PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, announces “ckingusc” as the winner of the Sunday Million. Only six months after winning the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), the online phenomenon took down the Sunday Million on March 22. Widely known as Carter King, “ckingusc” is a well-known figure in online poker.

For the WCOOP victory, ‘ckingusc’ beat out 2,185 of the worlds best to take down the title. For the Sunday Million, he outlasted a field of almost 8,000 players in the $215 buy-in weekly tournament to take the top prize.

With the Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) only days away and players looking to hone their skills in preparation, the Sunday Million welcomed a total of 7,906 players to the virtual felt to compete for a prize pool that became $1,581,200, gently putting the $1.5 million guarantee to a quiet shame.

Victory in both the WCOOP and the Sunday Million has earned King a combined total of more than $1.4 million. Money aside, the achievement of winning two such major titles against massive fields of the world’s best poker players is what really sets King apart from the pack.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments, Press Releases | No Comments » March 29th, 2009

The 2009 World Series of Poker is just around the corner and Full Tilt Poker is covering the action from all angles. In addition to regular live updates from the Series, players will have multiple opportunities to win their way to Las Vegas, including:

$10 Million Main Event Mania: Back for the 5th consecutive year, $10 Million Main Event Mania guarantees any player who wins entry to the Main Event through Full Tilt Poker and then goes on to win it will be awarded an additional $10 million

Shootout Tournaments: 81-player Shootout tournaments will run twice daily, each awarding a $12K Main Event prize package

Weekly Cash Qualifiers: Qualifier tournaments will run five times weekly awarding $12K Main Event prize packages

150 Seat Guarantee: The top 150 players will claim $12K Main Event prize packages in this massive $1.8 million guarantee tournament

Race for Bracelets: Daily Race for Bracelet tournaments will award $2,000 prize packages for use in any Series event

$200K Stimulus Qualifier: Players can win one of 80 guaranteed seats to Event 4, the $1,000 buy-in “Stimulus Special” event

Race to the Main Event: Players can compete for one of 50 completely free seats at the 2009 Main Event

Full Tilt Poker will also feature live updates from the pros, including Team Full Tilt’s Howard Lederer and Phil Gordon, along with regular updates on the Full Tilt Poker Blog from Friend of Full Tilt, Michael Craig.

To get ready for this year’s WSOP, start training with the FullTilt Poker Academy. Featuring interactive multimedia lessons with members of Team Full Tilt – including bracelet winners Chris Ferguson and Erik Seidel – the Full Tilt Poker Academy is your chance to learn from the best in the game. Go to www.academy.fulltiltpoker.com and join for free today.

Go to FulltiltPoker.com for further details on promotions and exclusive coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Exclusive coverage of the 2009 World Series of Poker

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro Players, Poker Tournaments, Press Releases, WSOP | No Comments » March 20th, 2009

(PRESS RELEASE) — PokerStars, the world’s largest online poker site, today announced the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final Season Five schedule – Europe’s largest and richest seven-day poker extravaganza. The PokerStars Monte Carlo EPT Grand Final will run April 27-May 3, offering fourteen separate events making the Grand Final the most exciting poker festival ever held in Europe.

The Fourteen events will stretch across one week to provide non-stop action in one of the most stunning destinations in the world. PokerStars is pulling out all the stops to insure that poker fans from all over the globe have multiple opportunities to win their way to beautiful Monaco. Satellites are already running on PokerStars for the Main Event.

Last year’s Main Event attracted over 840 players, with 22-year-old Canadian Glen Chorny clinching the title and taking home over $3.15 million. This year, the $12,633 (EUR10,000) buy-in No Limit Hold’em Championship (NLHE) is set to surpass all records previously set at a European poker tournament. With more than 1,000 players expected to attend, there is an estimated $12 million total prize pool. The Main Event is only one of the attractions – this year there are two major new tournaments – the three-day $31,585 (EUR25,000) European High Roller Championship and the two-day $6,316 (EUR5,000) Pot Limit Omaha Championship (PLO). Dedicated satellites will be running for the PLO tournament on PokerStars, offering a special three-day weekend prize package to Monte Carlo for qualifiers.

In addition to the three premier tournaments, a number of side events will be introduced including $6,316 (EUR5,000), $2,526 (EUR2k), $1,263 (EUR1k) and $631 (EUR500) NLHE tournaments as well as a $631 (EUR500) PLO re-buy event. Numerous live satellite tournaments are also scheduled – including two super satellites each to the Main Event and high roller tournament, plus a unique super satellite tournament enabling players to win seats at any future PokerStars tour destination – a prize which effectively gives players the chance to win a trip to almost anywhere on the planet.

PokerStars is also planning another Poker Camp during the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo event due to the huge success of the Poker Camps held in Barcelona and the Bahamas as part of The PokerStars European Tour, Season Five. Members of Team PokerStars Pro will be on hand to provide valuable and interactive coaching sessions focused on slow structure and deep stack tournament play. The camp tournament winner will be awarded a PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Main Event package. Further details on the schedule of events will be available soon on pokerstars.net.

Additional action at the beautiful Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel will include daily battleship poker tournaments – where players compete online and face-to-face – and a wide variety of sit n go’s available daily.

For the first time on the EPT circuit, in additional to competing in satellites for Monte Carlo, PokerStars players will be able to buy-in online to all scheduled tournaments directly through their PokerStars accounts. Online registration opens on April 20, 2009.

Another first for the tournament offers players who buy-in or qualify online for EPT Monte Carlo events to receive Frequent Player Points (FPP) for rewards in the PokerStars VIP Club.

The other big news this year is that the EPT Grand Final Main Event structure is being changed to 30,000 in chips and 60-minute levels on Day 1, with 75-minute levels from Day 2. This will also be the structure for all Season Six PokerStars EPT Main Events.

PokerStars EPT founder John Duthie said, “It is staggering to think that, at the very first EPT Grand Final in 2005, we had just 211 players and a total prize pool of EUR2 million. Last year, both player numbers and prize pool were four times that and this year, it looks likely that we’ll smash the EUR10 million mark for total prize pool. The EPT Grand Final now sits at the very pinnacle of world poker events and will prove a massive draw for top players from all over the globe. The addition of the High Roller event, the new European PLO championship and myriad other side events will provide unending excitement for the players – it looks set to be an incredible week.”

The PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final Festival of Poker Schedule:

Super Satellite to EPT Grand Final Main Event: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 – April 27

EPT Grand Final Main Event: Buy-in EUR 10,000 + EUR 600 – April 28 – May 3

Super Satellite to EPT Grand Final Main Event Day 1b: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 – April 28

Super Satellite to High Roller Super Satellite: Buy-in EUR 550 + EUR 50 – April 28+29

Pot Limit Omaha – Unlimited Re-buys: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 – April 29

No Limit Hold’em Tournament: Buy-in EUR 5,000 + EUR 250 – April 30 + May 1

Super Satellite to High Roller: Buy-in EUR 2,500 + EUR 200 – April 30

European High Roller Championship: Buy-in EUR 25,000 + EUR 500 – May 1, 2 + 3

No Limit Hold’em Tournament: Buy-in EUR 2,000 + EUR 150 – May 1+2

Super Satellite to any PokerStars Tour – Unlimited Re-buys: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 – May 2

No limit Hold’em Freeze-out: Buy-in EUR 1,000 + EUR 100 – May 2 + 3

European Pot Limit Omaha Championship: Buy-in EUR 5,000 + EUR 250 – May 2 + 3

No Limit Hold’em Freeze-out: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 – May 3

Battleship Tournaments: Buy-in EUR 100 – unlimited – Daily

Cash SNGs: Buy-in EUR 200 – unlimited -Daily

For more information on the EPT Grand Final and all EPT events, please see www.ept.com.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Tournaments, Press Releases | No Comments » February 20th, 2009

Bodog is giving online poker players (Mac users included) the chance to play on the virtual felt anytime, anywhere, with its new Instant Play poker client. With absolutely no software to download, all a player needs to instantly access the Bodog Poker Room is a web browser and an Internet connection.

The flash-based poker client currently allows players to play one Texas Hold’em cash game table and features many of the same innovations as the downloadable Bodog Poker client, including a resizable window, a player spotlight that highlights action as it moves around the table, player-to-player chat, game details and other customizable options.

“The new Instant Play option at Bodog is perfect for when I want to play poker on my Mac or play cash games on a friend’s computer who may not have the Bodog Poker client installed,” says Bodog Poker Pro Evelyn Ng. “You can even snatch a few games at work.”

Indeed, the Instant Player version of Bodog Poker gives players total freedom to play when and where they want, whether it’s getting in 20 minutes of poker during a break at work, playing a marathon session from a hotel room while on a business trip, or hitting the tables on that shiny new Mac at home.

Players using Instant Play for cash game action also have access to amazing incentives. The “Points to Cash” program lets players accumulate points just for playing – win or lose – that can be cashed in for up to $500 a month. The Royal Flush Bonus awards 50 times the big blind up to $200 if a player takes down a pot holding the king of all poker hands and, conversely, the Bad Beat Bonus awards 100 times the big blind up to $1,000 if that seemingly dominant hand is crushed by one better.

Click here to visit Bodog Poker Now!

PR: wait… I: wait… L: wait… LD: wait… I: wait… wait… Rank: wait… Traffic: wait… Price: wait… C: wait…

Posted by Diana Sterling in New Poker Sites, Poker News, Press Releases | No Comments » February 19th, 2009

CHANDLER, Arizona — (PRESS RELEASE) — 2004 World Series of Poker Main Event Champion Greg “Fossilman” Raymer, and the 2005 World Poker Tour Champion Gavin “The People’s Champion” Smith, will be playing in The Legends of Basketball Par and Poker Celebrity Challenge for Charity event held during NBA All-Star week on February 13, 2009 in Chandler, Arizona.

The inaugural NBA Legends tournament consists of an 18-hole golf tournament at Whirlwind Golf Club and a No Limit Texas Hold’em poker tournament at Gila River’s Wild Horse Pass Casino. The poker and golf tournament will comprise of Hall of Fame athletes, Hollywood celebrities and professional poker players. Open to the public to play for both golf and poker, the poker tournament itself will boast a large cash purse and seats to the World Series of Poker Main Event. To register call 480.736.2464

“As my third Par and Poker appearance, I’ve enjoyed playing with poker enthusiasts and celebrities alike,” says Greg Raymer. “I invite the public to join me for a great cause and good times!”

In the $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold’em World Series of Poker Main Event in 2004, Greg Raymer championed the event winning an astonishing $5,000,000 first prize. This win and the high finishes in the WSOP events and British Poker Open, among others, propelled Raymer as one-of-the-most popular poker professionals in the world.

The charity beneficiaries of this event are The Legends Cares Foundation and The Joyner-Walker Foundation, Incorporated. The Legends Cares Foundation supports charitable organizations and programs that promote positive growth within communities. Title Sponsor of Par & Poker, The Legends of Basketball, is comprised of NBA veterans that have given themselves to thousands of philanthropic activities like The Legends Cares Foundation.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Poker Pro Players, Poker Tournaments, Press Releases | No Comments » February 17th, 2009

MIAMI, Florida — (PRESS RELEASE) — UltimateBet.net is once again matching the all-in excitement of Texas Hold ‘em with the best value in entertainment — World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The leading free play online poker site will be the official Canadian sponsor of the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, in Houston on April 5 at Reliant Stadium.

As the official Canadian sponsor, Ultimatebet.net continues to award players with much sought-after trips to the world’s headline entertainment attractions. Canadian* Texas Hold ‘em fans can fight their way to the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania in Houston, via a series of qualifier tournaments, set to launch next month at the free online poker site.

“We’re proud to partner with WWE on the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania, and to offer one lucky player the ultimate entertainment experience to be part of all the drama and action of this pop culture extravaganza,” stated Annie Duke, UltimateBet’s Cardroom Consultant.

The champion of the online Texas Hold’em winner-take-all match will win the ultimate WWE WrestleMania prize package, exclusive to Ultimate Bet, which includes:

* Return airfare to Houston, Texas for two (2)
* Hotel accommodations for two (2)
* $500 spending money
* Two (2) tickets to WWE WrestleMania at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas on Sunday, April 5
* Meet & Greet with WWE Talent
* Two (2) replica WWE Championship Belts
* One (1) Framed WWE WrestleMania 25 Poster

Ultimate Bet.net’s free WWE WrestleMania qualifiers will be available online from February 16, 2009.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Press Releases | No Comments » February 13th, 2009

Flying off to exotic locations to play in the world’s finest poker tournaments isn’t just for the poker pros you see on television. Thanks to Bodog, amateur players can now join the club—the Bodog Flight Club, that is—for as little as $1. Right now in the Bodog Poker Room, the online poker powerhouse is giving away at least one Bodog Flight Club Package a month to major tournaments in Europe, South America and North America, with most events featuring prize pools over a million dollars.

Winners of a Bodog Flight Club package receive buy-in to the main event, travel expenses, spending money and instantly become a member of Team Bodog, complete with loads of Bodog gear and articles written up about their progress so friends and family can follow results from home.

“Take it from me, it doesn’t get any better than playing in a major tournament in an exotic location as a member of Team Bodog,” says Bodog Poker Pro David Williams. “The Bodog Flight Club is a once in a lifetime opportunity to compete for serious money against the best in the world, all while having an adventure only Bodog can deliver.”

The next Bodog Flight Club departure is the LAPT event in Punta del Este, Uruguay, held Mar. 18-20. Qualifiers are running daily at Bodog Poker for as little as $1 or 100 Bodog Poker Points, and all lead up to the LAPT Uruguay Semifinal event on Monday, Feb. 16 at 9:00 p.m. EST, where at least two Bodog Flight Club prize packages to the LAPT Uruguay are guaranteed. The winners will join Bodog online player “Nate Avenson”, who will be heading off to Uruguay in Bodog style after winning a prize package during Bodog’s Super Bowl Special tournament.

Next up after Uruguay will be the “Flight Club – San Remo” event on Monday, Mar. 16 at 9:00 p.m. EST, where at least two more Bodog Flight Club prize packages are guaranteed to the event in San Remo, Italy, held Apr. 18-23.

Not already playing poker at Bodog? Being new has its rewards as Bodog is giving all new players automatic entry into six exclusive qualifiers for the Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed tournament. Each week 25 seats will be given away for $100,000 qualifying tourneys.

The Sunday $100,000 Guaranteed is Bodog’s big weekly tournament, and it is back from its break over Super Bowl weekend when Bodog hosted a special Sunday tournament for its players. A total of $20,000 in added prize money was awarded, or approximately $50 added per player, proving once again that no other online poker site gives its players greater value for their tournament dollars.

For more on Bodog Flight Club, visit BodogLife.com!

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker Articles, Poker News, Press Releases | No Comments » February 10th, 2009

Sydney, Australia (PrWeb) January 1, 2009 — A new site aims to help poker players with their game by providing reviews, news, testimonials and a forum.

The site, www.lobsterpoker.com, is the brainchild of Frank Pineiro, who runs other successful gambling websites. This one, Pineiro said, is different.

“This site is a great portal for poker players. Whether people want to participate in the forum, write a testimonial, or even participate in private online poker tournaments, we have something for them,” Pineiro said. “It really seemed to me that this kind of thing was missing among the many online gaming resources.”

Lobster Poker offers a good deal of information about online gaming rooms that offer bonuses, including this information right on the home page so visitors can see at a quick glance which online poker rooms are offering bonuses and special credits.

But Lobster Poker offers more than information about gaming rooms. Visitors could consider this a one-stop shop, since the site also offers online poker forums, where visitors can get poker tips, read about good online poker rooms (as determined by other players) and introduce themselves to other players.

“We hope that this site offers something for everyone,” Pinerio said. “My other sites have offered gaming information in general, but this site is poker specific and I hope that the poker pro players around the world will enjoy all that we offer at Lobster Poker.”

Pineiro says his site is uniquely positioned to help gamers find the best that the online world has to offer.

“Through our exclusive partnerships, we are able to arrange exclusive bonuses and coupons codes,” he said. “Many of the tournaments we feature are arranged directly with the different poker sites.”

Visitors to Lobster Poker will also find a poker blog which offers a fresh take on all things poker; there is also a news section which offers poker news and information from around the world.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Press Releases | 1 Comment » January 25th, 2009

PARADISE ISLAND, The Bahamas — (PRESS RELEASE) — Poorya Naziri from Toronto, Canada, turned $700 into $3 million today when he won the sixth PokerStars Caribbean Adventure.

The 22-year-old biochemistry graduate won his seat on PokerStars in a $33 triple turbo rebuy tournament, investing only $700 to win his trip to the Caribbean and a seat in the PCA ‘Festival of Poker’ main event. He was one of 1,347 entrants in the $10k no limit hold ‘em event – a number that smashed all records for a poker tournament held outside the United States and created a total prize pool of more than $12.5 million.

Poorya, who graduated last month, admitted he was stunned by the win – one of the biggest sporting prizes in the world. He said: “It was only today that I started thinking about winning. At one point yesterday I was down to virtually nothing but I got off to a good start today and at that point I thought I might have a shot.” Poorya, who has never been to Europe, has also a won a seat in the EPT Grand Final which takes place in Monte Carlo, April 28 – May 3.

The record field at this year’s PCA included 1,059 PokerStars players, of whom 746, including Poorya, had won their seats online with PokerStars.

Team PokerStars Pro Alexandre Gomes made the final table but was knocked out in fourth place, earning $750,000. Among the stars in the tournament were German tennis legend and PokerStars ambassador Boris Becker as well as 26 Team PokerStars Pros.

The roll call of top players included last year’s PCA champion Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier, former world champions Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer and Chris Monymaker, the multiple bracelet winner Daniel Negreaun and sponsored PokerStars player Peter Eastgate, who became the youngest ever WSOP world champion when he won $9 million in November. Other stars who took part included Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Chris Ferguson, Antonio Esfandiari and Eli Elezra.

The Team PokerStars Pros Vicky Coren, Barry Greenstein, Marcin Horecki and Tom McEvoy also cashed in the main event, alongside sponsored players Kathy Liebert – 12th for $120,000 – and PokerStars Six players Ylon Schwartz and Eastgate.

Also sponsored into the event were PokerStars Six players Ivan Demidov, Darus Suharto and Dennis Philips as well as the Norwegian star Johnny Lodden, the American baseball legend Orel Hershiser and the Brazilian Indy stock car racer Gualter Salles.

Team PokerStars Pros had a great week during the PCA ‘Festival of Poker’ with Grospellier, last year’s PCA champion, taking home $433,000 for winning the $25,000 PCA High Roller event and Hevad Khan winning the $2,000 side event for $200,000. Eastgate followed up his cash in the main event by winning the $5,000 event for $343,000.

Other events this week included the Battleship tournament, won by Bahbak “bigredAK” Oboodifor a $44,800 first prize, and the finals of the World Cup of Poker, won by Germany.

John Duthie, the Executive Producer of the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour, said: “The PCA is the first major poker event on the hectic 2009 poker calendar and the recent worldwide financial crisis did nothing to deter more than 1,300 people entering the $10,000 buy-in main event that smashed all records for a poker tournament outside of the States.”

Final table/payouts:

1st
Poorya Nazari
Canada
PokerStars Qualifier
3,000,000

2nd
Tony Gregg
USA
PokerStars Player
1,700,000

3rd
Benny Spindler
Germany
PokerStars Player
1,100,000

4th
Alexandre Gomes
Brazil
Team PokerStars Pro
750,000

5th
Pieter Tielen
Holland
PokerStars Qualifier
550,000

6th
Dustin Dirksen
USA
PokerStars Supernova Elite
400,000

7th
Daniel Heimiller
USA
300,000

8th
Kevin Saul
USA
PokerStars Qualifier
234,000

The next stop on the PokerStars.com European Poker Tour is the €5,300 buy-in EPT Deauville event running from 20-24 January at Deauville Casino.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker News, Press Releases | No Comments » January 22nd, 2009

(PRESS RELEASE) — Titan Poker, the largest online poker room on the iPoker Network, injects a dose of sunny Rio de Janeiro climes to the tables this winter with the announcement that its Rio Progressive Jackpot has soared to a record $125,000. A recent surge of competition has turned up the heat this week as players vie for a chance to take home the historic Jackpot prize at Titan Poker’s Rio Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments.

Rio Sit ‘N’ Go is among Titan Poker’s most popular daily Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments which run right around the clock all day every day. Rio Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments begin any time the required maximum of six players are seated at the table. In addition to regular tournament winnings, players also stand a chance at taking home the Rio Progressive Jackpot prize. The jackpot begins at $25,000 and increases by $10,000 each week until the accumulated grand prize is claimed. This week, the total in unclaimed Jackpot prizes has swollen to a record $125,000 with no end in sight.

Titan Poker players can lay claim to the sizeable Jackpot by winning six consecutive Rio Jackpot Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments within a fourteen day period. Not surprisingly, this considerable display of skill is difficult to achieve but the rewards speak for themselves. Those who fall short of six wins will not walk away empty handed. Players who place both first or second in six consecutive Rio Sit ‘N’ Go tournaments will be awarded a $300 cash prize.

The news has brought a fresh wave of activity to Titan Poker’s Sit ‘N’ Go tables. “As to be expected, the number of Sit ‘N’ Go tournament participants rises with the Jackpot size, but the number of tournaments we have run so far this week has already hit record levels. If the Rio Jackpot remains unclaimed, we can expect even more exciting times ahead as tournament numbers soar through the roof,” enthuses Titan Poker representative Robin Steele.

In addition to Rio Sit ‘N’ Go, Titan Poker offers other Progressive Jackpot Sit ‘N’Go’s, including Fort Knox $50,000 and Maui $15,000 Sit ‘N’Go tournaments. This week’s unclaimed Fort Knox Jackpot stands at $90,000, while the Maui Jackpot has reached $45,000.

Posted by Diana Sterling in Poker News, Press Releases | No Comments » November 30th, 2008