College Students to Compete for Academia Crown

Study? What’s that?

As if college students didn’t fill enough of their free time playing poker nowadays, a new challenge has arisen that could result in even more hours pushing virtual chips around the computer monitor. Enter the US Collegiate Poker League.

Founded by Craig Tapscott and Chadwick Pelletier, the US Collegiate Poker League (USCPL) has organized the Collegiate Open Championship, which will be played mostly online at Full Tilt Poker, with students from around the country competing to make it to the National Nine, the live final table in Las Vegas.

A total of 80 students will make it to Round Two. Most of them will be the winner of each of the 75 listed colleges. The remaining 5 will be the winners of their regions, comprised of all other colleges not “listed.” The regional colleges can make the “list,” however, if they can get 100 students to signup. Their school would then receive its own Round One tournament.

The top 27 finishers will be eligible for prizes. Prizes include a seat at the 2006 World Series of Poker, scholarships, and laptops, to name a few.

There is no fee, per se, to enter the Collegiate Open Championship, but each participating student must be a member of the USCPL, which costs $39.99 per year. Along with the free entry into the Championship, members will also receive a USCPL t-shirt, gain full access to the USCPL website, along with its forums, receive discounts from league sponsors, and more.

Students must be at least 21 years old to join.

Originally published September 22, 2005