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.

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

Joe Hachem was born in Lebanon but grew up in Melbourne Australia. After spending years in a successful chiropractic practice he developed a rare condition that prevented him from using his hands. Lucky for him it gave him the opportunity to take cards more seriously. Now this guy is a top notch pro poker player. Dreams do come true. Joe is most noted for being the 2005 WSOP champion which handed him the prize of $7.5 million. Watch the interview with Joe Hachem here.

Word has come out that the WSOP brand may be making its debut online. The most powerful brand in poker apparently has aimed its ambitions towards the online market, excluding American players of course, for now. This follows the brand’s successful step into the tournament tour market with the WSOP Circuit Events.

The brand that made poker huge will surely make a splash on the online market. The potential in WSOP satellite entries will drive large numbers of players to the site. If Harrah’s does it right, it could become one of the leading sites in a few months.

This news also points to a bright future for online poker. Harrah’s wouldn’t be looking to expand online if they didn’t feel the political stance on the industry wasn’t going to change. The U.S. will eventually be forced to regulate the game, and Harrah’s wants to be there when it does.

For more info on this click here.

Harrah’s has announced that the 2008 WSOP will take place from May 30 through July 17. The schedule of events is still in the planning stages but the dates are confirmed, and reflect pretty much the same schedule as last year. Apparently the time slot worked well now that the coverage of the event wasn’t competing with big sporting events anymore.

They will open up a few days earlier on May 26 for two special events and an opportunity for players to register early for events. Harrah’s has improved the event every year and intends to do so again in 2008. Consideration for events overlapping will be factored in this year so that players are able to play in more events, even if they go deep in another event.

They’re likely to be marketing the $50,000 HORSE event more this year. We can also expect lots of $1500 events, as they attract so many amateur players.

In my opinion there are three names that should be considered as the greatest poker players of all time. Those names are Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Stu Unger.

Brunson has been around the longest and has 10 WSOP bracelets under his belt. He is poker’s greatest ambassador, and still competes at the highest levels while in his seventies.

Chan also has 10 WSOP bracelets and continues to be dominant at just about any table he joins. He won the WSOP main event back to back (as did Doyle), and his bracelets were won in numerous variations of the game.
The greatest, however, in my opinion was the late Stu Unger. He was a three-time winner of the WSOP main event and the purest card player ever to live. Unfortunately he was unable to control his addiction to drugs and his career was cut short in his forties when he overdosed in a Vegas hotel.