PartyPoker, the world’s second largest online poker site or network that does not accept U.S. players, may host a heads-up match between heiress Paris Hilton and World Poker Tour (WPT) Host Mike Sexton. The winner will take home a brand new Bentley.
In 2006, PartyPoker, which is owned and operated by the publicly traded firm Party Gaming, offered Hilton a chance to recoup a Bentley that she allegedly lost in a game of poker. The luxury car in question was a Continental GT, but Hilton failed to take the then-world’s largest online poker room up on its offer. Hilton quickly became the centerpiece of the poker world, albeit for a brief time period. A statement released by PartyPoker this week recalled, “We challenge her to take us up on the offer. Three years is a long time in show business and we’re sure she’d jump at it now – it is a simple offer for the former ‘Simple Life’ star. Following the original offer in 2006, the likes of Clonie Gowen also made public challenges to the heiress, but so far Paris has resisted.”
Apparently, it’s déjà vu all over again for the hotel heiress. She reportedly had her new Bentley vandalized; PartyPoker stated that egg throwing was to blame. Now, the online poker site has quickly jumped back into the spotlight, with the longtime WPT Host challenging the reality star to a heads-up game with a Bentley on the line. We’d like to think that Hilton’s reaction was, “That’s hot.” PartyPoker’s Warren Lush told Poker News Daily what format the heads-up match may take: “The Paris Hilton challenge nearly happened last time and with what happened to her recently, we thought it was right to reiterate our offer. If she decides to accept, the format will be a heads-up tournament, but we are open to discussion about a definitive structure.” The name of the game would be No Limit Texas Hold’em and no deadline has been given for Hilton to respond.
Hilton played in the 2009 WPT Celebrity Invitational at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. The tournament, which played out in February, raised money for The Vine Group. The beneficiary organization’s ambassador at the event was none other than actor Mekhi Phifer, who welcomed Hollywood’s elite including Vince Vaughn, Jason Alexander, Ben Affleck, Mena Suvari, Don Cheadle, Jon Favreau, Ricki Lake, Ray Romano, and Brad Garrett. The tournament was ultimately won by poker pro Freddy Deeb and raised $77,000 for The Vine Group.
Hilton may be best remembered for her leading role on “The Simple Life,” a reality series that also starred Nicole Richie, daughter of music legend Lionel Richie. The show aired on Fox and E! before vanishing from television airwaves two years ago. Season 1 of the show sent the duo to rural Arkansas, far away from their regular celebrity lifestyles. During Season 2, Hilton and Richie hit the road across the United States and found themselves as interns for Season 3. The fourth season of “The Simple Life” featured the subtitle “Til Death Do Us Part.” The fifth and final season sent the pair to summer camp.
Sexton, the voice of the WPT alongside Vince Van Patten, re-signed with PartyPoker as its ambassador at the end of April. A World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner, Sexton also took down the first $10,000 buy-in poker tournament ever held at Foxwoods (which occurred in 1992) and was the first American to win the Euro Finals of Poker. Sexton will represent the popular online poker site at live tournaments around the world and serve as the host of PartyPoker’s suite at the Rio for the 2009 WSOP, which starts in two weeks. He’ll also be regularly contributing to PartyPoker’s blog. Sexton is a monthly Guest Columnist right here on Poker News Daily. His most recent entry reviews the Season VII WPT Championship.
