Thursday, Aug. 28, 2008

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Betfair offers Phelps chance for WSOP gold

By Sarah Polson

Michael Phelps solidified himself as an Olympic legend this year with eight gold medal wins in swimming events at the Beijing Olympic Games. Now Betfair Poker is inviting him to perhaps make himself a legend at the poker tables with a trip to the World Series of Poker Europe in London.

The poker sight is offering to pay the £10,000 buy-in for the WSOPE Main Event for Phelps, giving him a shot at some more gold to add to his collection. The first-place prize for the event is a guaranteed £1 million, plus the winner will receive the traditional WSOP gold bracelet.

"Phelps will be free to wear his famous LZR swim suit at the table, although organizers fear it may not give him the same competitive edge outside of the pool," Betfair Poker said in a press release.

After Phelps' historic run at the 2008 Olympic Games, a few media sources reported Phelps plays poker as one of his hobbies. He also told one reporter that he'd be interested in playing in the WSOP someday, so this could be his chance.

Betfair Poker is once again the official sponsor of the WSOPE, which will be coming back for its second year Sept. 19-Oct. 2 at the Empire Casino in Leicester Square in London.

The tournament attracts some of the best poker players from all over the world. In its inaugural year, the WSOPE hosted three events. The first attracted 105 entrants and saw Thomas Bihl defeat Jennifer Harman in heads up play to become the first WSOPE bracelet winner.

Chris "Jesus" Ferguson and Alex Kravchenko also made the final table of that H.O.R.S.E. event.

The second event was Pot-Limit Omaha, which drew 165 players. Again the field was stacked with pros, and Dario Alioto took down a final table that included Tony G and Andy Bloch.

The most anticipated event, however, was the Main Event. With 362 players ponying up the £10,000 buy-in, there was more than £3 million on the line for players who made it into the money.

The biggest winner was Annette Obrestad, a prominent online player from Norway, but some of the other names making it into the money were Marco Traniello, Gus Hansen, Annie Duke and Erick Lindgren.

This year the WSOPE is expanding to four events with the addition of another No-Limit Hold'em event along with the original three events from the first year. The WSOPE will also be broadcast via ESPN and via Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.

Not only is Betfair Poker inviting Phelps to come along and play, the poker site is offering its players ways to win their way into the WSOPE Main Event. PokerListings.com players at the poker site get an even sweeter chance to play.

Betfair Poker is offering an exclusive freeroll for PokerListings.com players that will hand out 20 seats to the $550 Betfair WSOPE satellite.

Players who earn 250 Betfair Poker Points Aug. 1-31 will qualifier to play in the exclusive freeroll on Sept. 3. That freeroll will hand out 20 seats to the Sept. 7 WSOPE satellite on Betfair that will hand out 20 WSOPE prize packages.

For more information about the poker site and its promotions, visit Betfair Poker.

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