Randy Couture, the UFC heavyweight champion (aka “The Natural”) who recently resigned from Dana White’s hugely popular MMA organization, is set to host a charity poker tournament on January 12, 2008 at The Joint in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in (where else?) Las Vegas.

Jamie Gold, the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event winner, and Dean Cain, the actor who starred as Superman in the popular television series “Lois and Clark”, have signed on to be part of the field in “Operation All In”.

With a buy-in of only $550 “Operation All-In” is a No Limit Texas Hold’em event with a guaranteed prize pool. The goal? To raise money for the Xtreme Couture GI Foundation, a non-profit founded by Randy and Kim Couture to honor the veterans of America’s armed forces. Its goal is to raise money and awareness for those wounded in action and their families.

For more information on how to participate in this charity tournament or how to donate to Couture’s non-profit, please visit his website.

Created by PokerStars.net, Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT) was and kicked off in August 2007 in South Korea before going onto the Philippines and Sydney. It’s goal? To become one of the world’s richest poker tours (and a first in Asia!). Like all big poker tournaments (think WSOP and WPT), the APPT is also scheduled to air its first season on television channels across the world in early 2008.

Providing poker enthusiasts with the chance to test their No Limit Texas Holdem skills against some of the world’s best players in the most glamorous of Asia Pacific destinations, the APPT is currently working on a new season’s worth of poker tournaments.

APPT Season 1 Highlights: Grant Levy Becomes First Aussie to Win Sydney Tournie

On December 16th Grant Levy, a 28-year-old school teacher, beat out a field of 561 players (including four pros!) and picked up a cool one million dollars en route to becoming Sydney’s first ever PokerStars.net APPT Champion at Star City Casino.

Levy had no idea he had become the first Aussie to win a million-dollar tournament on Aussie soil. “To be honest I am still taking it all in,” Levy said immediately after his big win. “It’s unbelievable to think that I have taken on some of the world’s greats and come out on top. I’m ecstatic to take the title and the million – I think it’s going to take a week or so to even sink in.”

The 2008 WSOP has a couple of changes from last year. There will be seven $10,000 World Championship events in Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em; Seven-Card Stud; Limit Hold’em; Omaha Hi-Low Split Eight or Better; Pot-Limit Omaha; and a new Mixed Event. The dates of the 2008 WSOP are near the same, running from May 30 to July 16. WSOP officials plan a “soft opening” of the tournament room on May 28 for players to register early and play in satellite tournaments and cash games.

The first $1500 no-limit tournament now has two starting days, May 31 and June 1, because of the immense popularity of the event in 2007. Gone are the tents, and Harrahs promises to have everyone inside this year. On July 2, Annie Duke will host the second annual Ante up for Africa Charity Tournament.

For the complete schedule of event dates and times just visit  http://www.worldseriesofpoker.com/tourney/tourneyDetails.asp?groupID=411

The tenth event on the World Poker Tour schedule will be held in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. The Niagara FallsView Casino will host the WPT from October 26 to November 2, 2007. The Canadian dollar is on par with the U.S. greenback these days, so the $10,000 + $300 buy-in in Canadian dollars will be the same as playing in the States, except the tax man won’t be there looking for 30% of it.

Schedule

Fri, Oct 26 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 1) $10,000+$300
Sat, Oct 27 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 2)
Sun, Oct 28 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 3)
Mon, Oct 29 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 4)
Tue, Oct 30 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 5)
Wed, Oct 31 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 6)
Thu, Nov 1 No Limit Hold’em Championship (Day 7)
Fri, Nov 2 at 12:00 PM WPT No Limit Hold’em Championship Final Day