Great Article about NPL
Hold ’em or fold ’em.
That is just one of the many phrases or lines one is likely to hear during a game of poker, mainly Texas Hold ’Em.
Texas
Hold ’Em has been very popular since the late ’60s but only recently
has the craze hit Nebraska in an organized, state-wide form.
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The Nebraska Poker League started in 2005, and is part of the Free
Poker Network, which has 255 leagues nationwide, with 15 in Nebraska
alone. Based out of Fargo, N.D., it took a few years for the FPN to
grab a foothold in the United States.
There are several leagues
in America, due to the recent boom in online playing. However, there is
no form of governing body, leaving leagues and networks to battle each
other for territory, just like in the early days of Vegas when the game
was first brought to the nation.
On May 3 at the Eastside Cafe
and Bar in Monroe, the Nebraska Poker League held its Party at the
Palms! Regional, where several local people played.
“People in
Nebraska have really taken to the Nebraska Poker League,” tournament
administrator Pete Bushey said. “Once the NPL started in Nebraska, it
didn’t take long for it to spread out and even grow. We always have new
bars and new towns that are looking to get involved.”
Bushey is
right, as people from Columbus, Clarkson, Lincoln, Omaha and other
cities flock all over the state to wherever the tournament is held.
The
Party at the Palms! is one of many poker leagues set up through the
NPL, and all of which are free to compete for avid poker players. For
this league players play at local bars, including Double Ts and Bigunz
in Columbus.
Players gain points depending on how many are
playing. At the end of a playing cycle, which occurs every four months,
if the players have accumulated enough points, they qualify for the
regional tournament.
At Monroe, where this last cycle’s
tournament was held, the top five finishers qualified for the
championship event held at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas June 28.
The
championship event will be held at the Kingpin suites, which run up to
$15,000 a night, and the five players from the Nebraska Regional will
play against 45 other players from across the nation.
The top 21
players from the championship event will qualify for the World Series
of Poker event, which ESPN has turned into a national phenomenon since
2002.
As for the five qualifiers from Nebraska, the top two
received an all-expenses paid pass to Las Vegas, while the other three
will be required to pay for their way to Sin City. The same goes for
the top two finishers at the championship event as at the Nebraska
Regional, meaning that with the right amount of knowledge and a little
bit of luck, a player could win free trips to Las Vegas twice in one
year.
A total of 78 players participated in the regional in
Monroe. The solid turnout shows just how popular Texas Hold ’Em has
become in Nebraska.
“Poker is a big thing to a lot of people. They enjoy it for its level of risk and the great level of competition,” Bushey said.
The
prizes, like trips to Las Vegas and Caribbean Cruises, don’t hurt
either, but one thing is certain: Texas Hold ’Em is here in Nebraska,
and it isn’t going anywhere.
Columbus area players
• Sue
Bernstein, Shawn Boss, Rod Lovig, Jordan Krzycki, Jeff Merrill, Steve
Swoboda, Lorinda Reynolds, Bob Drozd, Lynda Anderson, Adrian Sanchez,
Dave Jensen, Renee Held, Jim Dubias, Rich Foerster, Dan Wemhoff, Jim
Follette, Mike Montgomery, Larry Hansen, Sam Christenson.
Clarkson area players
• Michael Brabec, Rod Steffensmeier, Calvin Musil, Milo Tomasek, Rod Novotny, Keith Brabec.