Home / Poker News January 2011 / Pollack and Duke launch professional poker league
Pollack and Duke launch professional poker league
Posted by: James Carter. - Thu, 2011-01-20 09:04
A few days ago news surfaced about Annie Duke's newest venture, in the wake of her departure from UB. Former WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack has apparently teamed up with the former
UB Poker pro to create something akin to the PGA in poker. According to Duke, a professional poker tour has long been missing from the landscape of live poker, and the new professional league they’re about to launch is meant to fill that void.
While the move would obviously be a great step towards legitimizing poker as a sport in the US, critics say the initiative is nothing but a stillborn idea. The fact that there are indeed no professional leagues in poker is easy to explain: others had tried before and failed.
This time around things may be different though. As the commissioner of the WSOP, Jeffrey Pollack has been credited with turning poker into the mainstream phenomenon it is today. Nothing short of a visionary when it comes to the game, Pollack’s presence at the leadership level of the planned pro league may make all the difference in the world. Besides his name, Pollack brings a thorough understanding of sports and marketing onboard the new operation: he’s basically the total package when it comes to promoting a poker venture.
Annie Duke’s role in the new organization will be that of commissioner. She worked together with Pollack before, when she was on the
WSOP Players Committee.
There are only 5 events scheduled for the professional league’s first season, all 5 of which will be hosted by the Palms in Las Vegas. Of the 5 events, 4 will be regular season ones and the 5th will be a League Championship Event. The organizers plan to have the new league’s events broadcast, although the television partner is not yet known.
The league will feature memberships, so obviously not all comers will be accepted. Will this kill the entertainment value of the show?
