WPT gears up for Los Angeles event

COMMERCE, California -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Glitz, glamour, fame, riches and philanthropy align in Los Angeles over two weeks in February when the World Poker Tour® (WPT) rolls into Commerce Casino for the celebrated annual LA Poker Classic and WPT Celebrity Invitational. Those two televised events are among the highlights of the WPT season and bring together the top poker players from all four corners of the globe, as well as a sensational cast of Hollywood's elite film, music and TV stars.

On the one hand, there are millions of dollars up for grabs at the L.A. Poker Classic $10,000 Championship, which begins on Feb. 25. Last year, Hungarian Andras Koroknai bested 745 players for a $1,788,040 payday, basking in the limelight of fame and fortune. He joined an esteemed group of previous LAPC winners that have included Gus Hansen, Antonio Esfandiari, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Phil Ivey.

Anyone who takes the brass ring has to get by poker's murderers' row of veterans-such as

Daniel Negreanu, Barry Greenstein, Doyle Brunson, Mike Matusow, Phil Hellmuth, Erick Lindgren, Carlos Mortensen, Vanessa Rousso, Patrick Antonius, David Pham, Chris Ferguson, David Benyamine, Jennifer Harman, Ted Forrest, John Juanda, Scotty Nguyen, Erik Seidel, Kathy Liebert and Joe Sebok-or the hotshot young stars spawned by the internet like Tom "Durrrr" Dwan, Joe Cada, Gavin Griffin, Sorel Mizzi, Annette Obrestad, Justin Bonomo and their fellow phenoms.

The glitz and glamour makes its appearance on Feb. 19, when the WPT Celebrity Invitational ushers its dazzling array of celebrities down the red carpet leading into the World's Largest Poker Casino. Before they start clicking their chips on the felt, a host of Hollywood's hottest stars will have given their sound bite to the TV crews awaiting them.

In the past that parade has included Eric Dane, Paris Hilton, Vince Vaughn, James Woods, Jenny McCarthy, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Don Cheadle, Stephen Collins, Ed Asner, Jennifer Tilly, Jon Favreau, Anne Heche, Mekhi Phifer, Sharon Lawrence, Lou Diamond Phillips, Norm MacDonald, Dean Cain, Camryn Manheim, Cheryl Hines, Kathy Griffin, Shannon Elizabeth, Maura Tierney, Oliver Hudson, Ricki Lake, Michael Vartan, Montel Williams, Josh Malina, Kevin McKidd, Hank Azaria, Dave Annable, Jerry Ferrara, Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes, among others.

They compete against WPT's top poker pros. The WPT Celebrity Invitational concludes with a taped-for-TV final table on Wednesday March 2 with the players vying for the $200,000 prize pool that Commerce Casino puts up for the event.

The philanthropy arrives in the form of the charity that the WPT Celebrity Invitational benefits each year. One very fortunate charity is selected to be the recipient of monies raised from donations at the WPT Celebrity Invitational. Last year, the event raised more than $100,000. This year's charity is expected to be revealed shortly.

Poker fans will be able to enjoy the televised Final Tables for the LA Poker Classic and the WPT Celebrity Invitational Sunday nights at 8pm and 11pm on Fox Sports Net (FSN) as part of Season IX of the World Poker Tour.

And anyone winning a nightly Supersatellite at Commerce Casino during the LAPC will get BOTH a seat in the LAPC Championship AND the WPT Celebrity Invitational!

These are but two of the highlights on a schedule that is generating tremendous excitement for Commerce Casino's 2011 L.A. Poker Classic. The schedule contains a whopping 53 events, conducted over 43 days from Jan. 19 to March 3. Buy-ins range from $125 to a heart-pounding $25,100 High Roller, and the tournaments offer $2 million in guarantees. New this year is a No Limit Hold'em Seniors Tournament. All the action begins with a four-day-start $1 million guaranteed event certain to get players charged up.

Starting time for each event varies, so please check with website for times. The full event schedule and overview for Commerce Casino's L.A. Poker Classic can be found at www.CommerceCasino.com or by calling (323) 721-2100.