We hope you’ve got a few minutes. The Thursday A.M. SCRAMBLE is one of the bigger ones we’ve ever produced and is packed to the rim with poker news that includes some behind the scenes stuff, a WSOP champion making a comeback and another domino for PokerStars in their real-life game of RISK.

The Real Story Behind Ashton Griffin’s 70 Miles in 24 Hours Prop Bet

On Monday we told you about a prop bet that saw NAPT Venetian High Roller Shootout champion Ashton Griffin win $300,000 by running an astounding 70 miles in just 24 hours. Now the poker community is getting an amazingly candid and personal behind-the-scenes look at just what really transpired over the 24 hours of the bet from somebody who was on the losing end of the bet. Griffin’s roommate Haseeb Qureshi, who lost $300,000 to Griffin when he succesfully finished the 70 miles, wrote a two-part blog post on CardRunners.com that is an absolute must-read.

It’s long, not for the faint of heart and certainly not for prop bet fan boys.

The Million Dollar Bet Part 1

The Million Dollar Bet Part 2

NBC Reveals Ten More National Heads-Up Championship Players including a Returning Peter Eastgate

As the NBC National Heads-Up Championship draws closer names of players competing in the $25,000 buy-in event are slowly being released. Annie Duke will obviously be back to defend her crown and Justin Young won the qualifier at Caesars Palace a few weeks back. Now we know the names of ten more players who will take to the felt March 4-6 and one of them is quite surprising.

The usual suspects, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Erik Seidel, Vanessa Rousso, Doyle Brunson, Chris Ferguson, Andy Bloch were all confirmed on Wednesday as was 2010 World Series of Poker Main Event winner Jonathan Duhamel. The final confirmed entrant announced on Wednesday may come as a bit of a shocker though.

Peter Eastgate, the 2008 WSOP Main Event winner who abruptly retired from poker and auctioned off his WSOP bracelet, is also in the field. This isn’t just a one off event though for the Dane. Eastgate confirmed to Danish website Pokernyhederne.com that his apparent “retirement” from poker is now over.

“The reason why I come back to poker, is simply the desire has come back again. There is an automatic invitation to the NBC tournament for winners of the Main Event three years back, so it would expire next year,” said Eastgate who plans on beginning his comeback at EPT Copenhagen in two weeks. 

The National Heads-Up Championship will be broadcast on NBC over six straight Sundays in April and May.

PokerStars Holding First Ever Major Tournament in Greece

Poker players in Athens, Greece might be smiling a little bit more than normal this morning. On Wednesday PokerStars.com announced they had teamed up with Club Hotel Casino Loutraki to host what they’re calling the first “major poker tournament in Greece”. Dubbed The Greek Poker Cup, the €1,000 + €100 No Limit Hold’em poker tournament will run from March 24-27, 2011 with a  200-player cap. The Club Hotel Casino Loutraki opened in September with 14 tables as the first poker room in Greece.

“We are honoured to have the privilege of producing this historic event with Club Hotel Casino Loutraki at their incredible holiday resort of Loutraki, easily accessible from the historic capital of Greece,” said Jeffrey Haas, spokesperson for the Greek Poker Cup. “We expect the best poker players in Greece to compete for their first poker Championship title, and I’m sure we’ll see exciting visceral action from the moment the cards are in the air.”

If you think Athens might be a cool place to play some poker, well you can qualify for the Greek Poker Cup on PokerStars.com. Head to the Lobby, click on the Events tab and the Greek Poker Cup qualifiers are under the Special heading.

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