Local poker celebrity Steve Dannenmann recently arrived in Las Vegas, where he'll be playing in a handful of World Series of Poker tournaments before the Texas Hold 'em Championship is held in July. Dannenmann -- the Anne Arundel accountant who won $4.25 million as the runner-up in the 2005 WSOP Main Event -- played in a $2,500 buy-in, no-limit hold 'em tournament early this week that had just over 1,000 entrants. He finished out of the money in the top 15 to 20 percent of the field (about the top 10 percent get paid).

Dannenmann (left), who threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Washington Nationals game a few weeks ago, noted a new wrinkle; the playing cards being used bear the signature of Jeffrey N. Pollack, a Harrah's casino executive whose title is "commissioner" of the World Series of Poker. The Harrah's casino company owns the tournament. The move appears to mimic the practice of the NFL, where the commissioner's signature appears on official footballs. There was one problem, though. Pollack's first name that was printed under his signature was misspelled "Jeffery" rather than Jeffrey.

Dannenmann also complained that the poker World Series -- as it tries to maximize revenue -- appears a little less fan friendly. The WSOP is broadcasting some final tables of the 55 events that make up the WSOP over the Internet on a delay and showing hole cards as part of a paid online subscription, which seems like an OK idea. But in those cases, the players are sequestered (for game security reasons), and that means a very limited number of on-site spectators are permitted to watch.   

 Photo credit:  Imagemasters Photography