Sixth annual Five Diamond Poker Classic begins

Joe Hachem, shown here playing at the APPT Macau, will likely take a shot at winning another WPT title at Bellagio.

Once again the poker world is turning to the place most players call home - Las Vegas.

The sixth annual Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic preliminary events are kicking off from Sin City today with none other than Doyle Brunson himself lending his name to the main event of the festivities.

There will be a total of 19 preliminary events which includes super satellites as well as No-Limit Hold'em events with buy-ins ranging from $1,500 all the way up to $5,000.

Of course it's all leading up to the WPT Doyle Brunson Classic $15,000 event, which will crown a genuine poker champion. Last year's final table was nothing short of phenomenal as two of the most well-liked players in poker, Daniel Negreanu and 2005 WSOP World Champion Joe Hachem, competed for first place.

In the end it was Hachem who walked away with first place, a whopping $2.18 million and proof that he was no one-hit wonder. There were an astounding 583 entrants in the event including the biggest names in poker.

To see exactly how things went down last year check out our interview with Hachem here.

This year promises to be more of the same with virtually every big-name player from Phil Hellmuth to the Texas Dolly already clearing their schedule to play the Doyle Brunson Classic which runs Dec. 12-18 at the world-class, and of course five-star, Bellagio.

Here's a complete schedule of the preliminary events:

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