Jeffrey Pollack and Annie Duke to form pro poker league

Jeffrey Pollack and Annie Duke to form pro poker league

Wednesday, 19 January 2011

Federated Sports and Gaming has announced a partnership with Palms Casino Resort for a new professional poker league. Annie Duke, WSOP bracelet-winner and reigning NBC Heads-Up World Champion, formerly of UltimateBet, will be teaming up with ex-WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack to set up the 200-strong league of pros.

The top 200 players in the world will be determined by a “unique rankings system” that takes into account proven historical poker achievement and mathematics to decide which 200 players are selected. The selection system has been compared to that of golf or tennis.


“A unified league is something we have been talking about in the industry for years and I’m really looking forward to bringing this vision to life,” Duke said. The league will consist of three tournaments between August and December 2011 with a championship event – rumoured to be a $1,000,000 freeroll – in January 2012.


Memberships will be given out to the league in two, three or five year terms with the specially selected players who have “unparalleled success in poker” being awarded lifetime memberships. Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson and Hellmuth are shoe-ins, we guess.


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