This article could have started with a quote from the movie Rounders, the poker film that got a new generation buying in with the hopes of cashing out big. But that'd be too predictable, and this game is at www.collegepoker championship.com, not Teddy KGB's.

The tournament has no entrance fee, and is an effort to crown the college poker king or queen. The event is sponsored by Royal Vegas Poker and hosted by renowned poker author Lou Krieger. It is an online student poker tournament in which students are tossing in their proverbial antes in an attempt to walk away with a share of the $70,000 in cash scholarships and to send $10,000 to a charity of their choice.

Local high rollers are sure to be in on the action. Jennifer Sao (junior-business management), who finished in second place at a Gaming Association of Penn State tournament, signed up quickly after hearing about the event, though she said Internet games differ greatly from live games. "It's online, but it's worth a shot; it's free," Sao said. "A lot of players at the World Series of Poker started playing online."

Sao has been playing poker for two years, and in that brief time, has drifted from the kiddy-pool of poker into deeper waters, where she has become a bit of a card shark. She said she attributes her success to a thorough understanding of the game. "It doesn't just have to do with cards," Sao said. "It's reading people, figuring out what people have. You have to pay attention to your opponent and learn to calculate the percentages of certain cards coming up."

She added that she isn't feeling lucky for the tourney, not that it matters.

"Luck can only take you so far," Sao said. "In the end, it comes down to your skills."

Gaming Association President Brian Marchant (senior-electrical engineering) reiterated Sao's words by describing the attraction people have toward the game. "The strategy is more person to person," Marchant said. "You can't control the cards, but the rest you can."

Aside from the obvious "play poker to win money" logic, there are more important factors to the game than monetary rewards, Marchant said. His organization attempts to promote gaming as an alternative form of entertainment on campus and is active in the creation of local tournaments at LateNight Penn State. The tournaments are free to enter, and players compete for prizes.

"It's a social thing; people enjoy it," Marchant said. "It's another way to hang out and have fun. If you learn something, like communication skills, why not? It's something everyone needs."

But as with any form of entertainment, some say that moderation is the key. Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, pointed out the possible pitfalls of gambling, which he said are especially prevalent on a college campus.

College students are deemed to be the third most "at-risk" group to gambling problems, falling behind people with substance abuse problems and people in prison, he said.

"Gambling and risk taking is a part of human nature," Whyte said. "At this age, there is a tremendous amount of risk-taking behavior. There's freedom [and] experimentation. We're not anti-gambling. We just hope that people who offer gambling do so responsibly."

Whyte made a comparison between the caution involved with alcohol and the void of that caution when gambling is the vice under discussion.

"I don't think we send the same warning messages for gambling as we do for drinking," Whyte said. "You wouldn't see a college drinking game on the Internet."

Marchant said part of the skill in-volved with the "no-limits" game is to know one's limits. The idea is to not develop a problem with it, he said.