Kafelnikov says he's giving up tennis for poker

LONDON (AP) - Former world No.1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov says he's given up tennis to become a professional poker player.

"But I have not officially announced it yet. Some people still think I am just taking a break, but I believe that my time in tennis has gone by. Even if I came back, I would have no chance to play at the level I was."

Kafelnikov, 30, hasn't played since losing in the second round of the St. Petersburg Open in October 2003.

"I began at 19, and now it is impossible to compete with guys 10 years younger," Kafelnikov said. "They are more hungry. I played five or six matches indoors, at the end of 2003, and I thought, 'I can't do this any more.'

"I was losing to guys who, a couple of years before, I was able to beat with only my left hand. That's when I realized my time was gone."

Kafelnikov won the 1996 French Open, the 1999 Australian Open, a gold medal at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, the 2002 Davis Cup and 26 ATP titles.

"The most important thing was not to disappoint my fans," he said. "It is very hard to earn a good image in Russia. So when people on the street in Moscow ask why I stopped playing, I say 'because I don't want to see you people crying when I lose.' They understand that."

Kafelnikov, known for his love of roulette while on the tennis circuit, is competing in a poker tournament in Maidstone, south of London.

"I find it very exciting," he said. "Because you win not with the cards but with your skills. With body language you can win a game, but also you can lose a game.

"You need guts in poker, as in tennis. And if you don't believe in your ability, you don't win. In tennis I believed in myself, that's why I had so much success."

Poker News

World Series of Poker Wins National Sports Business Award

LAS VEGAS , Nov. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Harrah's Entertainment, Inc.

(NYSE: HET ) said its World Series of Poker has won a Horizon Award from the

Atlanta Sports Council.

The council's Horizon Awards recognize innovation in advertising, marketing, technology and media in the business of sports. The World Series of Poker received the Horizon Award for the Emerging Sports Property of the Year, awarded to the sports property or event that had significant attendance, media coverage and public awareness.

"Harrah's is honored by this prestigious award," said Ginny Shanks, senior vice president of acquisition marketing for Harrah's. "It is a recognition of tournament poker's evolution into a popular sport with millions of loyal fans and of the World Series of Poker's reputation as the dominant brand of that sport."

This year's Horizon Award winners included Nextel, UPS, NASCAR, The Coca-Cola Company, the Atlantic Coast Conference and NBC.

Various subsidiaries of Harrah's Entertainment, Inc. own or manage 28 casinos in the United States , primarily under the Harrah's and Horseshoe brand names. Founded 67 years ago, Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its valued customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.

- - ~ - -

DOWNTOWN: MTR taking Binion's reins in March

World Series poker tourney, Horseshoe name will vanish

A blackjack dealer oversees a hand Monday at Binion's Horseshoe in downtown Las Vegas . MTR Gaming Group, which owns the downtown hotel-casino, said it will take over management and rename the property simply Binion's on March 11.

For more than five decades, the Horseshoe name has been synonymous with high-stakes action in downtown Las Vegas .

But shortly before the city celebrates its 100th birthday, what's arguably its most-recognized gambling hall will take on a new moniker -- and new management team -- following a tumultuous 2004. Owner MTR Gaming Group said Monday it will assume control of the downtown hotel-casino effective March 11, less than 10 weeks before Las Vegas ' May 15 centennial. At that time, Binion's Horseshoe will also adopt a shortened name: Binion's.

"The Horseshoe name will come down," said Roger Szepelak, vice president and chief operating officer for MTR Gaming Group, whose company sold the rights to the Horseshoe name earlier this year to Harrah's Entertainment.

Per that agreement, Harrah's will also end the World Series of Poker's ties to its longtime home after next year's finals are held at Binion's. Its departure won't be the end of poker at Binion's, however.

"We definitely plan on keeping poker and making it a big part of our marketing program," Szepelak said, adding another poker championship is in the works. "This won't be called the World Series of Poker, but we certainly hope" it develops a similar following, he said.

That idea is a likely winner for MTR and downtown Las Vegas , Barrick Gaming President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Crystal said Monday.

"A lot has been said about the World Series of Poker leaving downtown, but ... the truth is the magic is not in the name, it's in the location," said Crystal , whose company recently acquired several downtown hotel-casinos including the Plaza, Las Vegas Club and Gold Spike. "That is a famous location on Fremont Street , and that's what will live on regardless of the Horseshoe name."

Crystal believes hands-on ownership is better for downtown than third-party management by a company whose attention is focused elsewhere.

"Harrah's was just a place-holder and wasn't really going to invest a lot of energy in downtown," Crystal said. "But we know for certain MTR will join the other new owners like Barrick and (the Golden Nugget's) Tim Poster and Tom Breitling in bringing new energy." The first improvements planned for Binion's will likely be upgraded slots, Szepelak said, adding it's too soon to speculate on other changes.

MTR owns thoroughbred and harness horse tracks in West Virginia and Ohio , respectively, and hopes to expand with similar holdings in Michigan , Minnesota and Pennsylvania . Despite those ties to racing, Szepelak said the company won't decide to reopen Binion's race and sports book until Harrah's has departed.

Financial shortcomings under then-owner Becky Binion Behnen caused the iconic downtown hotel-casino to close on Jan. 9. Less than two weeks later, Harrah's said it would buy the property from Behnen for an undisclosed amount.

Harrah's ownership plans were short-lived, however. On Feb. 19, it announced a deal to sell Binion's Horseshoe to MTR's wholly owned subsidiary, Speakeasy Gaming of Fremont. Financial terms were not disclosed, but Harrah's kept ownership of the Horseshoe brand in Nevada , and the popular World Series of Poker event. It also agreed to manage the downtown casino for MTR for at least one year.

That management contract, which expires March 11, , called for Harrah's to pay MTR management fees of $200,000 per month during its initial year, with Harrah's keeping any revenue in excess of that amount.

If extended, those fees would have increased to $400,000 per month in the second year and $450,000 in year three, Szepelak said.

Binion's Horseshoe reopened April 1 and has since returned to profitability. Excluding World Series-related fees and revenue, and management fees paid to MTR, the property generated $34 million in revenue and $1.8 million in cash flow from April through September, MTR reported.

Harrah's decision to exit was influenced by its pending $9.4 billion acquisition of Caesars Entertainment, a deal expected to close next year pending regulatory approval.

"We're going to need all of the management talent we have," Harrah's spokesman Gary Thompson said Monday of the Caesars merger.

A dozen or so management-level employees based at Binion's Horseshoe will transfer within the company before the MTR deal expires, Thompson added. The rest of the property's 980 or so employees are employed by MTR and will not be affected by the changes.