Poker Blue.com has announced the formation of “Team PokerBlue”, a first-ever team concept designed to dramatically improve player odds in the $80 million 2006 World Series of Poker, scheduled for July 28-August 10.
High limit poker impresario Yosh Nakano is the brains behind Team Poker Blue and serves as Chief Ambassador for the site. His plan is claimed to improve team-member odds to cash or to share in the $10 million first prize, from 800-1 to 1-3 and 8,000-1 to 308-1, respectively.
According to Nakano, a world-ranked player who is widely regarded to be the premier high-limit host in Southern California, “battling to win … or even to cash, in an event of this magnitude, with an anticipated 8,000 participants and a $80 million prize pool on the line … is a daunting task. Team Poker Blue represents the most creative and innovative offer in all of poker.”
The team will comprise a maximum of 26 players, each whom will own a 1 percent interest in each of their teammates. Therefore, if the 2006 WSOP winner is a member of Team Poker Blue, each team member will receive at least $100K. The winner will receive $7.5 million. Each team member will also receive a piece of any cash winnings of Team Poker Blue Co-Captains Ted Forrest and Nakano.
Ted Forrest is the 2006 NBC National Heads-Up Champion and said to be the top tournament and cash player in the world today. Nakano is the 2006 CBS Intercontinental Poker Champion. In winning the Intercontinental (see previous reports), Nakano out-gunned a field of 21 world-class players from 21 different countries … each player representing their native country. Nakano represented Japan. Other notables included — Doyle Brunson (USA), Daniel Negreanu (Canada), Johnny Chan (China), Sam Farha (Lebanon), and Hasan Habib (Pakistan).
Qualifying satellites for Team PokerBlue begin on July 6, at 7 p.m. (Pacific), at the recently revamped site.