After its highly successful debut last Spring, NBC’s National Heads-Up Poker Championship has begun its second year today. The 64-player tournament will feature some of the best players in poker, top celebrity players, and three amateurs who won their way into the competition. This year, the competition has moved from the Golden Nugget to the prestigious Caesars Palace. Television coverage will be expanded to ten hours over six Sundays beginning April 16th, as players vie for the top prize of $500,000.



In Phil Hellmuth fashion, the reigning champion has already begun questioning the lack of tournament seeding and the competition he may have to face to repeat his title. His finish in the tourney has yet to be determined, but there is no doubt that the number of viewers for the final airing will be up from the 6 million that witnessed Hellmuth defeat Chris Ferguson last year.