We love the free stuff, don’t you? That’s why we consider it our job to find it for you!

Which leads us to this sweet giveaway: Total Rewards (the world’s most buff player loyalty program) and the World Series of Poker (the universe’s premier name in poker) are joining forces to give away some goodies like a 16 GB iPad, two 8 GB iPod Touches, five WSOP poker chip sets and 10 $25 Total Rewards gift cards.

The World Series of Poker comes to Vegas May 27 to Jul. 17, by the way.

After you enter the giveaway, get World Series of Poker Hold’Em Legend game for your mobile device. This fast-paced game gives you the true World Series of Poker experience, with real-time multi-player gameplay, among other great features. You can even play in some of your favorite real-world casinos.

Entries for the giveaway will be accepted until Apr. 16. Enter now.

It was a weekend of firsts for women! Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win a Best Director Oscar for “The Hurt Locker,” and poker pro Annie Duke became the first woman ever to win the National Heads-Up Poker Championship. The event was held at Caesars Palace.

The Heads-Up Championship finals came down to Annie Duke and Erik Seidel, with Duke taking home the $500,000 in prize money. NBC will air 12 hours of event coverage, starting Apr. 18, for six consecutive Sundays.

Factoid: Annie Duke moonlights an instructor at the World Series of Poker Academy.

In addition to her many poker accomplishments, Anne Duke was also a finalist on “Celebrity Apprentice,” going head-to-head with arch-nemesis Joan Rivers in one of the most memorable installments of the show ever.

Read more about Annie Duke’s victory in the 2010 National Heads-Up Poker Championship here, here and here.

If you’re like most poker fans, you’re champing at the bit for the World Series of Poker this summer. Registration is open, so find out more about the event at Rio Las Vegas, May 27 to Jul. 17, and get in the game.

We were saddened to hear about the passing of World Series of Poker bracelet winner Amir Vahedi. He passed away on Jan. 8.

Poker's Amir Vahedi.

Vahedi was an accomplished player, born in Iran, and even became a tutor for Ben Affleck when the actor first became interested in poker.

Amir Vahedi be missed, and as his fellow poker pro Phil Hellmuth wrote, “Amir was one of the nicest, gentlest guys on the tour and everyone loved him.” Read more.

The World Series of Poker has announced its 2010 schedule. Read all about it. The world’s premier poker event returns to Rio Las Vegas on May 27.

A total of 57 coveted winners’ gold bracelets will be up for grabs in 2010.

In 2009, the WSOP generated the most entries ever (60,875) from 115 different countries. Players competed for more than $174 million, recognized around the world as the game’s top prize.

The 2009 WSOP winner, Joe Cada, took home a sweet $8.5 million.

We just got a holiday e-card from our friends at the World Series of Poker. We thought it was clever.

Now we know why Santa is jolly. Everyone loves great copywriting!

Since the World Series of Poker calls Rio Las Vegas home, we’re always keeping an eye on the endlessly-fascinating world of poker.

ESPN’s Web site just ranked the top 10 players in the game. Phil Ivey came out on top. Read more.

Phil knows what's in your head, so don't even think about bluffing.

Who’s your favorite and why? Post your thoughts in the Comments section.

Binion’s Gambling Hall, a Las Vegas icon downtown, has announced it will close its hotel Dec. 14. The casino floor will remain open at this Vegas landmark, however. Read more.

Binion’s was the original home of the World Series of Poker.

Here’s a nice article about the future of the World Series of Poker, 2010 and beyond.

This year’s World Series of Poker Champ, Joe Cada, makes an appearance on CNN. Enjoy the video.

"It hasn't fully hit me yet," says Joe. It hasn't fully hit US yet!

Overheard on Twitter: On Tuesday night, World Series of Poker champ Joe Cada will be a guest on Late Night with David Letterman. Read more about this poker phenom.

The excitement of the recent World Series of Poker Final Table is still keeping Las Vegas, and the world, abuzz. One of the questions about this year’s champion has been, “Who IS that kid?”

We’re here to help. Here are some interesting facts about 2009 world poker champ, Joe Cada:

Joe Cada, a professional poker player, is from Shelby Township, Michigan (30 miles from Detroit). Cada is pronounced “kay-duh.”

He’s the youngest world poker champion in the 40-year history of the WSOP. His 22nd birthday is Nov. 18. Cada started playing card games at an early age, including euchre and pinochle. By age 19, Cada had won enough money playing online poker to pay cash for a house.

Somebody's gonna need a bigger money clip.

Cada’s mother (Ann Cada) is a blackjack dealer at a casino in Michigan.

His big break came two years ago when he won a major online tournament and collected about $150,000. He has since won other tournaments online, but the 2009 World Series of Poker was his first live tournament victory.

Cada collected first-place prize money totaling $8,547,042. For his victory, Cada also received a gold and diamond bracelet, symbolizing the ultimate achievement in the game of poker.

Best. Bling. Ever. They still call it bling, right?

Cada says he had financial backers consisting of online pros who helped him enter the tournament, as well as providing strategy advice. Cada said that one backer will receive nearly half of his prize money winnings.

This video provides a glimpse into the last few cards of the Final Table.

Visit the official site of the World Series of Poker for more about this singular event.

Our best wishes go out to the newly-crowned prince of poker. Hey, don’t spend it all in one place!

Joe Cada, 21, has defeated Darvin Moon to become the youngest World Series of Poker Main Event champion in the tournament’s 40-year history. He takes home $8.5 million ($8,547,042 to be exact) and the World Series of Poker Main Event world championship bracelet.

After his victory, Joe bought a celebratory round of drinks. For the entire country of Finland.

For his second place finish, Darvin Moon earned $5,182,928.

An emotional Cada acknowledged his opponent and addressed the crowd after WSOP Commissioner Jeffrey Pollack presented him with poker’s most coveted prize.

Just more than a week before his 22nd birthday, the young poker pro said, “I want to thank my friends and family for taking time away from work and school to be here. I’ve dreamed of winning this tournament, and to do it the first year out of the gate is unbelievable. This is just amazing.”

Amazing is right! The action at the Penn & Teller Theater at Rio Las Vegas went into the wee hours of the morning, with the chip count going back and forth for a nail-biting finish to this year’s World Series of Poker.

ESPN will televise the Final Table tonight. Get all the WSOP scoop about poker’s biggest night (and morning) on the official World Series of Poker site.

Congratulations to Mike Sexton for being voted into the Poker Hall of Fame. Read more. His 30-year career makes him one of the legends of the poker world.

Cha-to-the-ching.

Sexton will be honored during the Final Table of the World Series of Poker Main Event in Las Vegas.

The final nine players of the 2009 World Series of Poker will reconvene to play the Final Table on Nov. 7. They’ll play until two remain, and the final two will finish play on Nov. 9. The action-packed event will then be broadcast on ESPN Nov. 10. The first place finisher will take home $8.5 million!

Visit the World Series of Poker official site. And plan to be at Rio Las Vegas for the Main Event. Book a room.

The World Series of Poker Europe kicks off on Sep. 17 at London’s Casino at the Empire in Leicester Square.  Blimey! Or some other antiquated British colloquialism!

Sounds like fun, though. Check it out.

Get all the latest from the WSOP, 140 characters or less at a time! Follow World Series of Poker’s President and Commissioner, Jeffrey Pollack, on Twitter. Here ya go!

You can also sign up for the free WSOP e-newsletter. It’s bursting with juicy offers and news, and we’re not just saying that because we write it.