Although the action on the tables at Caesars Palace for the 2011 National Heads-Up Poker Championship (NHUPC) doesn’t begin until Noon Pacific Time today, the draw party on Thursday night provided some surprises.
The combatants for this year’s NHUPC gathered at the Pure nightclub at Caesars Palace last night to determine the starting brackets for this weekend’s tournament. Of particular interest for many in attendance was the appearance of former World Series of Poker Main Event champion Greg Raymer and his display of what is apparently a one-off sponsorship.
As you may remember, Raymer was part of a purge of poker professionals from their roles at Team PokerStars last month. Many have stated that the largest online poker site in the industry was asking some of its sponsored players to take less money for promoting the site. Rumors are that the 2004 Main Event champion wasn’t pleased with the offer and, instead of renewing his contract with PokerStars, decided to walk away.
Thus, Raymer’s appearance at the draw party on Thursday night – and his display of a Full Tilt Poker patch – has drawn plenty of attention from those in the poker community. Bluff Magazine reported that it is a one-time deal for Raymer, although it alludes to the possibility that it could become more if he turns in a solid performance during the NHUPC. It is also common for online sites to pick up unaffiliated players during high-profile tournaments such as the NHUPC, which airs on NBC.
The first round match-up for Raymer will be with another player out of the Team Full Tilt Poker stable, Mike Matusow. According to Matusow, the duo will be on the feature table when play begins later this afternoon. Earlier this morning on his Twitter feed, “The Mouth” Tweeted, “Just found out that me and Greg Raymer are gonna be feature table in round one of NBC HU. Should be fun!”
In addition to taking his seat at the NHUPC, Raymer is also selling shares of himself through a popular online staking site. At ChipMeUp, Raymer is selling partial stakes of himself for $3 each.
In Raymer’s case, he has reserved 60% of what he wins for himself and is offering 40% to ChipMeUp in the form of 4,000 shares for purchase. At the time of writing, the opportunity to buy shares has closed, but there was a great deal. 2,847 shares had been purchased at $3 each, with the major buyer in Raymer’s market being poker pro Antanas “Tony G” Guoga, who purchased 2,000. If Raymer is able to win the NHUPC and its $750,000 first place prize, Tony G stands to make $150,000 on his $6,000 expenditure.
For the first time in the history of the NHUPC, the defending champion will not be defending their crown. 2010 NHUPC victor Annie Duke and her brother Howard Lederer were not listed on the NHUPC brackets. The reason for their absence is unknown, although Matusow Tweeted, “Her mother had a stroke and is on her death bed. Neither her or Howard are playing.”
Other players have been piping up through Twitter to let their fans know who they will be taking on in their first round matches. David Williams Tweeted to his followers on Thursday evening, “NBC Heads Up Poker Champs tomorrow. Round 1, I play Emmitt Smith. Pretty insane since I’m a Cowboys fan.” Another member of the Team PokerStars Pro stable, Vanessa Selbst, Tweeted, “Drew Eli Elezra first round of NBC HU. Let’s hope I run good in the $25K flipament!”
