BY TOM SOMACH

A 94-year-old Indiana man is the belle of the ball at the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

Nonagenarian Jack Ury of Terre Haute, Ind., USA, is probably the oldest entrant in the WSOP main event, and from the looks of it so far, one of the most popular.

He and his grandson, 30-year-old Seth Harrold, also of Terre Haute, are participating in their first WSOP main event.

Like most unknowns playing in the tournament, Harrold isn’t invoking much interest.

But Ury, born in 1913, when William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States, is.

Because of his advanced age, plus the fact he actually seems to look like he knows what he’s doing at the poker table, Ury has been besieged by the media, and done over a dozen interviews so far.

When he takes a break from the poker action, and tools around the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino poker room floor in his wheelchair, reporters chase after him, hoping for a quote or sound bite.

He’s also become a crowd favorite, drawing huge cheers when he wins a hand.

And, despite being deaf in one ear and blind in one eye, he made it through the first round of WSOP main event action.

The original starting field of 6,358 has been roughly cut in half, as play continues in Las Vegas.

So what is the oldster’s impression of the WSOP competition?

“Poker is a very treacherous game,” Ury told his hometown newspaper, the Tribune-Star, which did a big story on him. “You can win with anything or lose with anything.”=9D

(E-mail Tom Somach at tomsomach@yahoo.com.)