There seems to be no question that televised poker tournaments now rival golf and tennis as a most watched spectator sport. The popularity of televised poker has grown to unforeseen proportions, primarily due to the popularity of such high profile poker tournaments as The World Series of Poker and the World Poker Tour. The participation in these events by well known movie and sports stars, and the celebrity status and fan adulation accorded the poker champions has created a new world-wide poker craze. Such publicized success by the WSOP and the WPT naturally has attracted competitors, and the proliferation of big money poker tournaments is sure to continue. Among these newcomers is The Intercontinental Poker Championship, a tournament that puts a new twist on old concepts by promoting exclusivity as a primary feature.

The intercontinental Poker Championship has introduced an entirely new concept to tournament poker, snob appeal. You cannot buy into this tournament, you are “selected” by the tournament officials based upon your prominence as a player. Still another entirely new dimension has been brought into tournament poker by this tournament, since the players are selected from different countries, bringing “national pride” into the picture as well, a concept hugely appealing to viewers. And finally, spectators can participate in the games vicariously through the viewing of the players hole cards through the ingenious “hole card cam”, a lipstick-sized device designed to enable viewers to see the players bluffs and strategies first-hand. The Intercontinental Poker Championship was originated by an amazing man, one Henry Orenstein.