The first season of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship was filmed in 2005 at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada. Some of poker's brightest stars, including Phil Hellmuth, Daniel Negreanu, Antonio Esfandiari, Phil Ivey, Chris Moneymaker, Gus Hansen, Mike Sexton, Doyle Brunson, John Juanda, Greg Raymer, David "Chip" Reese, and Erik Seidel, all competed to win the $500,000 first-place prize.