Battles on the poker tournament felt mingled for a while with the realities of war in the desert Saturday, when 80 players competed for the right to become the 2008 U.S. Army Texas hold 'em champion.

The qualifying event held at the Rock Island Arsenal, located on a Mississippi River island in the Quad-Cities area of Iowa and Illinois, played out against a backdrop of soldiers in uniform, cannon fire during the late-afternoon lowering of Old Glory, and reminders of the efforts and sacr ...

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