Celebrities Vs. the Pros at the World Poker Tour Invitational

The pro-celebrity WPT Invitational tournament helped shine the Hollywood spotlight on poker, and further raised the awareness of the game in this influential crowd. From Don Cheadle to Lou Diamond Phillips to Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick to Meatloaf to Mickey Rooney – the stars showed up for the opportunity to play with today's greatest poker players.

Time-honored poker veterans may be wondering why there is a need for such an event. After all, isn't the World Poker Tour dedicated to the best and brightest that poker has to offer?

It is true that the World Poker Tour creates fantastic opportunities for professional players to win huge amounts of prize money and be publicly recognized for their efforts. However, the World Poker Tour is also dedicated to helping increase the awareness of the game overall – not just among poker fans who are already out there, but among people who may be interested in playing but have never done so.

"Poker is clearly shedding its backroom, rough and tough image as people find out how intrinsically interesting it can be," says Steve Lipscomb, creator and co-producer of the World Poker Tour. "Influential people in Hollywood and the business world have embraced poker as a charismatic game of strategy, psychology, and showmanship." Poker scenes are becoming more and more frequent in movies and television shows (Ocean's Eleven, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, West Wing, and CSI are a few recent examples), and the game is a weekly off-camera ritual for some of Hollywood's hottest celebrities and most powerful studio executives.

At this year's pro-celebrity WPT Invitational, the celebrities didn't go down easily – especially Mickey Rooney, who just missed the final table, finishing in seventh place. His determination to win, along with a great poker face, carried him through a challenging tournament and enabled him to finish higher than most of the poker legends. Former baseball great Lenny Dykstra played in awe of the poker pros, stating, "I've played in baseball's World Series, and this is just as exciting as that!"

The honor of being the first player to go out went to Norm McDonald. With his tail between his legs and his head hung low, Norm went downstairs to the Commerce Casino poker room to continue playing while the tournament continued in the ballroom upstairs. He mentioned something about needing practice, and vowed to do better next year.

Amarillo Slim must have been distracted by the beauty of Playmate of the Year Brande Roderick. She outplayed him – and this was the first time she had ever played poker! "I can't believe I went out after the poker champion, Amarillo Slim! He busted out. It was so much fun. I loved it!" exclaimed Roderick.

Longtime poker player and actor Dick Van Patten observed, "These men in this game, it's like they all know the secret of life. They all look so smart. They all look like they know something I don't know." Lou Diamond Phillips was introduced to a whole new level of poker, noting, "At home you might try to chase a straight or fill a flush or do something goofy like that, because you're just having fun. With these guys, it's straight-up. It's real poker. And, they're not messing around." Meanwhile, actor Don Cheadle learned a few lessons, to be patient and wait for the cards. He noted that he's going to use what he learned at the WPT Invitational against his buddies in his own home game. Look out, guys!

As players got knocked out and the paparazzi's flashbulbs burned out, Los Angeles Lakers co-owner Jerry Buss carried the flag for the celebrities and made it to the final table, playing against Layne Flack, David Chiu, Men Nguyen, Tony Ma, and Andy Glazer.

The event brought a new level of glamour and awareness to the game. And, who knows? Maybe with a little practice and luck, we will see more of the Hollywood stars make it to the final table in 2004. In the meantime, they can look back on the good time they had and practice the tips and tricks they picked up at the WPT Invitational.

The World Poker Tour airs every Wednesday night on the Travel Channel through the end of June (check your local TV listings for times). Go to www.worldpokertour.com for more information.