Daniel Negreanu and Phil Hellmuth arrive for the NBC Heads-Up draw party, even though Negreanu opted out to spend the weekend with friends.

NBC’s $25,000 buy-in National Heads-Up Poker Championship invitational tournament is decidedly made-for-television .

The draw party Wednesday night felt like little more than a chance to hobnob with the who’s who of televised poker and online wunderkinds, from Brunson to Hellmuth to Jungleman and ZeeJustin.

But after a Black Friday-induced hiatus, some in the poker world say the return of the event to the Caesars Palace poker room signals a step forward for poker in the U.S.

Caesars Entertainment Interactive, which recently acquired a license to operate online poker in Nevada, presented its wsop.com as part of the event for the  first time since the tournament began in 2005.

Mori Eskandani, the producer of the show, called it ‘good news’ for the industry that NBC wants poker back.

The matches start Thursday afternoon, and they’ll crown a champion on Saturday.

This year, Phil Hellmuth, who arrived to the party Wednesday night in his dictator coat, squares off against Mike Sexton in round one. Daniel Negreanu, meanwhile, has opted out to spend the weekend with friends. That made room for David “Doc” Sands, who put up something of a fit after he didn’t get a direct invite.

Anyway, here’s how the bracket shapes up for the first round. First place is $750,000. Anyone else got Jennifer Tilly going all the way?

Joseph Stiers
Photo: Borgata Poker Blog

Today’s Boxscore

Joseph Stiers $318,104 – Borgata Winter Poker Open NLHE
Aaron Massey $57,326 – Borgata Winter Poker Open NLHE Re-entry
Jason Bundy $29,000 – 2013 LAPC NLHE Double Stack

The two big festivals on opposite coasts are fully underway with the Borgata Winter Poker Open in absolutely frigid Atlantic City and the LAPC at the stylish Commerce Casino. The Borgata continues to draw great numbers despite less than ideal weather including the first event which nearly doubled it’s $1,000,000 guarantee. Joseph Stiers won the event to multiply his career earnings by 100.

In other news, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship had a sudden change in the field when Daniel “20 years too old to be called Kid Poker” Negreanu withdrew from the tournament. David “Doc” Sands was a top snub on the original list but will now take Negreanu’s spot. The tournament kicks off on January 24th.

Link Dump

Tweet of the Day

I am withdrawing from the NBC Heads Up event this weekend. I love and support this eventand will explain why in a video later today.

— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) January 23, 2013

I can confirm that I did take the spot of @realkidpoker.Not sure why he withdrew but I can assure you it was not to give me his seat.

— David Doc Sands (@Doc_Sands) January 23, 2013

Meet the 2013 NHUPC Snubs – Andrew Feldman has his list of the NHUPC snubs which is lead by David “Doc” Sands but includes Tom Marchese who somehow managed to slip my mind. I like the idea of a Brandon Cantu/Jon Aguiar match, The Whine Bowl 2013.

Analyzing the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship List – PokerNews also presents their (extended) analysis of the NHUPC including quotes from every single writer on staff. They present “Mad Marvin” Rettenmaier as a top snub which is a solid pick.

Christie Has Doubts About New Jersey Online Gaming Bill – And now a couple looks at the NJ Online Gambling Bill currently awaiting action (or inaction) by Gov. Chris Christie. First up is Dave Behr writing for Bluff Magazine with his take.

Tankers Always Fold; or, Gov. Christie and the NJ Bill – And here is Short-stacked Shamus with his thoughts on the NJ bill.

WSOP VIDEO: Cover Story with Kara Scott – The Global Poker Index Awards were presented last night and the only winner worth noting would be Kara Scott for Poker Personality of the Year. So today’s video is from Bluff Magazine this summer during the WSOP.