[Grant]

Here is a really good full article on the event, and leading up the event..

FSN and Mansionpoker.net will partner to telecast a new "PokerDome" series of tournaments, including a "Mega Event" that will introduce the single richest winner-take-all purse in poker and sports history.

The MansionPoker.net PokerDome Series will premiere on Sunday, May 15, 2006 on FSN and continue for 43 consecutive weeks. Players will be encased in a high-tech cone of silence overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. The one-way mirrored glass will allow fans to see in, without the players seeing out, and microphones let viewers hear all the trash talk exchanged during each heated flop.

The state-of-the-art PokerDome contains a poker table that does everything except slow down a player's frenzied pulse. Special cameras and computer chip card technology will capture hole cards as well as burn or discarded cards, allowing viewers to see the odds of each hand hitting before the players determine their decisions. A rabbit-hunting cam will also share what would have happened if each hand had continued to the river. In addition, robotic cameras will zoom in on every nervous tic and drop of perspiration as the players' images are splashed up close and personal on a giant video wall.

MansionPoker.net has added one more high-impact twist to the mix, "Speed Poker." Speed Poker rocks the poker world as the synergistic marriage between the hyper action of online play and the adrenaline-pumping atmosphere of a live tournament.

Most TV tournaments allow approximately 12-15 hands to be dealt per hour. This format will make the possibility of up to 80-100 hands an hour a reality. Each player will be under the pressure of a "shot clock," by having to make all decisions within fifteen seconds. If they fail to act before the allotted time their hand will be declared dead or if there is no prior action, their hand is automatically checked. The quicker hand rate per hour will afford players greater hand selection and let the fans see more flops and intense action.

"Some poker players are more deliberate than others," says poker superstar and FSN color commentator Howard Lederer. "A guy like Layne Flack plays very quickly. Actually, it may negatively impact a guy like Chris Ferguson or myself, who are more deliberate players. But pro poker players always adapt to formats, and with speed poker we will see a lot more excitement and action."

The series of PokerDome events will run it's course over the 43 weeks with small circuit events culminating in a $1,000,000 winner-take-all series finale.

The Mega Event, scheduled for July 12, 2006, consists of six players who will pony up $10 million dollars each and do battle for an unprecedented winner-take-all $60 million dollars. The blockbuster tournament will be held at the Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.

Phil Ivey, widely regarded as one of the best Texas Hold 'Em players in the world, will be in the field. The second player will be unveiled during FSN's coverage of the 2006 Aussie Millions tournament in January.

Any poker professional, Texas banker, CEO or housewife, who smacks down the $10,000,000 entry fee, has the opportunity to sign up and be one of the final four to participate. If you can't quite fulfill the bankroll requirements for the 2006 Mega Event, save up for the $75 million and $100 million tournaments to follow in 2007 and 2008, respectively.