With the dust barely settled after stepping down as one of the faces of Ultimate Bet, Annie Duke has announced her next title will be Poker League Commissioner.
Duke, along with former World Series of Poker commissioner Jeffrey Pollack, have paired to created the private company Federated Sports + Gaming, which lays the groundwork for a still unnamed pro poker league that they envision as the ”PGA of poker.”
While televised poker events like the WSOP and World Poker Tour are open to anyone who can cough up the buy-in, the new pro poker league will be invite only. According to Pollack, league membership will “signify standing as a true professional in poker,” and the league will be “built on a timeless value: putting people first.”
Somewhere around 200 players will receive invites to the league. Cash and online success will not garner an invite, but a mathematic formula measuring finishes in recent major events and money earned will. Memberships will be offered in two, three or five-year terms, with a few lifetime memberships being handed out to living legends.
The league, which looks like it might be named the Federated Poker League, will schedule four televised regular-season events, followed by a $1 million championship freeroll to be played at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas sometime in 2011.
“Fans have shown over and over again that they love the stars of this game,” said Duke to the AP. “It’s the stars of this game that they really want to be watching on television, and I think the stars should get something in return for that.”
“This is incredibly pro-centric,” Duke continued. “This is the one piece that’s kind of missing from the poker landscape … the best players in the world to compete against the best players in the world.”
One pro that will not be receiving an invite is Duke herself, who will sacrifice a membership to work as Commissioner. “This is something that I really wanted to see happen for a very long time,” said Duke. “And if my sacrifice is to give up playing full time, then that’s my sacrifice and I’m OK that.”
HighStakesReport will have more information on the exciting new league as it becomes available.
