The inaugural NLOP Player’s Championship was held August 1, 2009 at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas, NV. A total of 108 qualifiers from all over the country- all winners just being there – battled it out for the $20,000 first place prize. When the smoke cleared, HeckFuzzIzz from Hayden, Idaho, won the cash and the honored distinction of becoming the first-ever NLOP player’s champion! “CONGRATULATIONS, HeckFuzzIzz!”
It really was a fun couple of days for everyone, including me. I was amazed to meet so many people who were visiting Las Vegas for the first time. And what a wonderful group of people these NLOP players are – especially that group of about 20 from the Kansas City area. They proudly wore their red Double Duece Club shirts. (Those are party people!) I was honored to serve as host for the NLOP Player’s Championship and ‘commentate’ the final table action. It was like a World Poker Tour final table!
Special thanks to the staff at the Hard Rock Casino. They couldn’t have been nicer in their cooperation with the staff and players from NLOP. And they did a terrific job in running the tournament and hosting single table sit-and-go’s for our players.
For you trivia buffs, here’s a pretty impressive stat: the ten players at the final table were from 10 different states! We really had quite a cross section of players. And the final four players represented the North, South, East, and West. And as you know by now, the end result was a replay of ‘How the West Was Won’.
After the tournament, a fantastic celebration party for the NLOP players was held. And everyone likes parties with free food and drinks! 
I felt a good time was had by all. I feel certain most players felt the same way. Of course, we’re hoping to improve the NLOP Player’s Championship for next year (starting with bigger prize money). Please contact NLOP with your suggestions as to how we can improve future NLOP Player’s Championship events. We greatly value your input.
Best of luck to everyone in qualifying for next year’s NLOP Player’s Championship! Take care.
Mike Sexton
