If you've followed tournament poker over the last few years, you've witnessed what appearing on television can do to enhance a player's popularity. Many established professionals have become celebrities on the basis of their success in televised tournament play, while previously unknown players have stepped into the limelight by winning a major tournament and then following up on their success in others, becoming household names in the process. Several players, however, have achieved success, but for whatever reason have not sustained the momentum from a tournament victory or successful season that gives them perhaps the same level of recognition many of the other professionals have garnered. Excellent players all, it demonstrates to some degree how difficult it is with today's staggering number of tournament entrants to stay in the spotlight, and how competition to be among poker's elite is getting stiffer every day. It used to be that professional poker players derived their income solely from playing poker, but that certainly is not the case anymore. With the advent of the Internet and the proliferation of televised poker programming, poker has become big business, and many players have opted to pursue business aspects of the game and endorsement opportunities that have arisen for at least a portion of their income rather than simply grinding out their living on the felt.

That said, here's a dozen players many of us grew up watching once poker hit the airwaves, and others that have made a name for themselves as players but who haven't been seen on television much lately. Here's hoping this year's World Series of Poker will be the catalyst for them receiving more TV time via success in the events they enter, as all have been great for the game and in this writer's opinion deserve more time in the sun.

Tom McEvoy: The 1983 World Series of Poker Champion last won the 2005 Bay 101 PPT event, which didn't get TV coverage until recently due to the flap between the WPT and the Travel Channel. An accomplished author on playing no-limit hold'em, many players learned the game or honed their skills from reading Tom's very successful books. Here's hoping the philosophies and strategies that he's touted over the years will bring him back to a televised final table in this year's events, reaffirming that they are still viable even with today's larger fields.

Robert Varkonyi: Since winning the $2 million first prize for his 2002 World Series of Poker Championship victory, Robert has only amassed around 1% of that amount in tournament winnings. Varkonyi's recent claims to fame are victories in extreme events such as playing poker underwater and on an Arctic ice shelf, and he may participate in an event scheduled for this summer that will take place on an airplane where players must parachute out once they are eliminated. Nonetheless, it's too bad we don't see more of him, as he is truly a class act.

Chris Moneymaker: The man who is given much credit for helping fuel the growth of poker with his victory in the 2003 WSOP Championship, Chris endured some personal changes in his life after the victory that may have weighed heavily on his mind and kept him from staying at the top of his game. With that now behind him, perhaps Chris can return to more final tables soon, as his contributions to poker, including his efforts to help promote worthwhile charitable poker tournaments, demonstrate that he has been a good ambassador for the game through his ups and downs.

Thomas Keller: Frequently seen in televised tournaments in 2004, not much has been seen of "Thunder" since. In fact, since his bracelet win in the $5000 no-limit hold'em event in the 2004 WSOP, Keller has only one significant tournament cash, that for his 4th place finish in the 2005 $5000 no-limit hold'em event at the Five- Star World Poker Classic at the Bellagio. While Thomas prefers cash games to tournaments and plays a great deal online, his chatty nature and jovial personality at the tables was refreshing and made for good viewing.

Howard Lederer: The Professor made eight final table appearances in 2004, further establishing himself as one of the game's greats. However, he hasn't made one since, cashing for only $107,100 in 2005. Howard is a perfect example of a player who is focusing on the business end of poker, being heavily involved with Full Tilt Poker, the boot camps he conducts, his instructional books and DVDs, and his television commentary. Still, witnessing his calculated and deliberate play on television has been missed of late, as many people probably learned a lot from watching him play.

Annie Duke: Whether you're a fan of Annie Duke or not, her presence over the years has been extremely influential in bringing more women into the game. Duke, like her brother Howard Lederer, is seemingly more focused on the business side of the game lately, and since both are now having issues with the releases in WPT events, their exposure on television as players may become even more limited. In fact, viewers see her behind a microphone more often these days than behind a stack of chips, and many of us would like to see it the other way around.

Russ Hamilton: Russ serves as a consultant and public relations person for Ultimate Bet Poker, and is the founder of the upcoming Ultimate Blackjack Tour. With all Russ has going on, it's easy to see why he doesn't feel the need to play as much poker as he may have used to. Hamilton's best cash since his 1994 WSOP victory was in last year's event, where he won $145,875 for his 59th place finish. So while Hamilton still plays in some WPT and WSOP events, he just hasn't received much television exposure lately and many people aren't aware of what a great guy Russ is because of this.

Paul Phillips: The flamboyant and outspoken Phillips' financial future is secure with the money he made in the dot.com industry. Paul seemingly is making only select tournament appearances now, such as in this year's National Heads- Up Championship, where his antics impersonating "The Unabomber" while playing Jennifer Tilly were a hoot. Phillips makes for good television, and is always "colorful," especially when he changes hairstyles, mimics his opponents, or gets under Phil Hellmuth's skin.

Dewey Tomko: The former kindergarten teacher turned professional player hasn't had a bad run since 2004, winning over $400,000 in tournament play. But a good deal of this money was won in events not televised, such as deuce-to-seven lowball or in lesser buy-in events. His last televised final table was the airing of the 2003 WPT Five Diamond Classic main event, where he finished 2nd and pocketed nearly $553,000. Dewey is a good role model for the game, and it would be great to see more of his courteous nature and pleasant demeanor at the tables.

Dan Harrington: Since his back-to-back final table appearances in the 2003 and 2004 WSOP main event, Dan's tournament winnings have totaled an impressive $836,871. Unfortunately, most of that money came from his 2nd place finish in the October 2005 WPT Bellagio Festa Al Lago main event, yielding him only one television appearance since. Now that his books are so highly acclaimed, it will be great to see more of him on television again as students of the game can certainly learn by watching "Action Dan" in action.

Billy Baxter: In 1986, Billy took on the IRS and won a ruling that gambling earnings should no longer be considered unearned income and taxed in the 70% bracket. Winnings derived from playing poker are now considered earned income because of Baxter vs. the United States, meaning that players today pay a lower amount in taxes. Baxter's seven WSOP bracelets, which trail only Chan, Brunson, and Hellmuth, have all been won in events not televised, such as deuce-toseven draw. But the man with the southern drawl is a terrific overall player and has stories to tell aplenty, and hopefully he can share some of them with us on television soon.

And lastly, Phil Hellmuth: Oh, sure, we see the "Poker Brat" more often than most of the others listed on TV, and perhaps more than most would care to. But that's precisely what makes him so great for the game. If the Internet forums, especially the ones about GSN's High Stakes Poker, are any measure of Phil's popularity (or lack of it) among fans, then he is arguably the player most people want to watch...if not to win, then to watch whine while engaging in one of his ego-driven pity parties. Love him or hate him, it's too bad he can't be at every televised final table. He