All of a sudden you make a few grand, then a few more. Just as fast, you're playing poker on that same TV, this time with millions of dollars, er, quid on the line.

The World Series of Poker Europe starts tomorrow and newly minted 20-year-old Annette Obrestad is the defending champion. And although that's not exactly her story, it might very well be that of the tournament's next champion, as poker players throw down at London, England's Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square.

Despite the fact that she couldn't play in the 2008 WSOP Las Vegas because of her age, and that she was taken out of the recent Ladbrokes Poker Millions tournament after just 11 hands, Obrestad is very confident she is going to prove last year's win at the WSOPE was no fluke.

"I had been looking forward to [the Ladbrokes Poker Millions] for a loooong time," writes Annette_15 on her blog. "To my disappointment it only lasted 11 hands when Tony G two outted me with two cards to come and knocked me out of the tournament. Oh well.

"I'm really feeling good about my game tho. Ive been playing in my head all the time even if I havent been at the tables, and Ive come up with some pretty cool new stuff that I'm gonna be experimenting with in the upcoming tourneys. Watch out, I'll be making my mark again this year, u wait and see!"

Unlike the Las Vegas version of the WSOP, there are just four events in the WSOPE. They are scheduled as follows:

[ul][li]Sept. 19: Event 1 - £1,500+£75 No-Limit Hold'em[/li][li]Sept. 22: Event 2 - £2,500+£150 H.O.R.S.E.[/li][li]Sept. 24: Event 3 - £5,000+£250 Pot-Limit Omaha (Double Chance)[/li][li]Sept. 27: Event 4 - £10,000+£350 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event[/li][/ul]

In other contrasts with the Vegas version, the WSOPE Main Event has a bigger buy-in, there are relatively few players involved, and U.K. regulations permit younger players like Obrestad to play.

Although she'd won pretty big online, Obrestad was virtually unknown when she bested a WSOPE final table that included Johannes Korsar, Oyvind Riisem, John Tabatabai, Dominic Kay, Matthew McCullough, Theo Jorgensen, Magnus Persson and James Keys last year.

Now, she's all over the place and holds several lucrative poker sponsorships.

Last year's WSOPE was widely considered a success, and it's safe to say that poker is flourishing on the other side of the pond. Once again this year Harrah's has joined forces with gaming powerhouse Betfair to stage the WSOPE.

"We are extremely excited to be working alongside Harrah's and the World Series of Poker brand for a second year," says David Yu, CEO, Betfair.com. "Betfair Poker is now the only place players can qualify online for the tournament - this exclusivity shows how confident we are that WSOPE 2008 will be even bigger and better than before."

In fact, many organizers expect both bigger-name players and more players in general will be involved in WSOPE 2008.

"We have enhanced this year's schedule in order to meet the growing demand of poker in Europe," says World Series of Poker Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack. "If this year's World Series of Poker in Las Vegas is any indication, the level of tournament play is increasing worldwide and we expect WSOPE to be hotly contested."

Europe has certainly taken center stage in the poker universe, with the recent Ladbrokes event and the European Poker Tour starting its season in Barcelona last week. In fact, the EPT will play the second event of its season in London immediately following the WSOPE.

Expect to see the likes of Phil Hellmuth, Allen Cunningham, Daniel Negreanu, Erick Lindgren, Gus Hansen and Patrik Antonius all kicking around London to try and grab some of the loot on the line in the next few weeks.

Negreanu is already pacing London, apparently lost.

"Today I walked around a little bit, trying to see if I could find the casino on my own," wrote Kid Poker on his blog. "The streets in London are rather confusing and it wasn't an easy task, but I asked enough people for direction when I was thoroughly lost and eventually found my way. I enjoy getting lost, I find it to be loads of fun."

Don't be fooled by Negreanu, though. Expect him and all the other big-name pros to be perfectly well oriented for the start of the WSOPE.

PokerListings will also make sure it's perfectly oriented to bring you the best live coverage of the 2008 WSOPE. Stay tuned to the Live Tournaments section to read about the all the action from the poker felt.

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