People ask me why I play poker. . .here is one good reason. Paradise Poker has a tournament this summer that pays $1,000,000 for first place -- and the entry fee is $0. Paradise is one of the better poker sites out there, and this has to be the biggest prize ever for a free tournament. Unlike a lottery, where you have almost zero chance of winning, in a poker tournament you are matching your skill (and some luck) against the other players. Poker is primarily a game of patience. The great players that consistently win tournaments (like Johnny Chan, who just won his 10th World Series of Poker bracelet, Phil Ivey, who won his 5th, or T. J. Cloutier, who just won his 6th) are patient, agressive, and skillful. That's why you see the same faces at the final tables on the TV tournaments. Yep, you can win a lot of money at poker. . . .and you can lose a lot too. I'm keeping my day job for the time being. ;-)

Info on the Paradise tourney here: http://www.paradisepoker.com/promotions/2005/million_freeroll/