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Written by Mathias | Tuesday, November 17th, 2009
The first episode of the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge was the most watched poker TV show in the history of televised US poker with more than four million viewers. That’s almost double that of the WSOP final table coverage on ESPN. The first episode saw a priest win $100K for his church and a US Army National Guard sergeant take home $25K. This week, two new contestants will vie for the $1M grand prize.
Thirty-five-year-old, Oluwasegun “Big Mike” Odumuyiwa, a music manager out of Northville, Michigan, who is also known as “The Nigerian Nightmare,” is in it to win it in order to support his late brother’s family. Once a football and basketball star at Eastern Illinois University, Oluwasegun was signed by the Dallas Cowboys, but was injured before he ever got the chance to play in the NFL.
Also on the block is 31-year-old, Brian Barboza, a wine and liquor salesman out of Raynham, Massachusetts. He’s in it for the cash to buy a seat at the 2010 WSOP, after spending hours on PokerStars beating out thousands of other competitors to win a seat on the show; he’s been playing poker for six years.
The celebrity defenders for this episode will be four-time NBA Champion, John Salley; Super Bowl Champion, Jerome Bettis; UFC Champion, Tito Ortiz; and Playboy’s Playmate of the Year, Jayde Nicole. Both Odumuyiwa and Barboza will have the opportunity to go heads-up, win a lot of money, and have a shot at winning a trip to the PS Caribbean Adventure to take place in the Bahamas. If the players win in the first round, they move on to go heads-up against a Team PokerStars Pro (e.g. Chris Moneymaker, Vanessa Rousso, or Barry Greenstein)—no problem!
If they win that round, they can choose to walk with $25K or risk it all against Daniel Negreanu for $100K, who will coach both players in the first round.
Think you have what it takes? Win your seat on the PokerStars Million Dollar Challenge and you could be flying to LA with two friends for the taping of the next episode! Episode 2 airs Sunday, November 22, after NFL coverage.
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Written by Mathias · Filed Under news · |
