Harrah's and ESPN will attempt to interject hype, curiosity, and suspense into the World Series of Poker main event this year by making the final nine players wait until the beginning of November to finish the competition.

Patrik Antonius is one of the most aggressive cash-game players in the world, and his onslaught of betting has helped him to scoop his share of pots. He is a regular player in the "big game" at Bellagio in Bobby's Room, and he also has made appearances on GSN's cash-game show, High Stakes Poker. In fact, he was involved in one of the biggest hands ever played on the hit series; he and Sammy Farha tussled over a pot of $998,800.

This hand took place in the 2007 Five-Diamond World Poker Classic main event. Most players know Hevad Khan, after he finished in sixth place in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event, taking home almost a cool million. He also is a strong online player who was once suspended from PokerStars for playing too many tables at the same time. PokerStars management apparently thought that no one could play 40 tables simultaneously. He was reinstated when they realized that he was actually doing it. Mikael Thuritz, from Stockholm, Sweden, is a well-known live and online player, as well, whom Khan described as having "sick good" abilities.

At only 27 years old, Gavin Griffin already holds one of the most impressive collections of poker's most prestigious titles: World Series of Poker, European Poker Tour, and World Poker Tour championships. Now, Card Player is giving its readers a chance to send questions directly to the poker prodigy. Poker fans can send Griffin their questions to gg@CardPlayer.com. The questions can be about anything from poker strategy to his opinions on certain aspects of poker or his life as a poker pro traveling the circuit. The best questions will be answered by Griffin and published in Card Player. If your question makes it into print, we'll send you a free Card Player T-shirt.

While it may not be the media circus that is the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour Championship event remains as one of the lone remaining true tests of skill for tournament professionals. The hefty $25,000 buy-in accomplishes two goals: It creates the largest prize pool of the year on the WPT, and it keeps out most of the dead-money satellite winners. It is by far the toughest no-limit hold'em field of the year to navigate, as evidenced by this year's final table of six players who have collectively won more than $16 million in their careers.

American soldiers certainly played poker in Vietnam -- in jungle hooches, Hanoi prison cells, air-conditioned offices in Saigon -- as they have in every conflict since the Civil War. A more interesting story, perhaps, is how one of the cards in their poker decks came to be used as a weapon.

This is the time of year when it's easy to get excited about poker. The $25,000 2008 World Poker Tour Championship at Bellagio just wrapped up, and Vegas is abuzz with World Series of Poker preparation. More and more tournaments are being finalized for the influx of poker players like you who will invade Las Vegas later this summer, when there will be millions of dollars up for grabs.

I had been at Bellagio playing in a tournament with David Plastik and Gavin Smith, but I was knocked out by midday, so I decided to play in a cash game. I sat in on a $5-$10 no-limit hold'em game to kill time. I was in seat No. 1 and bought in for $500. Four hours later, I was sitting on about $3,000. In the big blind, I peered down at pocket aces. Two people limped into the pot for $10, seat No. 10 raised it to $90 to go, I smooth-called, and both limpers went away.

I first visited Ireland a full 20 years ago, and loved it. After playing in the European Championship on the Isle of Man and finishing second, I was ready to take on the Irish in Terry Rogers' Eccentric Tournament, now known as the Irish Open. This is actually where I picked up my nickname "Dark Horse."