Dan's Papers - July 13, 2007

On May thirteenth, 180 carefully screened amateur golfers of varying skill levels teed off at the Primm Valley Golf Course in Las Vegas with the dream of winning the First Annual World Series of Golf Tournament and the $250,000 prize. Each player paid a $10,000 entry fee. With the support of the sponsors, Terry Leiweke of East Hampton launched his latest sports entertainment venture with this made for television event. This was the first golf tournament combining golf and poker skills and was sponsored by the Mirage Hotel, NBC sports and others. After being in the business of sports entertainment for over 30 years, Terry brought this gambling golf extravaganza onto televisions in many golf clubhouses and homes broadcast world-wide on June 23-24.

Terry and his wife Shelley, lifelong partners in both life and work, planned day and night to not let any detail go unattended. Terry has launched an idea that, some day he hopes will tap into the $80 billion wagered on the Internet each year. He plans to do this with an Internet version of his event that will enable people to play golf and gamble each shot from the comfort of their own computers. With two brothers with whom he remains close, making their mark in the arena of the sports universe, Leiweke is betting his faith, his good sense and his assets to bring this form of entertainment to the world.

With the enthusiasm of a cavalry charge, Terry has propelled the idea of chance, skill, guts and nerve onto the television screen. He banked on the drama of participants to make various high-stake shots under this new format. An added feature, a Leiweke invention, was the financial advisor that each golfer has, instead of the traditional caddie. The advisor helps plan betting strategies as well as keep track of winnings. Terry believed that this added feature would bring more color to the event - and it worked. The advisors were miked so their advice could be heard by every member of the audience.

As with all live, unscripted television events, new heroes, villains, good guys and losers are born as the game plays out. Hopefully in a few years there will be satellite World Series of Golf events all over the globe, perhaps even here in East Hampton, although, at the moment, there is nothing planned for the Hamptons.

If you missed the game, here is how it was played. While sitting in his plush den surrounded by sports memoribilia like his autographed Jim Brown helmet, photos of Yankee legends Mantle, Ruth and DiMaggio, and his Super Bowl credentials from last year Terry sat next to his brother Todd, CEO of the Seattle Seahawks, and explained the game.

First, all the players were carefully screened before their $10,000 entry check was accepted and allowed to enter the event. The golfers were randomly put into groups of five, with their personal financial advisors. Each golfer picked their own advisor. The $10,000 entry fee was used as a bank for the chips to be wagered during the round. The first three holes had an ante of $100. This ante increased every three holes so that, by the 16th, 17th and 18th holes, the ante was $3,200. Just like in poker, a dealing or betting order was selected and play remained in that order no matter who won each hole, just like passing the dealing around after each hand in poker. Every player could check, bet, raise and pass before each of his shots, as well as fold and move on to the next hole. If a player had no way of winning a hole was allowed to pick up the ball and head to the next tee to wait to tee off after paying the ante. And when there was a tie on a hole, the pot is split. When a player ran out of money, their round was over and they were eliminated. The winners of each group of five were then paired up to play against each other until someone was left with $250,000.

Terry laughed and said, "It's a fusion of Texas Hold'Em poker with a golf tournament."

The results of the World Series of Golf ended with Day trader Mark Ewing, 31, who successfully knocked out poker pros Phil Ivey and Rhett Butler and claimed victory by betting "all-in" on his approach shot on the 373-yard par-4 16th hole at Primm Valley Golf Club. Ewing claimed the $250,000 top prize.

Other high-profile participants for the event included:

* Tanya Roberts, actress ("Charlie's Angels," A View to a Kill)
* Phil Gordon, world-class poker pro, author and television host Phil Ivey, five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner
* Steve Dannenmann, 2005 World Series of Poker main event runner-up ($4.25 million)
* Rhett Butler, 2006 World Series of Poker main event 5th-place finisher ($3.2 million)
* Max Rubin, Pro gambler, author, TV personality and member of the Blackjack Hall of Fame
* Ken Einiger, World Series of Poker champion and World Series of Blackjack champion
* Blair Rodman, Professional gambler and WSOP Finalist
* Mark Dyle, former quarterback for the Denver Broncos
* Dusty Allen, former major league baseball player
* Michelle Yegge, former Miss Nevada

For complete information on this and other upcoming tournaments visit www.worldseriesofgolf.com