Tico Poker Sharps Compete In World Championship

EIGHT card sharps from Costa Ricaare tossing chips, bluffing, folding andcalling with the best poker players in theworld since the No-Limit Texas Hold ‘emWorld Championship of the 2005 WorldSeries of Poker began yesterday in LasVegas, Nevada.Hold ‘em is a Tico specialty, a gameplayed here in living rooms for more than20 years, and in a tournament that hasmigrated through casinos and is now afixture at the Casino Europa in San José’sRadisson Hotel. Some of the boys in LasVegas have competed in other tournaments,even other World Championshipsof Poker, and have seen the final tables inpast years.Among them: Dewey Tomko, a U.S.transplant to Costa Rica, former kindergartenteacher, professional poker playerfor 35 years and co-owner of San José’sHorseshoe Casino; the Brenes brothers,Humberto, Alex and Eric; JoséRosenkrantz; and Jamie Ligator, theCuban co-owner of the Horseshoe Casino,a former tennis coach and an experiencedpoker player. Mario Zeledón and ArturoMorales are also in the running.