Database driven online distributed tournament system

1. A method of conducting a distributed electronic tournament for a plurality of players, comprising:

exchanging information between a central controller and a player located remotely from the central controller, the information (i) being exchanged while the player plays a game in the tournament and (ii) influencing game play; and

storing in a database player information associated with the player, the stored player information being available for use in a subsequent tournament to influence game play of the subsequent tournament while the player is playing a subsequent game in the subsequent tournament.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the stored player information comprises at least one of: (i) a player name, (ii) a player address, (iii) a player age, (iv) a player sex, (v) a player preference, (vi) billing information, (vii) a tournament format, (viii) a start time, (ix) a stop time, (x) opponent information, and (xi) a language.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the game comprises a game of skill.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

arranging for the player to provide payment of an entry fee.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein said arranging comprises determining a payment identifier associated with the player, and wherein the player information is associated with the payment identifier.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

arranging for the player to receive a prize based on game play.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein said arranging comprises determining a payment identifier associated with the player, and wherein the player information is associated with the payment identifier.

8. An apparatus for conducting a distributed electronic tournament for a plurality of players, comprising:

means for exchanging information between a central controller and a player located remotely from the central controller, the information (i) being exchanged while the player plays a game in the tournament and (ii) influencing game play; and

means for storing in a database player information associated with the player, the stored player information being available for use in a subsequent tournament to influence game play of the subsequent tournament while the player is playing a subsequent game in the subsequent tournament.

9. An apparatus for conducting a distributed electronic tournament for a plurality of players, comprising:

a processor; and

a storage device in communication with said processor and storing instruction adapted to be executed by said processor to:

exchange information between a central controller and a player located remotely from the central controller, the information (i) being exchanged while the player plays a game in the tournament and (ii) influencing game play; and

store in a database player information associated with the player, the stored player information being available for use in a subsequent tournament to influence game play of the subsequent tournament while the player is playing a subsequent game in the subsequent tournament.

10. A device-readable medium storing instructions adapted to be executed by a processor to conduct a distributed electronic tournament, said instructions for directing a device to:

exchange information between a central controller and a player located remotely from the central controller, the information (i) being exchanged while the player plays a game in the tournament and (ii) influencing game play; and

store in a database player information associated with the player, the stored player information being available for use in a subsequent tournament to influence game play of the subsequent tournament while the player is playing a game in the subsequent tournament.