in for the tournament is $25.00 $2.50.

Over the next twelve days I’m going to be counting down my picks for the top poker-related stories of 2005. Please hold your suggestions for additional top story nominations, because at the end of the twelve days we will be holding a poll asking you to vote on what you felt was the biggest story of the year – either one that we named, or one of your own choice. 

       

So without further ado (and in no particular order) – here is number twelve:

      

Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan winning their 10^th World Series of Poker Bracelets. 

       

The 2005 World Series of Poker saw many milestones, but few were as monumental as Johnny Chan and Doyle Brunson each claiming their 10^th WSOP bracelets.