Gavin Smith

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship is an annual poker tournament held in the United States and produced by the NBC television network. It is a $25,000 "buy-in" invitation-only tournament organized as a series of one-on-one games of no limit Texas hold 'em matches. The participants include many of the world's most successful poker players, as well as celebrities. The championship was the first poker event to be televised on and produced by a major U.S. television network. In October 2011, NBC announced that the National Heads-Up Poker Championship would not return in 2012, ending the championship's seven-year run. After a one-year hiatus, the tournament returned in 2013. The $25,000 buy-in event ran from Jan. 24 through 26 at Caesars Palace, the same venue where the event was held from 2006 through 2011. The Heads-Up Championship had been sponsored by online poker companies before Black Friday. The World Series of Poker is the new presenting sponsor.

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The Pro-Am Poker Equalizer is a televised poker tournament in which professional poker players play Texas hold 'em against celebrities which began airing on ESPN in January 2007. In order to "equalize" the playing field, the celebrities start the tournament with 50% more chips than the professionals. The Pro-Am Poker Equalizer is commentated by Phil Gordon and Ali Nejad. The winners of each of the six regular episodes will face off in the final episode for a $500,000 grand prize.

The MANSIONPoker.net Poker Dome Challenge was a 43-week series of speed poker tournaments offering a grand prize of US$1,000,000. The tournament aired in the United States on Fox Sports Network from May 2006 to March 2007. The tournament featured a number of technological gimmicks in an effort to increase viewer interest and excitement. Commentating duties were shared by rotating hosts including Barry Tompkins, Jon Kelley, Michael Konik, Michael Gracz, Joel Meyers and Chris Rose with Leeann Tweeden serving as co-host/exit interviewer. Matt Savage was the tournament director. The series consisted of single table tournaments of six players each. Five of the six competitors qualified through daily freeroll tournaments held at mansionpoker.net. Another competitor came from the National Pub Poker League, an amateur poker league that partnered with MansionPoker.net and qualified its nightly bar tournament winners into a private weekly freeroll. Winners of the online qualifiers were flown all expenses paid to Las Vegas, Nevada and received $500 in casino chips and other amenities. Professional poker players Tony G, Dennis Waterman and Perry Friedman and reality television personality-turned poker pro Rob Mariano have appeared in the Dome. Nevada casino author Al W Moe appeared in the Dome and his wife, Shannon R Moe, was an alternate selection a month later.

As the name suggests, the World Poker Tour features not just a single event, but a collection of prestigious tournaments played in top casinos and card rooms across the globe, including the glamorous Bellagio in Las Vegas and the Aviation Club de France in Paris. It all leads up to the WPT Championship finale where the “survivor” walks away with more than $1 million. But that’s just a fraction of the money up for grabs over the course of the series. With its innovative WPT cams revealing the player’s hole cards and take no-prisoners brand of poker action, the WPT ignited the world’s poker phenomenon. Making viewers feel as if they were sitting in the seat making the million-dollar decision By projecting poker's true image--a stylish and exhilarating sport combining cunning, skill, and nerve-the WPT has revolutionized televised poker and created a mainstream sports sensation.

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