The cat’s out of the bag. According to a story at Production Weekly, it’ll be Hayden Christensen playing the role of ten-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth in The Madison Kid, the movie detailing the life and times of one of the poker world’s most visible players. “He’s officially committed,” the story quotes Hellmuth as saying, referring to Christensen. The movie is scheduled to start filming next spring

Moviegoers will likely recognize Christensen from his role as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, though The Madison Kid, which also has had the working title Poker Brat, might fall just a bit shy of those movies’ lofty box-office receipts. The alternate ‘Madison’ title plays on Madison, WI, Hellmuth’s hometown, where he abandoned his college education after his junior year to pursue his poker career. Success didn’t take long to arrive for Hellmuth: In 1989, at age 24, he became the youngest-ever winner of the WSOP’s Main Event, in a stunning win that prevented Johnny Chan from winning that title for the third straight year, a feat no poker player has ever managed.

The film is scripted by Hellmuth pal Bob Soderstrom and produced by L.A.-based Beacon Pictures, whose most famous films include Air Force One, The Hurricane, and The Emperor’s Club. Soderstrom and Beacon chairman Armyan Bernstein are also both University of Wisconsin-Madison graduates.

Currently up in the air is the location of the film’s shooting. Right now it will likely be filmed in Winnipeg, but Hellmuth, in an impassioned plea for funding assistance appearing in a Madison newspaper, wants the production to occur back in his old stomping grounds. Winnipeg, as with several other Canadian cities, offers incentives and wage concessions that often make a Canada locale the prudent choice for filming, while Madison has never been a film mecca. “It’s all about the bottom line,” wrote Hellmuth, “but what a missed opportunity it would be if Winnipeg served as the ‘city double’ for Madison. I want to visit the ‘Madison Kid’ movie set in April of 2007 in the city that I grew up in.”

The Internet Movie Database (imdb.com) does not yet show a listing for The Madison Kid, though an ‘announced’ listing is likely to appear in the near future as the film enters the pre-production stage. As of this report, a search on ‘Poker Brat’ resolves to Hellmuth’s own on-air credits for his appearances in several televised poker programs.

As for the selection of Christensen, it is perhaps only fitting that an actor tied to one screen icon now moves to the role of another, although it’s not the icon one would expect. Hellmuth offered another memorable quote on this when he served up the following in his Madison plea: “In some respects, I’d like to think that I’m the true-life poker equivalent of the fictional pugilist Rocky Balboa

Somewhere on a college campus right now some youngster in a Marketing 101 course is learning that attractive women help to sell products, especially to men. There may be no better source of striking beauty than Playboy and their bunnies. With the enormous majority of poker players being of the male gender, it seems that poker and Playboy would be a natural marriage. Um, perhaps “marriage” is the wrong word to use when speaking about this topic! Well, the 2003 World Series Main Event Champ Chris Moneymaker signed a partnership with Playboy Enterprises as soon as he started his company, Moneymaker Gaming. They started off by producing a line of poker products together, including high-end poker chips with Playmate logos and pictures. Now, Moneymaker is looking to do one better; he’s looking to bring you the real thing! He is hoping to trump all of the other poker camps by combining many men’s ultimate weekend: poker and the Playboy Mansion!

Staring January 21st, Moneymaker Gaming is hosting a long weekend of cards, instruction, and parties with the Playboy Poker Camp presented by Moneymaker Gaming. While talking with event organizers and Chris Moneymaker himself, it seems like it is slated to be something like a regular instructional poker camp that’s been pumped up with extra doses of testosterone. Participants will get lectures, instructions, and demonstrations from a few of the top names in poker. Scheduled to present at the Morongo Casino in Palm Springs include top-level poker pros such as Layne Flack, David Williams, Jim “Krazy Kanuck” Worth, and, of course, Chris Moneymaker. After the classroom sessions the campers take on each other and the pros with a couple of tournaments and Sit-n-Go’s, with $100 thousand in cash and prizes in the pool up for grabs. What sets this apart from other poker camps are the parties that surround these instructional sessions. The whole thing kicks off in the sleek Ultra Lounge with a party hosted by Playmates such as Monica Leigh (Miss March 2006) and Carmella DeCesare (Playmate of the Year, 2004). It is capped off with what promises to be one heck of an event, a party with poker pros, some celebs, and Playmates at the Mansion!

In a recent conversation, Moneymaker summed it all up with the statement, “So for the poker side of it, you’re getting good instruction, you’re having fun playing great poker and having fun playing in a big tournament that’s gonna have a nice prize pool. And then, the other benefit is you’re gonna have two parties. One at the Morongo with the Playboy bunnies and then, two, the last night, we’re all jumping on buses that have fully-stocked bars and taking them down to the Playboy mansion. And there will be over 50 topless Playmates running around and having a good time!” Now, that is one heck of a sales pitch.

Packages start at about $5 thousand per camper. That gets you two days of poker instruction, meals, entry into the tournaments with a shot at the $100 thousand dollar prize pool, and the bashes at the Ultra Lounge and at Heff’s Mansion. If a camper is brave enough to take his spouse to this long weekend, $900 allows them to tag along and hit the spa while poker “class” is in session. The price tag is a bit more than similar instructional camps offered by top pros, but Chris had no reservations in detailing why the extra charge is justified when he said, “Hey, I would pay $5-grand just to go to the parties!” In additional to hanging their hat on the parties, it does also seem that the organizers are pumping some of the per-camper cost back into the tournament prize pool. You see, the $100K in prizes that they advertise is much more than most other poker camps promise to have. In addition to cold hard cash, winners in the tournament can win interesting awards such as tickets to future parties at the Mansion, a lunch with a Playmate, and a Vegas vacation for a group of you and your buddies.

More information, including the fees for all of the possible packages and details on the included tournaments, is available at their website: playboypokercamp.com. Stayed tuned to pokernews.com for more updates on this one, too. Sorry for the cheesy pun, but we have to say that this is one story that we will be sure to work tirelessly to ‘uncover’.

When the Unlawful Internet Gaming Enforcement Act passed through the Congress and was signed by President Bush in October, the outrage was palpable from every sector of the poker community. The Poker Players Alliance (and several other smaller organizational efforts) rose to inform American poker players and encourage them to take action against those responsible for driving the legislation through the American government. Now, almost two months from the off-year (read: non-Presidential) election later, what has happened and what have we learned from it?

The impact for those elected officials has been sizeable, to say the least. The main driver behind the UIGEA, Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, found a great deal of support from his party members for HR 4411 (the legislation that started the online gaming ban on its path) but found that his constituents didn’t think of it as much as they did. Election Night 2006 found him voted out of office. Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, who sided with Leach and pledged (alongside Leach at an Iowa campaign stop) to push some legislation through office before the close of the current Congress (which he did in a back-alley tack on to legislation that was sure to pass the Senate), went from being one of the Republican front runners for the 2008 Presidential race to, on Thursday, announcing he wasn’t considering a run for the Oval Office.

Two other members of Congress that promoted the UIGEA, Rep. Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, were re-elected. Goodlatte ran virtually unopposed in his Virginia district and was a lock to return to the House, but Kyl won in Arizona by a much smaller margin. While they can sit back on their victories, both Goodlatte and Kyl will not, however, find the same backing for their anti-gaming measures that they had prior to Election Night 2006.

So what effect did poker players have on the November defeats that were handed out to various members of Congress? To be realistic, there were much more serious issues on the minds of the American people (such as the situation in Iraq, several political and personal indiscretions of our representation, etc.), but the question of poker must surely have had some impact when it came to the election. Especially in former Rep. Leach’s case (and potentially in Sen. Frist’s decisions), the anger of poker players was heard in the banishment of Leach from the halls of Washington. By making their voices heard at the most special place in American democracy, the voting booth, the power of a burgeoning political caucus could be demonstrated that could affect issues in the future.

Kudos have to be handed out to the Poker Players Alliance, its president Michael Bolcerek and the staff of the organization. The PPA did something that is very difficult in the American political process and that was motivating action from its membership. They were able to educate the electorate as to the actions of Congress, identified those who were at the point of the online gaming ban, and encouraged their members and other organizations to express their opinions with their vote. The PPA has done exactly what a political action committee (PAC) would do when faced with challenges in Washington and, as membership increases and more players come to express their opinions, could be reaching that goal of what Michael Bolcerek once told me he wanted the PPA to become…”a voice for poker players to take action in Washington, like AARP or the NRA.”

With a much more moderate Congress being seated in Washington come January, there is already talk of studying the issues of online gaming and poker and perhaps the realization that regulating and taxing the industry is the best way to go. The issue of online poker may not have been the driving force behind the upheaval in Congress, but it was something that many had on their minds when they went to cast their vote. As the next few years play out, I would expect that the politics of poker will continue to have an effect on the fortunes of many a politician and many actions that Congress will look at before the 2008 presidential elections

I just couldn’t wait to get back to playing the big tournaments. Of course, I wasn’t actually able to play any of the events at the WSOP in ‘96, but just being there gave me the itch. So, I decided to sporadically take some road trips and try to learn the ropes on the smaller-tournament circuit.

My first stop was Foxwoods, where I ran into an old friend from Ottawa, Rob Gingras. Rob was already a successful tournament player, and always a threat to win any event (more on Rob in the next issue). I wasn’t. I was very green, and as Bill Seymour once put it, “a little raw.�

Anyway, I got really deep in a few of those tournaments, and made a few cashes here and there but no final tables. Rob, of course, was battling for the best all-around player award, which was no surprise to me. I would have been happy to just make a final table, but that would have to wait.

I tried my luck at the Taj Mahal and managed to cash once there, too, but still, no final table. Let’s fast-forward to the ‘97 WSOP. My game was still a little too “raw,� and I wasn’t able to take a shot at any of the expensive tournaments there. It began to get a little frustrating, but at the same time, it motivated me that much more to improve.

A couple of my friends told me the action was good in Los Angeles, so I thought, what the heck. I’d never been to Commerce Casino before, and I really didn’t know anybody there. Of course, nobody knew me, either. It was the annual Heavenly Hold’em tournament, and the buy-ins were reasonable, $200 to $500. Luckily, my friend Rob Gingras was there, and that made me feel a little more comfortable.

The game was limit hold’em, the game in which I had the majority of my experience. I’d amassed some chips early and continued to build. At last, I would make the final table. Unfortunately for me, Eskimo Clark was also at that final table with the chip lead.

I was able to maneuver my way around and finally got heads up with the intimidating Eskimo. If you’ve ever seen Eskimo, you understand what makes him so intimidating. He is a big, burly man, with a dark beard that covers his entire face, and he has won numerous big-time tournaments. Just by looking at him it’s easy to understand where his nickname came from.

When we got heads up, Eskimo had a 6-to-1 chip lead on me. I could hear a few of the spectators already saying, �Looks like Eskimo won another one.� For all intents and purposes, that was the case. Besides, who was I to play with the likes of Eskimo Clark? The result had already been predetermined by the onlookers, but I didn’t feel that way — not deep down inside of me.

We must have battled for a little over two hours. Never did I have a lead on him, but I just wouldn’t go away. At one point, I finally got close to even with him, and he stood up from the table. He went over to talk to, I assume, his backer at the time and said, �Let’s cut the kid a deal.� At that point, I knew I had him. I knew he was getting tired, and was obviously fed up.

His backer said, “Oh, come on, finish him off.� Little did Eskimo know that even if his backer had agreed, I simply don’t make deals. About 20 minutes later, I finally had my first big win, a little more than $19,000 — making my bankroll about 10 times larger.

I learned something very important that day, something that may help you in the future, as well. Confidence is a necessity. Now, I don’t mean cockiness, that is something completely different. My confidence had suffered some through my first two years at the WSOP, but I was clearly overmatched there. Playing with players who were closer to my skill level gave me the confidence I needed, not to mention one other important point: Eskimo gave me confidence by indirectly declaring he’d had enough. That was just what I needed to get me over the top. It was the perfect psychological boost. The importance of psychological warfare was something I would be conscious of and use as a weapon from that point on.

I realized how important it is not to look defeated, and to never let your opponents know that you are wounded. My position of no dealmaking has won me my fair share of tournaments. I never cared for the money that much, because I knew the money would come eventually. I took advantage of others in tournaments who were worried about the money. �Oh, come on, I’ll give you a good deal.� No. “How about this?� Sorry, no thank you.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been down to threehanded when both of my opponents have glanced over at the prize board to see the difference between second and third place. They were playing not to lose, while I was playing to win. They made it easy on me.

Deals are not all bad, they’re just not for me. If I can put financial pressure on my opponents, or show them that I’m afraid of nothing, that can only help me. Anything you can do to give yourself that extra edge should be exploited — anything within the rules of poker and ethics, that is.

Barry Greenstein is one of the most famous poker players in the world, and, unlike some of the ones dominating the camera’s spotlight on television, he also happens to be one of the best. On his website, barrygreenstein.com, he provides analysis and ratings of his own play along with that of the world’s other outstanding players. Since age 36, when he left his job at software company Symantec, he has been playing poker full time. Career wise, he estimates winning 75 percent of his no limit hold ‘em sessions, and 58 percent of his limit ones. Mr. Greenstein has donated a large portion of his winnings to Children, Incorporated which is why he is sometimes referred to as “The Robin Hood of Poker.” In this interviewer’s opinion, Mr. Greenstein, along with Ted Forrest, came off as one of the the most likable and honorable of the professionals described in Michael Craig’s The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time. While being a master of the felt, he is also an author. His picturesque and informative, Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide, got its name from the card which earned him the 2004 World Poker Tour title at Tunica. Doyle Brunson noted that the text was “like candy to a poker player.”

BC: Mr. Greenstein, thank you so much for your time. My first question concerns your status as a celebrity. Television fueled the poker boom, but it did so principally by covering tournaments (High Stakes Poker came later). As someone who is primarily a cash game player, was it ESP that suddenly led you to begin competing in tournaments at just the right time?

Barry Greenstein: I was invited to play in the Poker Superstars tournament on FSN as one of the eight best players in the world. I was chosen because of my cash game results. The producers mentioned that the public didn’t know me well because I hadn’t played in many tournaments. I told the producers I would play in some before the show aired and I would win some.

Then, when I decided to give the tournament winnings to charity, it spurred me on to keep playing in big tournaments.

BC: Along these lines, what do you find most and least appealing about fame? A few years ago you were known only to the elite, but now, due to ESPN and The Travel Channel, you’re probably recognized practically everywhere.

Barry Greenstein: It’s all good, really. People are nice to me wherever I go.

BC: My compliments on your book, Ace on the River: An Advanced Poker Guide. I really enjoyed it. You have a beautiful chapter within called “Gambling and Productive Society,” and I always use your argument that government sponsored lotteries are a far bigger scam than poker or most casino games. For those who haven’t read it, why is this true?

Barry Greenstein: Any time politicians are involved in gambling, their motives are questionable. Gamblers, on the other hand, need to be honorable or they will be ostracized.

BC: Speaking of government, what’s your opinion of the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 (UIGEA)? Do you think that, eventually, Americans will be banned from playing online all together?

Barry Greenstein: This law came into effect because the politicians weren’t getting their share of the money. When they do, online poker will become legalized and regulated.

BC: Do you think that the online ban might spell the end of the poker boom? Will it alienate the general public and decrease their level of interest?

Barry Greenstein: It will indirectly. The online sites were the deep pockets that were financing the poker boom. Not because they were putting people in tournaments, but because they were the number one advertisers for poker programming. If that money stops flowing, we will see less poker on television and less interest from the general public.

BC: In the same chapter, you label poker as an “inherently nonproductive profession” which is the reason why you so generously donate your profits from tournament wins to charities. Aren’t you selling poker a bit short here? I mean, most people don’t produce vaccines that save lives or do things preventing the extinction of species. Most of our occupations are rather mundane.

Barry Greenstein: There are many other non-productive professions also. I never said that playing poker was a bad job, it’s just not my idea of making a contribution to society or civilization.

BC: I have to ask you, what’s the attraction of playing in the big game? Many of us on the outside looking in simply can’t understand. Why would a professional want to sit down with other amazingly talented peers each and every night? How much of it is ego driven? Aren’t the swings incredibly frustrating?

Barry Greenstein: I play if I think I’m the favorite. It has nothing to do with ego. I’d rather play against rich bad players, but normally people who play for high stakes are better players than people who play for lower stakes.

BC: I’m not asking you to name names or anything, but how much of the poker instructional literature fails in making readers better players?

Barry Greenstein: I don’t read much of the literature, but I assume most of it is written for beginning and intermediate players, and there are probably some valuable ideas for the readers to think about, but not accept blindly.

BC: Like Bill Chen and Jarrod Ankenman, who just wrote The Mathematics of Poker, you also have a math background. How much of your play is mathematically based? Overall, how essential is math to success?

Barry Greenstein: Math is not the key to success, but logical thinking is, and the two are correlated.

BC: Thanks so much for your time, sir.