Bird on the Rail by Jennifer Leo

Boss Hogg nuthin’. The Bandit’s return to the silver screen is all about the green felt. That’s right, there’s a new poker movie coming to town, starring Burt Reynolds. Deal, directed by Gil Cates Jr, is described as The Color of Money meets poker. Burt will be teaching a college kid, Bret Harrison, known as the lead on the new hot TV comedy The Loop, how to look beyond the cards and “play the player.” But Burt and Bret won’t be the only ones in the limelight. The WPT features prominently, and that means your fave hosts Mike Sexton, Vince Van Patten, and Courtney Friel will be right there in the thick of it. Shannon Elizabeth, Antonio Esfandiari, and Phil Laak feature in the movie, too. Deal is in production and has been filming in New Orleans and Las Vegas. It is expected to come out later in the year.

Despite ratings for televised poker softening up a bit, the networks are starting to test the waters. NBC’s National Heads Up Championship was a big success, and CBS gave it a go with their Intercontinental Poker Championship. To boot, there are rumors of the final couple hours of the $60 million winner-take-all sit-n-go airing live on big Fox.

MODELS BY DAY, professional poker players by night. We all knew it was coming. Sexy centerfolds with our favorite time suck, online poker. BombshellPoker.com is a new online poker site that has launched with a whole host of beautiful women. The Bombshell Team is comprised of ten hotties who are all only too ready to show off their bikinis. Don’t forget to look at your cards, because video vixen Tara just might tease you out of a hand. Yes, you’ve seen her before – on your Harley-Davidson calendar, as Austin Powers’ girlfriend in Goldmember, and when she placed third in the Miss Absolute Poker Tournament. You can play against Tara and the rest of the Bombshells in tournaments on Wednesday and Sundays 7 pm PST.

TUNE IN FOR POKER TIPS

Does fighting traffic ever get you down? Here’s a recap of poker radio programs and podcasts you can set to memory, or download onto your iPod.

BLUFF POKER RADIO: Join hosts Nick and Wally Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 8:00 pm ET on Sports Byline USA, Sirius Satellite Radio (122) or the American Forces Radio Network.

ESPN’S THE POKER EDGE: Mondays at 4pm ET with Phil Gordon and Andrew Feldman. You can send in your questions at 1pm on ESPNRadio.com

CALIFORNIA POKER RADIO: Saturdays 12pm PT with host Bobby Spade on Worldpokerradio.com.

CARD CLUB ON LORD ADMIRAL RADIO: A weekly podcast for all things poker. Lordadmiral.libsyn.com

Las Vegas Academy

You could be the next real life King of Vegas. Expert Insight begins their new EI Las Vegas Academy to Sin City June 24. One day of concentrated strategy training for only $299. Phil Gordon will be teaching principles of winning in No Limit Texas Hold’em, while Andy Bloch, managing member of the MIT Blackjack Team featured in Bringing Down the House, will teach all the skills required to be a winning Blackjack player. More details on ExpertInsight.com.

World Cup Poker

Poker players love soccer, too, and this summer is IT for both. To celebrate the World Cup taking place this summer in Germany, Party Poker is hosting PartyPoker.com Football and the Poker Legends Cup. Teams are composed of two top poker players and one big time soccer player. Countries compete against each other for a $395k prize pool and, of course, the fame. When the World Cup takes off this June, get your timely updates for all the participating soccer teams on WorldCupPokerBlog.com. And yes, you can place bets on your favorite soccer teams right there on the same site. Brasilia? GOOOOAAAL!