Jeff Haney explains that the latest attempt at a team poker league must overcome entrenched thinking about the game

Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2007 | 7:22 a.m.

The last time the high concept of a team-based poker league was floated, it sank without a trace.

A league of eight teams, each containing eight well-known professional players, was supposed to debut in Las Vegas early this year. Organizers boasted of weekly live TV broadcasts and 100-plus hours of programming in a 42-week season.

The so-called Professional Poker League never materialized.

A n unrelated team-based league reportedly scheduled to begin play this weekend on the Strip will try to avert a similar fate.

The U.S. Poker League, which has dubbed its competition the PokerBowl (evidently one word, a la ArenaBowl), has an ambitious - or is it unwieldy? - lineup of 25 six-player teams. Plenty of "celebrity" poker pros are on board, along with some lesser-known names.

The PokerBowl appears to be chiefly a made-for-TV event, with a series of tournaments scheduled to take place in less than a week.

Calls to the league office in Washington state went to an answering machine, and a message seeking details was not returned.

Although all the action is to take place in Las Vegas, team names come complete with cities attached, undoubtedly for marketing purposes.

Some of the team names - such as the Pittsburgh Stealers and Dallas Kowboys - might be short-lived, according to poker insider Tom Somach, once the NFL's lawyers get wind of the poker league.

"Stealers" plays on the poker term "stealing," which refers to winning a pot by bluffing. Kings are commonly called "cowboys."

"Changing one letter won't save it from the NFL," cracked Somach of the Web site pokerhelper.com. He pointed out the NFL is so anti-gambling it even forbids NBC from promoting its series "Las Vegas" during pro football telecasts.

The long-standing reputation of poker as an individual pursuit rather than a collaborative effort, however, could pose a more significant obstacle.

Although it forbids any signaling, the U.S. Poker League will feature teammates competing at the same table - a situation that requires thinking about poker in a whole new way.

Through its long history, a big part of poker's appeal has come from the hallowed credo that it's every player for himself .

Even a hint of team play has always been anathema in poker ; "Soft playing," "chip-dumping" and "collusion" are among the game's dirtiest words.

Any team-based poker promotion will face a tough fight in overcoming those deep-rooted perceptions.

Caesars tourney

The first event of the inaugural Caesars Palace Classic, a $550 buy-in no-limit Texas hold 'em tournament, drew 499 entrants, with Larry Merrit of Las Vegas winning the first prize of $69,608 plus a $10,000 seat in the championship event Monday to Wednesday .

In event No. 2, a $1,060 no-limit hold 'em tournament, Serge Gagnon of Jacksonville, Fla., finished atop a field of 273 to win $78,433 plus a $10,000 championship seat.

The Caesars Palace Classic, which features at least one event each day through the start of the main event, continues today with a $1,060 limit hold 'em tournament at noon.

Daily "megasatellites," or play-in tournaments, begin at 7 p.m. at the Caesars poker room. Two satellites, at noon at 7 p.m., will take place Sunday . Single-table satellites for all events run continually from 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. daily.

The championship event will award a top prize of at least $1 million.

Series note

A "soft opening" for next year's World Series of Poker at the Rio is scheduled four days before the official kickoff to allow for early registration and to avert the long lines that marred this year's opening weekend.

The World Series will take place May 30 through July 17, according to Harrah's officials. The tournament room at the Rio will open May 26 for early arrivals.