“Poker players over the age of 21 in Schuylkill County have a venue that creates all the excitement, camaraderie and competition of a live game in Las Vegas or Atlantic City.

Riverchasers Poker Tour is an amateur Texas Hold ‘Em league whose popularity is growing with young and old throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Texas Hold ‘Em is a form of seven-card draw poker.

Currently, 12 venues in the Schuylkill County area hold Riverchasers tournaments each week.

“Our games are 100-percent legal. There is no buy-in, no cash involved at the table whatsoever. It’s a fun game, that’s it,” said Ralph Rittle, Cumbola, tournament manager/director.

“We do whatever we have to do to make sure it is legal. If it wasn’t, the PLCB (Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board) would shut us down and the owner of the bar would pay a fine,” said James M. Bound, another tournament director from Cumbola.”

The Republican & Herald (09/06/07)

“The National Poker League, which despite its name is actually pound-for-pound the most international of the major poker circuits, has found a new home base at the Venetian. The Venetian poker room will host two of the league’s five events this year including its world championship event, a three-day, $15,000 buy-in no-limit Texas hold ‘em tournament scheduled for Dec. 3-5.

Just before the championship tournament, the Venetian will host the 2007 Vegas Open from Nov. 24 to Dec. 2. The Vegas Open includes four preliminary no-limit hold ‘em tournaments with $2,500 buy-ins and culminates with a $5,000 buy-in no-limit hold ‘em tournament.”

Las Vegas Sun (08/15/07)

“The National Poker League, an international poker organization, announced that they have joined forces with The Venetian Resort~Hotel~Casino in Las Vegas to host the 2007 Vegas Open, scheduled November 24th – 30th, and the World Championship Tournament on December 3rd. The Venetian Poker Room will also serve as the home base for the NPL Broadcast Center for all 26-episodes of the NPL television series airing nationally and internationally to more than a projected 100-million viewers.

“We are extremely honored and excited to partner with The Venetian as The Venetian Poker Room offers poker players a stylish and comfortable environment for our player-friendly tournament,” exclaimed Robert Huxley, vice president of poker operations for NPL. “By making The Venetian the new home of the NPL, we are assured to provide players with a magnificent poker room and a resort that offers the very best Las Vegas has to offer.”

All In (08/12/07)

“The World Series of Poker has ended, and there are still several World Poker Tour events remaining. So let us take a look at a poker tournament alternative.

The Heartland Poker Tour will start a league in September.

According to HPT publicity releases, the league will be designed to “bring more poker to the people.”

The league will run from September to December and use a point system to record results at participating casinos.

According to a report on www.pokerlistings.com, each casino will name a league champion after 12 weeks of competition. A league champion will receive a package worth $2,700 and a seat in the televised Heartland Poker Tour Championship at the Majestic Star Casino in Gary, Ind., Dec. 1-9.”

Pahrump Valley Times (08/01/07)

“Three poker players from North Platte sat down at the final table of nine at the Nebraska Poker League State Championship in Lincoln on Saturday, having eliminated 52 other hopefuls from across the state.

Jeff Schulz of North Platte dominated the final table according to league organizer and Nebraska Poker founder Brook Lyter.

“At the beginning of the tournament, a cute little girl kept chanting ‘Uncle Jeff, Uncle Jeff,’” Lyter said. “Her cheers were persistent and loud enough that everyone wanted to know who this Uncle Jeff guy was…”

The North Platte Telegraph (05/23/07)

HOPE, N.D. – Poker is a game laced with testosterone. The opportunity to bluff – a nonphysical way of bullying – makes the game enticing for males who like to flaunt their manly manliness.

But in the most popular poker tournament in the region, estrogen won out. Joyce Whitmore, a 68-year-old grandma-of-five from Hope, won the Dakota Poker League championship May 5.

“Some guys don’t like it very much to get beat by a woman, especially a grandma,” Whitmore said…”

Grand Forks Herald (05/13/07)

“The Dakota Poker League has grown in spades the past three years. Thousands of amateur and professional card sharks are seated into the organization`s games every week. This type of gaming has become popular with thousands of the state`s gamblers because the financial risk is dealt out of Texas Hold`em when the game is played as part of the Dakota Poker League.

“You get the chips for free and the rest is up to you.”

Brook Lyter started the weekly statewide card game three years ago and he says the pot of players who participate has grown so much that the league has expanded into South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska.

“This is a great way for people to have fun and to play poker without gambling, without risking any money whatsoever.”

KYFR-TV (05/04/07)