NBC has announced the return this March for a third season of the popular bracket-elimination poker tourney, National Heads-Up Poker Championship.
The tourney pits 64 top players against each other in an event that will be flmed for television in the tournament room at Caesar’s Palace between March 1st and March 4th, 2007, with the highlights aired on NBC in April and May.
NBC’s initial press release confirmed 16 of the biggest names who had already accepted invitations to participate. These included 2006 champion Ted Forrest, 2005 winner Phil Hellmuth, 2005 and 2006 runner-up Chris Ferguson, Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan, Antonio Esfandiari, Sam Farha, Gus Hansen, Jennifer Harman, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Daniel Negreanu, and the recent WSOP-champ quartet of Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, Joe Hachem and Jamie Gold.
The remaining big name players have yet to be officially announced, although invitations have been issued and insiders say that if these are accepted the competition will have a definite A-list of today’s top international poker players.
Spots 63 and 64 will be awarded to winners of events hosted by NBC and Caesar’s Palace, respectively.
Buy-ins for the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship’s 64 seats are not cheap – each carries a $20 000 price tag, but the rewards and kudos are substantial, with the overall winner expected to take home a check for half a million dollars or more.