Strip Poker: World Series of Golf Begins

It seems that golf, poker, and gambling continue to cross paths, and the World Series of Golf is a product of that. The second-annual event began Monday at the Paiute Golf Resort in Las Vegas, and the original 80 players are now down to 20.

A few poker pros who have already been sent packing are Daniel Negreanu, Phil Ivey, and Chris Ferguson. A few who are still in contention for the $250,000 first-place prize are Erick Lindgren, Allen Cunningham, comedian Ray Romano, and last year’s second-place finisher Rhett Butler.

In this unique format, players compete in fours until one has eliminated the other three. All four begin with same starting stack of chips. At the beginning of each hole, players ante and then wager on each shot. For example, players can go all-in after a tee-shot that lands on the green, or fold and move on to the next hole if they are in the trees. The player with the fewest strokes from each hole wins the pot for that hole.

CBS recently cemented a multi-year deal with organizers to air the event on the network. This year’s World Series of Golf is scheduled to run on June 28-29.

Last year, of the 60 amateur golfers, it was Mark Ewing who won the inaugural event held at the Mirage Hotel and Casino. The 31-year-old day-trader from Newport Beach took home $250,000. Unfortunately for Ewing, he has already been knocked out of this year’s running.

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