Poker may be just a game, but there were important and very memorable events that took place last year. Some grabbed the attention of many and earned snide remarks, especially from those who have participated in major poker events, while some grabbed the respect and admiration of not only poker players but most especially poker fans all over the world. So, here is a recap of these memorable events that took place last poker 2009.

Julius Caesar

Always an attention grabber, Phil Helmuth walked into the WSOP 2009 wearing a Julius Caesar costume, complete with soldiers, dancing ladies, and horse-drawn chariot. Those who do not know Helmuth raised their eyebrows in disgust at his show, and those who do know him knew that he was going to pull such a stunt like this when he walks into the WSOP venue, especially since he is known to always set up elaborate stunts when he makes a WSOP entrance. Of course, many poker pros also raised their eyebrows at Helmuth’s antics.

Nude Poker Pros

Again, the attention-grabber Phil Helmuth was once again a participant of this event wherein Helmuth together with four other poker pros posed nude for the “The Body Issue” of ESPN’s Magazine. The other three players included Jennifer Harman and Daniealk Negreanu as well as Scotty Nguyen. The photograph showed the four players playing at a poker table, dressed in their birthday suits. Of course, the poker table hid their private parts appropriately.

The Poker Playing Priest

The poker playing priest was another incident that sparked the interest of many, and it even became a bit controversial. Father Trapp joined in a major poker tournament and won himself a fat hundred thousand dollars, which he has promised to put into the renovation of his church. He might not have won the million dollar first prize, but his accomplishment did show that there is a quirky side to priests, not just serious preaching.

New Member in Full Tilt Poker

It is not a common occurrence that Full Tilt Poker invites poker pros to become a member of their team, but last year saw the addition of  into the Full Tilt Poker elite team. Dwan, already recognized in the online poker world, has also gathered the attention of the poker world when he issued the million dollar challenge.

This is just some of the major events that took place last 2009 in the poker world.