The next time you throw all in on that flush you’re holding, you could win a college scholarship.

The College Poker Championship is in its second year of operation, rewarding the top online poker players enrolled in college with scholarships.

Simply put, the CPC is looking for “the best Texas hold’em, no limit college poker player in the world.”

All a student needs to do to play online is download the software and register with the Web site to be eligible to win.

So far, more than 20,000 students from 2,500 different schools nationwide are registered to play the online poker tournament. In fact, 63 NIU students are registered in the tournament.

So, instead of sitting in a dimly lit room on a Friday night and losing all your beer money, registered college students now can put their poker skills toward their continuing education.

Thirty-seven “super satellite” rounds are played, and the top 10 percent from each round go on to play in the “satellite event” on May 15. The top 20 percent of those winners compete in the final on May 22.

Even though the CPC is free and no entry fee is required, questions of legality still arise.

“CPC does not believe that the operation is gambling,” said Gavin Lachman, CPC’s consulting project manager. “Poker is a game of skill, not a game of random chance, and the CPC never requires a student to purchase to qualify.”

In light of recent crackdowns on illegal gambling, the CPC defends itself and its practices, yet reminds those interested in participating to first check local laws dealing with gambling.

“Because the laws of gambling and participation in games of skill or chance vary from state to state, we defer the responsibility to each participant to understand the laws in their area,” Lachman said.

No one has accused the CPC of fraud or challenged the legality of the site, Lachman said.

Students interested in participating can visit the Web site at www.collegepokerchampionship.com