Jeff Haney gets a brash prediction from a favored card shark who will be on hand for the World Poker Tour’s next stop this week at the Bellagio

Monday, Oct. 16, 2006 | 7:26 a.m.

Asked about his prospects in the main event of the World Poker Tour Festa al Lago tournament at the Bellagio, Gus Hansen didn't skip a beat.

"I'd have to say that right now I'm definitely the favorite," Hansen said late Saturday night at the Bellagio, displaying a steely, picture-perfect poker face.

While it can be hazardous to try to ordain a clear favorite in any major poker tournament, Hansen's confidence should serve him well in the Festa al Lago event, scheduled to begin at noon today at the Bellagio.

The latest stop in the fifth season of the lucrative, made-for-TV World Poker Tour, the Festa al Lago championship event carries a $10,000 entry fee. The winner will receive first-place prize money, to be determined by the number of entrants, and an entry worth $25,000 into the World Poker Tour Championship tournament next April at the Bellagio.

Hansen, a three-time World Poker Tour champ known for his aggressive and unorthodox style, figures to vie with several hundred competitors ranging from top-level professional players who travel the tournament circuit nationwide to amateurs with $240 and a dream.

(The $240 represents the cost of admission to one of the 10-player, single-table satellites that have been taking place at the Bellagio leading to the main event. The top two finishers in those minitournaments earned entry to a so-called "super satellite," a bigger tournament where the top 10 percent earned a seat in the $10,000 main event.)

The final table, to be taped for the Travel Channel, is scheduled for Friday at the Bellagio after the tournament's field has been pared to its final six.

Last year's version of the Festa al Lago championship event made an official World Poker millionaire of Las Vegas pro Minh Ly, who bested a field of 420 for a top prize of $1.06 million.

Dan Harrington, author of an acclaimed three-volume set of books on tournament poker, placed second a year ago and two other Las Vegans - Gavin Smith and Don Zewin - ran third and fourth.

Bellagio director of poker operations Doug Dalton said officials are expecting another strong turnout for this week's tournament, but we'll find out today how the recent dust-up regarding the legality of Internet gambling affects the number of entrants.

Although World Poker has never permitted Americans to play poker for money on its Web site, other online poker rooms - with no official ties to World Poker - have traditionally conducted online qualifying tournaments for the live events.

Last year's field of 420 represented a big leap from the 312 players who entered the previous year's tournament. Although there was no wagering on the size of this year's field at the Bellagio, offshore book Pinnacle Sports did recently post an over/under on the number of players who will enter the 2007 World Series of Poker. Pinnacle oddsmakers have that figure at 6,900 players, which would represent a drop-off from this year's record 8,773.

The most recent stop on the World Poker Tour's tournament trail, the Borgata Poker Open last month in Atlantic City, certainly had no trouble pulling a crowd. That $10,000 buy-in event attracted a field of 540 players for a total prize pool of more than $5.2 million.

Mark Newhouse of Chapel Hill, N.C., came away with the top prize of more than $1.5 million in Atlantic City. A couple of Las Vegas players filled the place and show positions - tournament ace Chris McCormack ($802,985) and poker author and professional gambler David Sklansky ($419,040).

After this week's tournament, the World Poker Tour moves on to Niagara Falls and then the Foxwoods resort in Connecticut. It returns to Las Vegas in December for the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic (Dec. 14-19).