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Thursday saw the announcement of the Federated Sports and Gaming poker league’s schedule. If you’ve never heard of Federated Sports and Gaming before, know that its brain trust includes league Commissioner Annie Duke, a former UB.com pro who is the reigning winner of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

The first of four weeklong events will get underway on August 12th. Each week of action will see three tournaments played, starting with a unique Pro-Am. The first $1,500 buy-in Pro-Am kicks off on August 12th and will crown a champion three days later. In the field will be a mix of pros and amateurs, as opposed to any sort of team format.

On August 14th, a one-day charity poker tournament will pan out and on August 16th, the first League Main Event will begin. Each League Main Event is a $20,000 rake-free tournament. You read that right. Absolutely no rake will be paid, which is sure to be a hit with those involved. Every and every event will take place at the Palms in Las Vegas, which served as the headquarters for PokerStars players during the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Among those looking forward to the new tournament series run by Federated Sports and Gaming was Palms owner George Maloof, who commented in a press release sent out on Thursday, “We are excited to host a series of amazing poker events. No poker organization of its kind can compare to this professional league and we look forward to celebrating its long-term success.”

At the end of the four preliminary weeks, a special Championship Event will be held. This isn’t your run-of-the-mill Championship Event, either. Instead, it will be a $1 million freeroll open to the top 27 players on the league’s leaderboard. The mega-freeroll will take place on January 29th and 30th.

The big question is what criteria Federated Sports and Gaming will use to qualify about 200 players into its league. On the criteria, which have been formulated but not yet released, but Duke told TheNuts.com on Thursday, “We’re looking at achievement and consistency over a person’s lifetime, but people who have done a lot in the last two years will also be admitted. We recognize the value of someone who has been around, but we also recognize the value of someone who has hit it hard recently.”

Here is the schedule for the four preliminary events and Championship finale that comprise Duke’s poker league:

Event #1
Pro-Am Event: August 12th to 15th
Charity Event: August 14th
League Main Event: August 16th to 19th

Event #2
Pro-Am Event: September 30th to October 3rd
Charity Event: October 2nd
League Main Event: October 4th to 7th

Event #3
Pro-Am Event: December 1st to 5th
Charity Event: December 4th
League Main Event: December 6th to 10th

Event #4
Pro-Am Event: January 20th to 23rd
Charity Event: January 22nd
League Main Event: January 24th to 27th

Championship Event: January 29th to 30th

Aside from Duke, the brains behind Federated Sports and Gaming include Jeffrey Pollack, the former Commissioner of the WSOP. In addition to his role with the new professional poker league, Pollack also serves as the Executive Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of the Professional Bull Riders. Prior to the WSOP, he worked with NASCAR and the NBA.

Also on the Federated Sports and Gaming team are David Goldberg, Michael Brodsky, Jeffrey Grosman, and Eric Faulkner from YouBet.com, which Churchill Downs Incorporated recently purchased.

We’ll have more information as it’s released right here on TheNuts.com.