Las Vegas Weekly

April 1, 2009 · 6:44 AM

This ain’t no April Fools’ Day joke: two poker tourneys on the Strip

By Robin Leach

World Poker Tournament winner David Chiu.

Photo: World Poker Tournament

A Five Star World Poker Classic returns to the Bellagio at noon today with the first of 13 No Limit Hold ’em tournaments, and a host of top poker players will be there to ante up their $25,000 entry fee for the near-monthlong games.

Simultaneously, pro player Howard Lederer and socialite wife Suzie kick off their first April Fools’ Day charity poker tournament at the Hard Rock Hotel. It’s a $10,000 World Series of Poker main event seat tournament, which means the winner gets that valuable spot at the biggest of the big games!

Howard has lined up Jerry Yang, Jamie Gold, Jennifer Harmon, Scotty Nguyen, Lon McEachern of ESPN, Randy Howe of NBC Sports and Bryan Salmond of ABC Sports.

At the Bellagio, there will be more than 500 players, including an international contingent from as far away as Denmark, Turkey and England. Last year, California resident David Chiu won the title and the first prize of $3.3 million. Highlight dates to watch for are the World Poker Tournament play beginning April 18 and 19 with two separate flights. On April 20, those competitors still alive will be merged into one flight, with the final being televised April 25.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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