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NEW PRO POKER LEAGUE SIGNS MAJOR TELEVISION DEAL

Source: http://www.bluffed.net


Epic Poker League and CBS agreement signed

Epic Poker League, a new professional poker players' organisation headed by former World Series of Poker chief Jeffrey Pollack and top international poker pro Annie Duke, has announced a successful deal for an undisclosed consideration with the television network CBS.

The deal will include 20 hours of programming from five poker tournaments, including a $1 million free-roll no-limit Texas Hold 'em championship planned in February in Las Vegas. The television coverage will be hosted by sports announcer Pat O'Brien, a current Fox Sports Radio host and Emmy-winning former TV sports announcer who covered Olympics, Super Bowls and other sports and entertainment.

His co-host will be Ali Nejad, a commentator for previous poker television coverage including the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and "Poker After Dark."

The league requires players to qualify for tournaments through past results and recent wins in major live tournaments, in hopes of generating fields of only the toughest poker players.

"Both companies share our commitment to providing a world-class stage and significant new exposure for poker's most talented live tournament players," Pollack said in a statement released Wednesday.

A CBS spokesman said that most of the Epic tournaments will air on Velocity, a Discovery Communications network launching in October this year.

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