Thursday, June 11, 2009

By Isaac Kuhlman

  The poker documentary, "All In: The Poker Movie", premiered at the 11th Annual CineVegas Film Festival inside Brenden Theatres at the Palms Casino on Thursday night. The red-carpet event brought poker stars, celebrities, and fans to see the premier of the film. Stars like poker sensei, Howard Lederer, former Main Event winner, Tom McEvoy, commentator/player, Mike Sexton, and the film's creators were on hand to take questions and pose for photographers.

  The movie is a look into the meteoric resurgence of poker in the everyday life of Americans. It talks about key moments that brought poker back into the mainstream such as the movie "Rounders" starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the use of the pocket cam--which ESPN first implemented in 2003--and the "Moneymaker" effect on the game. This is, of course, referring to the explosion of popularity that occurred when Chris Moneymaker (who was an amateur at the time) won the 2003 Main Event as one of the most unlikely winners in the history of poker. It was equivalent to an amateur winning the U.S. Open or David beating 100 Goliaths.

Douglas Tirolla (producer and director)

  CineVegas and the WSOP coincide every year as both events are held in June, so it is very fitting that they have merged together for the 2009 celebration. The one downside to this is that some of the poker stars were unable to attend the event due to the simple fact that they were still winning in WSOP tournaments across Flamingo Road at the Rio Hotel and Casino.

Jeffrey Pollack WSOP Commissioner

  Brenden Theatres has hosted the CineVegas Film festival since 2002 and has seen several major stars come and go through the doors as is evident by the star-studded lobby (star-shaped plaques are fitted into the tiles with such celebrities as Shaquille O'Neal, Nicholas Cage, Hugh Heffner, and Kid Rock).

Penn Jillette, Magical Comedian

Trishelle Cannatella, MTV Reality Show Celebrity

  CineVegas runs June 10-15, and a schedule of the showtimes and movies can be seen at www.cinevegas.com.