Professional poker player used to be a term that was either an oxymoron or an indication that you were in denial and had a serious problem. Poker players were smoky, shunned, robbed, killed, cheated, people to be avoided.

Amarillo Slim was a character and brought poker into the open in the 70's. Doyle Brunson was a legendary figure. Stu Ungar was a flaming comet.

Johnny Chan was the first rock star, but the WPT really created Poker Stars. Lederer, Layne Flack, Gus Hansen, Devilfish, E-Dog all hit our consciousness in Season 1.

Negreanu, Ivey, Harmon, Greenstein all would join them later. Most of these players were around, but especially the U-30 crowd could become poker rock stars literally overnight.

Back in 2004 poker stars like Negreanu, Hansen, and others were able to walk by the Bellagio with no stalkers or photo hounds. Ask them what's it like to go to the bathroom now.

Note: All News and Press Release information on the pages of PokerAllStar.com is cited from public sources on the internet. Articles appearing on PokerAllStar.com are written by contributing authors, and the views and opinions expressed are those of the author only.

Poker Pros at Poker Allstar

Chris Ferguson earned three points for a fourth place finish, bringing his total to 16 with one match to go. Ferguson still has a great chance to make it into the second round. He already won one table (in his third match) and there’s no doubt he can do it again. If he does that, he’s through to the second round.

Jennifer Tilly kept her hopes alive to make the second round of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament 3 (PSIT3) in her fourth elimination round match, besting some of the greatest players in the world on her way to first place and the 10 points that comes with it. She would probably make it to the second round of 16 players if she placed third or better in her last match. A win would definitely put her in. She now has 17 points.

Antonio Esfandiari came into the match with 22 points and added another seven for finishing second. His 29 points puts him at the top of the leader board by two points over Barry Greenstein and Erick Lindgren, who both have 27 with one match to go.

Greg Raymer added five points to the five he brought to his fourth PSIT 3 elimination match and it looks like the only thing he’ll be playing for in his last match is the $10,000 that goes to the table’s winner.

Jennifer Harman finished fifth and added one point to the 11 she brought to the match. A win will put her close to the bubble, but depending on how the other players do in their fifth round matches, 21 points may not be good enough to advance.

Ted Forrest remains at the bottom of the leader board with three points. In all but his first match, he was the first player knocked out in his matches (He managed to squeak out a fourth-place finish in his first match). Forrest, this year’s Heads-Up Poker Champion, will not go any farther in this competition after his last match is played.

PSIT 3 is shown on FSN every Sunday.

"Some times, the best player doesn't win." That's a direct quote from Phil Hellmuth Jr. on this season's Celebrity Poker Showdown. He's doing commentary this year, as opposed to Phil Gordon.

Jennifer Tilly, had just busted out, both literally and figuratively, which generated this comment. For those that don't know, she won the ladies event at last year's WSOP, and followed that up with winning Ladies' Night on the World Poker Tour. Her boyfriend, is the 'Unabomber,' Phil Laak. I guess to play poker well, you need to have the first name Phil. However, in this case, she left the charity tourney in 3rd place.

Why is it funny, or ironic, that Phil Hellmuth Jr. would make this comment? It's simple. There's a famous quote of his out there, which has come back to bite him in the ass more often than not: "If it weren't for luck, I'd win every tournament." I guess someone has to believe that they're the best player in the world, and in this case, it's you, Phil. It doesn't necessarily have to be true....

Phil Hellmuth, is no longer just a poker player. He's a brand name. He gets paid to tout an online poker site, ultimatebet.com, Belvedere vodka and an interactive Texas Hold'em game on cell phones.

He recently signed a contract to represent a new gaming network. He's written a book on poker strategy, "Play Poker Like the Pros," and has two more books in the pipeline: "Bad Beats and Lucky Draws," to be published in October; and "The Greatest Poker Hands Ever Played" next year.

For a guy who makes his living playing poker, Phil Hellmuth Jr. doesn't play as much as he used to. The 39-year-old Madison native is the youngest winner of the World Series of Poker, has earned millions playing the poker game, and his life story - up to the age of 24 - has been optioned in Hollywood, with Ashton Kutcher possibly playing the part of the erstwhile Cheesehead turned poker pro.

While there are plenty of great poker players playing their trade on green felt, Hellmuth is among the few who stand out as a personality.

Phil Hellmuth has been called the John McEnroe of poker for his temper tantrums and his meltdowns at the card table. Hellmuth isn't the stoic gambler who quietly takes everyone's money. He's more likely to kick over his chair, wave his arms and scream at an opponent who was too dumb to throw away his cards, stayed in the hand and beat Hellmuth by catching a lucky card.

His goal is to be the greatest professional poker player who ever played the game.

Bravo is giving its viewers a unique behind-the-scenes experience with the new SMS text message feature that allows viewers to receive exclusive poker tips and advice from new host and Poker Allstar Phil Hellmuth.

Audience members can register via phone by text messaging "CP" to the number "62288." They will then receive up to five in-show poker tips messages each week for six weeks from Poker Professional Phil Hellmuth. A one-time charge of $2.99 will be charged to subscribers for this service. Messages will be sent on Wednesdays during the premiere of each episode.

The first BravoTV.com online poker tournament was a runaway hit after its launch in October of last year, setting new Bravo records of over 80 million "Celebrity Poker Showdown" page views and over 120,000 registered players.

This new online tournament will stretch from May 31 to July 30, where qualifying rounds of Texas Hold 'Em will be played on BravoTV.com daily, potentially advancing hundreds of winners to the final round where they will duke it out for the grand prize.

Note: All News and Press Release information on the pages of PokerAllStar.com is cited from public sources on the internet. Articles appearing on PokerAllStar.com are written by contributing authors, and the views and opinions expressed are those of the author only.

MTV Presents: STACKED Poker Video Game. The program gets inside the phenomenon of professional poker, and takes viewers through an explanation of the video game, with Daniel Negreanu; a half hour special on June 2nd at 9 pm on MTV2 and Saturday, June 3rd at 9 pm on MTV.

STAKED Poker video game will let you "develop your skills with world-class poker tournament strategies and real-time guidance from poker Allstar, Daniel Negreanu.

Play poker in famous poker rooms against Poker Professionals David Williams, Evelyn Ng, Josh Arieh, Carlos Mortensen, Erick Lindgren, and Jennifer Harman as you progress towards a championship title in career mode, before taking on Daniel in a final showdown.

Stacked uses the Poki artificial intelligence system, which studies and learns players' tendencies, and attempts to play differently to force gamers to adjust their style of play. Stacked with Daniel Negreanu is rated T for Teen.