Note:  This is an encore presentation of Match 25.  Due to NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games, only episodes 2-5 will air late night Monday-Thursday.

This week’s match on NBC’s Poker After Dark promises to be a lot of fun.  It’s called Cowboys Week, and brings together 6 great players who are all known to wear a cowboy hat while playing poker.  Putting up $20,000 each and competing for the $120,000 winner-take-all prize are Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Chau Giang, Andy Bloch, Hoyt Corkins, and Gabe Kaplan.

Of this group, only Brunson and Corkins are regarded as real cowboys, but viewers shouldn’t mind considering the quality of the competition.  In addition to some great poker, expect a few yarns to be spun, tales to be told, and some interesting and amusing banter between the players, real cowboys or not.

Going into this match, Brunson (1-5), Ferguson (1-4), and Kaplan (1-2) were all previous winners on PAD and each will be looking for their second victory.  Bloch is winless in two previous appearances, so he’ll be eager to get into the winner’s column.  But leave it to the show’s producers to match these veterans of PAD battles against formidable new competition in Giang and Corkins, who are both making their debut on the program.

Chau has won 3 World Series of Poker bracelets and is regarded as one of the game’s premier high-stakes cash game players.  Hoyt has 2 WSOP bracelets to his name and a WPT title, and recently just missed winning his second WPT event at the 2008 World Poker Open in Tunica.  Together with the other players, it’s a great line-up indeed, and another that viewers of Poker After Dark should have a difficult time with in picking the winner…not only before the match begins, but far into the match as well.

Brief profiles of all six players follow.  The match will begin airing on NBC late night Monday at 2:05 a.m., August 4, and will continue for four consecutive nights in the same time slot.  The “Director’s Cut” will not air this week due to NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games.

Brunson, Doyle:  (Seat 1)
· At the age of 74, perhaps the greatest player of all time, and is the author of several books, including Super System and Super System II
· Back-to-back World Series of Poker Champion in 1976 and 1977
· Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $5.50 million, and ranks 30th on the all-time money list
· Owner of 10 WSOP bracelets, tied for 2nd with Johnny Chan
· Had the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic renamed the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic in his honor in 2007

Ferguson, Chris:  (Seat 2)
· Nicknamed “Jesus” and one of poker’s most recognizable players
· World Series of Poker Champion in 2000 and owner of five WSOP bracelets
· Career tournament winnings in excess of $7.33 million, and ranks 15th on the all-time money list
· Runner-up in both the 2005 and 2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and the winner in 2008, bringing his record in this event to an unprecedented 16-3
· Earned a Ph.D. in computer science from UCLA in 1999, and is a former ballroom and swing dance instructor

Giang, Chau:  (Seat 3)
· Left Vietnam in a small boat in 1978 in order to come to the United States, and now lives in Las Vegas in the same neighborhood as Doyle Brunson
· Winner of 3 WSOP bracelets, and cashed 8 times in the 2008 WSOP
· Career tournament winnings in excess of $3.29 million
· Very successful high-stakes cash game player, and regarded by his peers as having a brilliant poker mind
· Learned to play poker in Colorado while working as a cook in a Chinese restaurant

Bloch, Andy:  (Seat 4)
· Holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a law degree from Harvard
· Finished 2nd to the late Chip Reese at the 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, and was runner-up to Chris Ferguson in the 2008 NHPC
· Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $3.96 million
· Former member of the MIT blackjack team, the subject of a book entitled Bringing Down the House
· Began wearing his unique hat full time to play poker about 2 years ago, but wore it prior from time to time as part of an Irish rock star costume

Corkins, Hoyt:  (Seat 5)
· Has several nicknames, including “The Alabama Cowboy,” “Nightmare,” and “Mr. All In,” a name given to him by Phil Hellmuth
· Has won two WSOP bracelets and one WPT title, narrowly missing another when he finished 2nd in the 2008 WPT World Poker Open at the Gold Strike in Tunica
· Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $4.00 million
· Soft-spoken and a gentleman at the tables, usually dresses in black topped with a black cowboy hat and often wears earplugs to drown out player chatter
· Still maintains a farm with 60 head of cattle in Alabama, and also has a home in Las Vegas

Kaplan, Gabe:  (Seat 6)
· Long time actor and comedian best remembered for his role in the 1970’s hit television sitcom Welcome Back Kotter
· Proficient in many games, and has played poker for more than 30 years
· Career tournament winnings in excess of $1.34 million
· In 1980, challenged 1978 World Champion Bobby Baldwin and 1979 World Champion Hal Fowler to $200,000 heads-up freezeouts, and defeated them both
· Oft-seen analyst on several poker television programs and highly regarded for his knowledge of the game and the humor he infuses into his commentary

Dennis Oehring serves as the Public Relations Coordinator for the firm POKER PROductions.   Statistical information courtesy of The Hendon Mob player database.  Photo courtesy of NBC’s Paul Drinkwater.