WinStar World Casino has secured the title sponsorship for the fall NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at Texas Motor Speedway, giving the expansive Oklahoma gaming facility the title rights for both truck series events at the world-class motorsports venue in Fort Worth.

WinStar World Casino replaces Chevrolet Silverado as title sponsor for the Nov. 6 Camping World Truck Series race and the evening event will be known as the WinStar World Casino 350k. The race, the 23rd on the 25-event NCWTS schedule, debuted in 2005 as part of Texas Motor Speedway’s NASCAR triple-header weekend that also features Sprint Cup and Nationwide Series competition.

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Texas Motor Speedway, to include the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race in November,” WinStar World Casino General Manager Tamyla Moore said. “Our partnership with Texas Motor Speedway and the sponsorship of the WinStar World Casino 350 is a natural progression with the growth of WinStar World Casino.”

WinStar World Casino initially became a sponsorship partner with Texas Motor Speedway in August of 2008 when the casino signed a multi-year deal as title sponsor for the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series event in June that began this year. The WinStar World Casino 400 is annually paired with the IndyCar Series during that June race weekend.

“I’m extremely proud of that fact that our initial partnership with WinStar World Casino has blossomed to this stage in a relatively short period of time,” Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage said. “We both feel that this is a great fit and we look equally forward to working with them on their initiatives for the fall truck series race.”

On-track action for the WinStar World Casino 350k begins Thursday, Nov. 5, with two practice sessions (12:30-1:45 p.m., 2:15-3:30 p.m.) followed by qualifying at 7 p.m. CT. The WinStar World Casino 350k, a 147-lap, 220.5-mile event, will begin at 8 p.m. CT and broadcast live on SPEED.

Tickets for the WinStar World Casino 350k are available by calling the TMS ticket office at (817) 215-8500 or by visiting www.texasmotorspeedway.com.

WinStar World Casino, just 75 minutes north of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex in Thackerville, Okla., is the world’s fifth-largest casino. The world-class venue offers more than 5,700 electronic games, 76 blackjack and poker tables, a 2,500-seat Global Events Center, a golf course designed by former PGA Tour veteran D.A. Weibring and a new 395- room hotel and accompanying Spa Habitat.

The hotel is now welcoming guests while a grand-opening celebration featuring concerts by Kelly Clarkson and Lynyrd Skynyrd will be held Labor Day weekend. WinStar World Casino, which features a new exterior and interior modeled after famous cities from around the world and a gaming floor that extends a half mile in length, presents 24/7 gaming action, world-class entertainers and a wide range of restaurants. WinStar World Casino is an economic enterprise of the Chickasaw Nation.

* A viewer’s guide to the World Series of Poker 08.27.09
* California Grand Casino: Cardroom updated 08.20.09
* Katie Jain: Poker fan creates JAQK wine 08.13.09
* How you can get started at a poker table 08.06.09

More Gaming »

Between now and then - especially for novices - the shows are great opportunities to learn the game.

That said, however, it’s important to remember that made-for-TV poker is a lot different from the poker you’ll play in live cash or tournament games. With this in mind, here is a viewer’s guide to make sure you take away all of the right lessons.
Remember they edit

Watch enough of these poker shows and it seems like every hand involves some sort of exciting conclusion and a huge pile of chips. That’s because television producers cut out all of the boring hands that end quickly and don’t result in the exchange of big bucks. The truth is that most poker players (especially the really good ones) play only one out of every 15 to 20 hands, and muck just about everything else. Keep this in mind, and be selective.
Consider pot odds

ESPN broadcasts of WSOP poker always list each player’s odds to win the hand. These odds are helpful for learning how to value certain hands, but they’re also a lot different from something called “pot odds,” which represent the ratio of size of the pot to the cost of a contemplated call. If the pot contains $100, and a player must call $10 to stay in the hand, then the player has 10:1 pot odds. These are important to consider, but TV shows never mention them.
Watch body language

Between barbs from the announcers and the stats on odds to win the hand, it’s easy to overlook one of the most valuable parts of watching poker: body language. Pay attention to facial expressions from players who know they’re beat. Even pros have tells, and the more energy you spend studying them, the easier it will be for you to identify tells in opponents who are neither as famous nor as skilled.
Don’t be a walking advertisement

Many Main Event players get extra money to wear shirts and hats emblazoned with logos from poker Web sites. The Web sites consider this advertising because the players end up on TV. Players are wearing these clothes because they’re getting paid to do so - no one in his right mind would wear some of this hideous stuff just because. Remember that the next time you put on a PartyPoker.net jersey to head to the local cardroom.

Pay particular attention to hands involving an amateur named Darvin Moon. Yes, he makes the final table. His stroke of luck to get there is a thing of beauty to watch, but few, if any, of us, will ever run as hot.

Perez has resigned from a county task force that is studying the issue. Gov. Pat Quinn recently legalized video poker to help pay for a $31 billion statewide construction program, but the legislation allows counties and individual municipalities the choice of whether to allow video poker.

“It’s my job to enforce the laws, not make the laws,” Perez said on Wednesday. “There needs to be a separation of powers.”

The Kane County Board – not the task force – ultimately will decide.

Perez sent an e-mail two days ago to task force chairman and Kane County Board member Jesse Vazquez, D-Montgomery, saying that he was resigning from the task force. The task force met for the first time Wednesday.

Perez said his decision to resign from the task force had nothing to do with his ongoing budget battles with Kane County Board Chairman Karen McConnaughay and the Kane County Board.

“It has to do with the nature of the subject,” Perez said.

McConnaughay created the task force to study the issue. She could not be reached for comment about Perez’ resignation.

Also on the task force are Kane County State’s Attorney John Barsanti, and Kane County Board members Drew Frasz, R-Elburn, John Hoscheit, R-St. Charles and Bob Kudlicki, R-Hampshire.

The task force plans to meet next month with the 25 establishments that have liquor licenses with Kane County and would be eligible to have video poker. After that, the task force plans to have a public hearing on issue.

“Our task is to figure out whether video poker is a good thing or bad thing for Kane County,” Vazquez said.

Neighboring communities have already taken a stand on the issue. The DuPage County Board recently unanimously approved banning video gambling in the unincorporated areas of DuPage County. The board passed a resolution that video poker would present a variety of adverse impacts on DuPage County residents, including the potential for corruption along with law enforcement and social costs.

Vazquez said he expected Kane County’s task force to make a recommendation in the next six weeks.

One of our few non-restricted promotions, this one is open to all players with a Unibet account regardless of where they signed up from.

This special edition tournament is scheduled for Sunday, August 30 at 20:00 CET. Buy in for only €5.50 and you can potentially win a share in a guaranteed €2,000 prize pool, plus the chance to play poker and party in one of Europe’s most beautiful cities.

Find this tourney in the ‘Tournaments’ tab of the Unibet poker lobby with the title ‘PN €2k GTD Special Edition’ (Tournament ID 3077626).

Remember, as long as you’ve got a Unibet account you can join in - it doesn’t matter if you didn’t sign up through PokerNews. For all new players, we’ve made it easy for you to sign up to Unibet.

The Unibet Poker Open Prague will run from September 17-20 at the five star Hilton Prague Hotel overlooking the magnificent River Vltava. Your €2,750 package will include entry to the €1,650 Main Event, four nights at the host venue hotel and cash for travel.

Although Charlie Sheen has found a lot of success through his television sitcom Two and a Half Men, the role that endeared him to many film fans was his turn in Platoon as a fresh-from-the-war soldier that has to come to grips with life while doing a tour of duty in Vietnam. Arguably Sheen’s best role (next to Wall Street), his portrayal of the young Chris Taylor was an amazing look into the moral firefight that mirrored the opposing political and social forces that were happening in the United States during the war. Although it is unfair to compare the war and poker, because poker is just a game, there are several lessons that can be learned from the stellar dialogue (and story lines) that drive the movie.

“I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy; we fought ourselves.” — Chris Taylor

When you go to war on the felt, make sure you’re prepared for the long haul.

One reason why winning poker players continue to score titles and big bucks is because they understand this concept. This means that you have to do things prior to play to take care of yourself so that you have the right state of mind before going into the day’s action.

Whether this means working out before hitting the felt or going to bed at midnight the day before a tournament, these are things poker players need to do to be at their best. Sure, some players can live like rock stars for a while, but in the end, this kind of lifestyle will destroy them and it directly affects their performance at the tables. If you’re smart, you’ll treat yourself as well as the world’s best athletes treat themselves, and do the things champions do to get to the top.

If you find a hole in your game, lose your ego and fix it.

One reason why losing players continue to lose is because they refuse to look at their game through unflinching eyes. This pattern appears when a player refuses to figure out where the weakness in their game is, not to mention take the appropriate time needed to fix it. Many losing players are so caught up in their egos (and the fact that they think they can do no wrong) that they would rather repeat their losing patterns instead of doing something about it.

Look relentlessly at your game and then fix the leaks. You’ll be happy you did once you start winning.

If you’re not ready, trust yourself and walk away.

Although some macho players believe that a player should play regardless of what their intuition is telling them, a number of winning pros believe the opposite to be true. There are times to play and there are times not to. If you feel uncomfortable or something tells you that you should sit out, make it a habit to listen to that instinct.

The Tao Te Ching tells us that sometimes the best solution is to do nothing at all. If you apply this to poker, it means that one should wait for the right circumstances before deciding to enter the fray as their will always be opportunities to find action. If your head is not in the game, you need to be able to be smart enough to walk away instead of forcing yourself into a situation that will be detrimental to both your thought process and your bank roll.