Couple who met online to tie the knot

A couple that met playing poker online are planning to get married at the Paris Hotel in Vegas on March 7. Not only that they are already planning to start a family, and all bets are for a baby called CHIP – if it’s a boy.

The bride and groom Jackie Johnson and Gary Suffir met online at PartyPoker.com in a $30 Omaha game. They began talking via the chat facility after Jackie defended Gary in a row over a bad beat. After initially communicating via the buddy function on the website and being in consistent contact for months after that, Jackie moved to New York City from Las Vegas to live with Gary in March 2005.

Now a year later, they are getting hitched with famous poker ambassador Mike Sexton as a witness.

Gary and Jackie’s friends and family are taking part in a special online tournament before the ceremony, while plans for the wedding itself include a unique poker wedding cake and poker floral displays.

There was speculation that the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Suffir would dress as a king and queen and request ‘Cry Me A River’ for their first dance, but their celebration of happiness and poker is being handled as straight as their poker faces, and thoughts are firmly on a wonderful future together.

"We thought that if the baby is a boy we could call it Mike after Mike Sexton but in honor of the way we met we’ll call him Chip," said a smiling Gary. "If our baby is a girl we may call her Linda after Linda Johnson, the first lady of poker, but Queenie is a possibility."

Gary and Jackie will celebrate their honeymoon on the PartyPoker.com Million V Cruise around the Caribbean, starting on March 12. With their minds on a family and the full house it would bring the poker mad couple aren’t worried about building a bankroll on the cruise, they already figure they have a royal flush. "It is going to be great playing poker on our honeymoon," said Jackie, who credits Gary with her improved Omaha play. The couple actually considered having their honeymoon in Omaha, Nebraska but the card-playing cruise stopping in Jamaica and Grand Cayman won the day.

PartyPoker.com spokesman Warren Lush said: "It is with great delight that we are hosting what we believe is the world’s first online poker wedding. We hope that they’ll have and to hold’em forever and ever."