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Pros Hit Poker Classic

LAS VEGAS --Las Vegas reclaimed its position at the center of the poker universe Wednesday when the Five-Star World Poker Classic opened at Bellagio.

The first-year tournament begins a two-month stretch when the poker world's top pros will be in Las Vegas, culminating with the World Series of Poker at Binion's Horseshoe.

"All of the top pros will be here in Las Vegas," said Jack McClelland, Bellagio poker host and tournament director. "It helps our economy, not L.A.'s, not Paris' or anywhere else."

Bellagio's 13-event tourney is highlighted by the $25,300 buy-in World Poker Tour Championship, a no-limit hold'em competition that crowns the Travel Channel-televised tour's inaugural year.

The buy-in is the biggest in multitable tournament history, and McClelland predicts 120 to 160 players will fork over the cash, generating a prize pool of as much as $4 million and a first-place prize of almost $1.5 million.

Wednesday's $1,570 buy-in limit hold'em event had 203 entries; the final table is slated to begin play at 4 p.m. today, with the winner to collect about $118,000, he said.

Mirage Resorts Chief Executive Officer Bobby Baldwin, a former World Series of Poker world champ, arranged for the tournament to be played in Bellagio's table game pit, near the poker room, to allow the room's regular array of low-, mid- and high-limit cash games to be played at the same time as the tournament.

MGM Mirage poker operations director Doug Dalton said the set-up is unparalleled.

"It's the prettiest setting for a poker tournament in the world," Dalton said.

McClelland said the war in Iraq hasn't stopped overseas players from entering the Bellagio events.

"We've had very few cancellations; none because of the war," he said.

The former World Series of Poker tournament director ran poker's top event when Jack Binion operated the Horseshoe.

McClelland said Bellagio is rooting for the poker world series to have another record-setting year.

"We're happy when they're successful," he said, noting that when Binion's draws many players for its five-week event, Bellagio's city-best live action is boosted also.

Binion's Horseshoe's director of poker operations George Fisher said the downtown property is expecting a big crowd for the world series' 34th year despite a number of war-related cancellations from overseas players.

"I'm concerned about the war's effect. We've had about 10 cancellations from France, Russia and Ireland," Fisher said. "But I still expect a huge turnout with record crowds," Fisher said.

This year's 36-event schedule begins April 15, with the $10,000 buy-in championship event slated to be crowned on May 23.

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