Professional poker champion Chris "Jesus" Ferguson is among the world-class card players invited to Council Bluffs for the state's first-ever World Series of Poker qualifying tournament at Harrah's Horseshoe Casino.

Organizers say a prize pool of more than $1 million will be on the table Jan. 29 through Feb. 7. The winner gets a ring, and a seat at a "big table" in Las Vegas for the 2007 World Series of Poker, which will draw upwards of 10,000 players and a pot worth more than $12 million.

Card sharks willing to ante up anywhere from $340 to $1,570 in Council Bluffs can enter one of seven no-limit games, which will culminate in the main event with a buy-in of $5,150.

"Overall, we expect a lot of local players. But we are also marketing and expecting a substantial regional mix of players," plus players who follow the pro poker circuit, said Dwight Yang, spokeswoman for the Council Bluffs casino.

The World Series of Poker was started in 1969 and has evolved into a big-money set of tournaments, the brainchild of Las Vegas casino owner Benny Binion. Harrah's bought Binion's casino in 2004.

The popularity of poker, particularly the TV-friendly Texas Hold 'Em game, exploded in the late 1990s, thanks largely to ESPN, which covered the World Series like an athletic event.

Endorsements followed, and players such as Ferguson, Chris Moneymaker, Phil Hellmuth, Johnny Chan, Annie Duke and Phil Gordon have competed for ever-larger amounts of prize money.

Gordon is the first big name to confirm that he will be in Council Bluffs.

"We have others we are planning to try to bring and others who have expressed interest," Yang said. "Poker players and celebrities who enter these events often decide to show up at the last second, and unfortunately sometimes cancel at the last second."
BY LARRY BALLARD