Online gambling group Bodog will be footing the bill for a
University of Minnesota junior to compete with the best of the best
at the 2005 World Series of Poker scheduled for July this year.
Eric Zard (21) beat 430 other online players in the Bodog tournament
this week on his dorm computer, winning the top prize in a tournament
in which players played with their accrued points, not money. Bodog
will pay the $10,000 buy-in fee for Zard to play in the final World
Series event and will give him $2,500 for travel and hotel expenses
while in Las Vegas.
Zard plans to travel to Las Vegas July 6. The 2005
World Series of Poker will conclude July 15 at the Horseshoe in
downtown Las Vegas. Last year Greg "Fossilman" Raymer beat
out the other 2,576 players in the 2004 World Series of Poker, winning
$5 million. Raymer, too, entered via an online poker site.