EPISODE SUMMARY

Maybe it's because of the built-in drama... maybe it's the "acting" one must practice when bluffing… but Hollywood has always had a fascination with poker. Scores of celebrities claim to regularly play in home games. Yet the only proof we have that they know the game at all is through movies like Rounders, The Sting and The Cincinnati Kid. That is...until now.

The World Poker Tour invited some of these celebrities and some of the superstars of the poker world to test their skill against one another in the pro-celebrity WPT Invitational. The impressive list of participants included poker pros Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Amarillo Slim, and Howard Lederer, plus a select list of known poker enthusiasts from the entertainment industry, including movie stars Don Cheadle, Lou Diamond Phillips, and Mickey Rooney and television stars Norm MacDonald, Dick Van Patten and Gabe Kaplan. Rock star Meatloaf played, as did Kato Kaelin, comedians Dom DeLuise and Sara Silverman, Playmate Brande Roderick and others.

A total of 100 players gathered at the Commerce Casino in LA to compete for a portion of the $200,000 free roll prize. Against the 12:1 odds, the Final Table did, indeed, include one of the 15 celebrity players.

Hollywood legend Mickey Rooney went out on the bubble, leaving Los Angeles Lakers owner Dr. Jerry Buss as the lone celebrity on the final day. High stakes poker is nothing new to Buss. He plays regularly, including private games that have the stakes and caliber of play that are high enough to attract the occasional pro, like fellow finalist Layne Flack. Making a statement and showing that he belonged, Buss came out swinging and won the first hand.

Just two hands later we saw the day's first casualty as poker journalist Andy Glazer, with an A,J off-suit saw his all-in bet called by Flack's A,K, which were both paired on the flop. Andy thus picked up his pen and began his more familiar task of covering a final table, albeit with an unfamiliar lump of $6,000 in his pocket!

Next to go was former player-of-the-year Tony Ma. After Ma, with an A,J, came over the top of Flack's K,10 bet, Flack had to decide whether to call the all-in bet. In a playful mood, the chip leader actually flipped a coin before deciding to call Ma. The flop paired Flack's K and Ma was out, though $7,000 richer.

In the very next hand, Men "The Master" Nguyen went all-in with wired 5's and was called by David Chiu's A,Q. The community cards came Q,10,4,6,A and The Master had to be satisfied with $10,000 and a 4th place finish.

Any player will tell you that it is hard to beat the kind of commanding chip lead Flack had all day, but it was next to impossible when Flack was on a run of luck as well. Chiu, with an Ad,10d limped into the pot and Flack, with an A,6 off-suit checked. The flop came 8,8,8. Chiu bet $15,000. Flack came over the top, all in. The only card that could win Flack this hand was a 6. So of course a 6 came on the turn, a 5 on the river. Chiu left the table in disbelief, but with $20,000 to soften the blow.

At this point, heads up, Buss' relative inexperience began to show. He had witnessed Flack's luck, been burned by it, and was now being bullied by it. In a telling hand, Flack limped into the pot and Buss, with an A,K simply called. With a 9,7,6 flop, Buss bet a timid $10,000, which was nothing to Flack's chip stack. After a 5 came on the river Buss checked. Flack, sensing weakness, bet $20,000 and Buss folded. Layne made this kind of play again and again with the amateur.

Buss eventually got more aggressive, but ran into the buzz saw that was Flack's lucky streak. With an Ad,10d Buss finally made a bold play and moved all in, only to see Flack turn over an A,Q. The Q held up. So this year Buss, like his Lakers, had to watch the championship crown go to someone else. For his troubles, Buss added the $40,000 second place purse to his already considerable wealth.

Flack, on the other hand, found the $100,000 first place prize money a much greater boost to his personal net. Additionally, the renowned party boy received a $25,000 seat in the WPT Championship event - and who knows, maybe even some invitations to celebrity home games around Hollywood.

This tournament is included in the World Poker Tour Season One DVD Collection.