Pit Boss is that part of the Toy Department where we'll  discuss games that don't involve balls (at least not the ones made by Wilson and Rawlings) and if those games happen to be played on something green, it's felt not grass. Sports gambling, poker, casino news, happenings in Las Vegas and Atlantic City -- that's what we're about in this adult corner of the Toy Department. The usual disclaimers apply: We discourage anything illegal and if you do any wagering, make sure it's with your head and not over it. Now ... can we get you something to drink?

The National Heads-Up Poker Championship telecasts continue on NBC this weekend (noon, Sunday). The shows are on for the next five Sundays with the finals scheduled for May 17. Like virtually all televised poker, it's taped so we won't spoil it if you don't know the outcome but here's a link for the results if that sort of thing doesn't bother you.

However, we will tell you that this year's one-on-one tournament is something of a breakout for Vanessa Rousso (left), who graduated from Duke in just 2 1/2 years (game theory) and has been pursuing a law degree at Miami. Rousso has gotten a fair amount of face time on TV poker shows but fighting her way through a field of 64 of the best players in the world to go deep into the high-profile tournament at Caesars Palace will go a long way to stamping her legitimacy.

Meanwhile, Rousso isn't the only poker player who would seem to be possessed of both pulchritude and intelligence around the poker tables these day. Olivia "Liv" Boeree (right)-- whose introduction to the poker scene was mainly as a "presenter" (TV personality) -- is making some noise as a player. She has been on a roll at the Bellagio Five Star World Poker Classic currently going on in Las Vegas. That Bellagio field is a little slim this year but it's traditionally full of tough talent.

Boeree, who won a European women's title last year, has two cashes at the Bellagio so far for nearly $23,000 and she won a satellite for a seat in the $25,000 World Poker Tour Championship this weekend. Along with looking good and running good, Boeree, a native of the U.K, also has a beautiful mind. She graduated from the University of Manchester with a "First Class Honours degree" in Physics with Astrophysics, according to her MySpace bio.