Harrah’s New Orleans welcomed a surprise visitor on Friday afternoon, as actor Stephen Baldwin arrived in the tournament arena to help kick off the Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event Championship.  Baldwin has appeared in several hit movies, most notably The Usual Suspects, Born on the Fourth of July, and Casualties of War.

Baldwin arrived with poker pro Maria Ho, who came to New Orleans to play in the championship.  Ho was the top female finisher in the 2007 WSOP Main Event.  She also recently appeared in the reality-based hit television series The Amazing Race, which aired on CBS this fall.

This marks the fourth year of the Bayou Poker Challenge, which is held annually each December, at Harrah’s New Orleans.  It is one of the South’s largest and most successful poker tournaments, and has awarded in excess of $8 million in prize money since its creation.  This tournament series is categorized as a World Series of Poker Satellite, since its Main Event winner earns an entry valued at $10,000 seat (plus expense money) into the WSOP championship, to be held in 2010.

This year’s Bayou Poker Challenge included 15-events, the most ever offered for any tournament held in New Orleans.  The tournament is played over three consecutive days and ends on Sunday, December 20^th.