DON McDERMOTT / PVT Bob Black, top, won the August World Series of Poker free-roll qualifying tournament at the Nugget Saturday. The field had 42 starters, a casino-record field. Advertisement

Bob Black survived four hours of aggressive play and Rollie Batayola's set of jacks to prevail in the August Free-Roll No-Limit Hold'em poker tournament at the Pahrump Nugget Casino Saturday.

Black tabled a straight on the river to win the World Series of Poker qualifier against Batayola, after 40 opponents had been eliminated. There were 42 players in the tournament, which had a free-roll record 48 qualifiers.

A prize pool of $2,100 and 21 points -- including 10 for the winner -- were the stakes in the tournament, one in a series of qualifiers which will determine a 30-player line-up for the championship event in February.

Five $2,000 seats for the 2008 World Series of Poker -- to be contested at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino -- will be awarded.

Black, in the final five for the first time, received 10 points for the win, with Batayola earning five, giving him a series-leading 21 points.

Andy Lytle finished third and received three points. Fourth and two points went to Andy Franzen and fifth, worth a point, went to Ray Guin.

Players qualify for a free roll by completing 40 or more hours of live play in a calendar month. The September free roll is Sept. 8, with Aug. 31 the deadline.

In the Aug. 15 issue of Card Player magazine, Daniel Negreanu, in his Full Contact Poker column, asks "Is It Time to Change the Main Event?"

Negreanu talks about raising the entry fee (something he isn't really fired up about); slowing it down (changing the blind structure), which he favors if it slows down the pace of the action, and change the format (including one that breaks down the championship tournament down into 100-player groups that will be in effect shootouts).

If one wanted to change the tournament format just for the sake of change, consider this idea.

Don't base the World Series of Poker Championship on the results of one tournament.

Require a WSOP champion to compete in a pre-determined (by the players before the tournament begins) series of seven events, with various buy-ins and a variety of games ($1,500 no-limit, $2,500 limit, $3,000 Omaha pot limit, $3,000 six-handed no-limit shootout, $5,000 no-limit heads-up, $5,000 7-card stud, and $10,000 no-limit, for example).

(The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament is poker's all-star event, and would not be included in that list of seven.)

There were 53 events (excluding the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament) in the 2007 WSOP, prior to the $10,000 buy-in championship tournament. Expect all 53 would be included in the mix of tournaments chosen by players.

The top 50 finishers, including ties, in each tournament would qualify for the WSOP championship, with the $10,000 buy-in still required.

Those estimated 2,700 players would generate a prize pool of at least $25 million. Play would start with at least 270 tables in a shootout format.

The winner at each table would advance to the semifinals at a minimum of 27 tables, again in a shootout format. The 27 table winners would then start at three tables and play until a champion is determined.

The payback schedule would depend on how many players chose to pay the $10,000, with the ratio at least one in nine getting money back.

The blinds would change at their regular levels throughout the tournament, with the recommended time of each level at 60 minutes.

Standings

The Nugget Free-Roll No-Limit Texas hold-em poker tournament points standings through August:

1. Rollie Batayola, 21 points;

2. Rupert Hodnett , 15;

3. Buzz Busbee , 11;

4. Tom Duke, 11;

5. Jim Robertson, 11;

6. Terry Farrington, 10;

7. Nella Lawson, 10;

8. Bob Black, 10;

9. Rob Reddick, 5;

10. Walter Mellon, 5;

11. Dave Von Alst, 4;

12. Blackie Harms, 3;

13. Andy Lytle, 3;

14. Rene Soto, 3;

15. Jason Earnest, 3;

16. Ray Guin, 3;

17. Gary Horvitz, 2;

18. Barry Moffatt, 2;

20. Andy Franzen, 2;

21. Jean Selzer, 1;

22. Joe Beaupre, 1;