With more than 35,000 entries into the PokerStars Americas Cup of Poker, the pre-event favorites have pulled out to a commanding lead.

As you've likely heard, the Americas Cup is pitting people from all over North and South America against each other in a battle for bragging rights and big money at the end of the world. At stake, a chance at the live final in the Patagonia region of Argentina and a heck of a ski trip in September.

A snow boarder on the slopes in Argentina -- Photo by Palmiro Bedeschi

After one round of play, several of the divisions have seen serious blow outs. In Group A, the United States and Mexico have crushed Equador and preliminary qualifier Guatemala 8-0 in early action. Canada and Colombia have done the same thing to Uruguay and Panama in Group B. In Group D, Argentina (host of the live final) and Brazil skunked Paraguay and Honduras.

It's only in Group C where things have stayed exceptionally tight. All four countries are still well within reach of making live final. As of right now, here's how the teams win/loss records look.

Costa Rica (6 - 2)
Chile (4 - 4)
Venezuela (4 - 4)
Peru (2 - 6)

The top two teams in each group will be headed to the live final. This week, PokerStars announced that all teams that finish in third place will get a chance to play for the $10,000 ninth place playoff. That means that even those teams that didn't fare well in the early going still have a reason to fight.

To see the full results so far, check out the Americas Cup results page.

There is a place at the end of the world, where snow falls in August, where the women can fell governments, and red meat is eaten with such fervor that the idea of a boneless, skinless chicken breast is, at best, quaint. Patagonia, this mythical sounding place in southwest of Argentina, will soon be home for a battle of the ages. There, in the land of beef and summer snow, the Americas will decide which country is deserving of the Americas Cup.

Today, countries from all over the Americas started fighting for their rightful spot at the final fight in Argentina. The Americas Cup is going to put online qualifiers together with Team PokerStars Pro for a live poker event like you've never seen before. On the line is national pride for 13 different countries and no small amount of money...$250,000 to be exact.

As if that wasn't enough, people who make it to the live final get a chance to take one heckuva a ski vacation at the end of August and beginning of September. Seriously...there aren't a lot of things that you're going to do in the next two months you're going to enjoy more.

Qualifiers are running now on PokerStars. If you'd like to see all the rules, see how you can get on a team, and see how the Americas Cup works, we suggest you head on over to the PokerStars Americas Cup home page.

In the meantime, we're going to be fantasizing about a juicy steak and fresh powder.

Photo by Luca Galuzzi