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Copyright 2005 Business Wire, Inc.
Business Wire
June 28, 2005 Tuesday 5:14 PM GMT
HEADLINE: PokerStars.com Players Shatter Record;
More than 1,000 Qualify for World Series of Poker (WSOP) Championship;
World's Largest Online
Poker Tournament Site is Training Ground for Best Players
BODY:
The 2003 AND 2004 WSOP Champions Honed their Craft at PokerStars.com
PokerStars.com, home of the last two World Series of Poker (WSOP)
champions, announced today that the online poker site's satellite
tournaments have qualified over 1,000 players to participate in
the WSOP Championships beginning July 7 in Las Vegas. The WSOP
Main Event Championship is the world's largest poker event, generating
the largest purse and attracting more than 6,000 players. This
year's top players will share a prize pool expected to be in excess
of $60 million.
PokerStars.com gained worldwide attention in 2003 as the site
that launched the meteoric rise of Chris Moneymaker, now one of
the best known poker players
in the world. An unknown player, participating in his first land-based
tournament, Moneymaker became the first online qualifier to win
the prestigious WSOP Championship bracelet, earning a then-record
$2.5 million first place prize. Moneymaker was one of 33 players
to qualify for the WSOP on PokerStars.com in 2003, a record at
that time.
Moneymaker qualified to play in the WSOP Main Event by winning
a $39 satellite tournament on PokerStars.com. He went on to defeat
the 839 player field to capture the 2003 WSOP Championship.
PokerStars.com then qualified 316 players for the 2004 WSOP championship
event, which had grown by more than 200 percent in terms of players.
Lightning struck once again - Greg Raymer, a PokerStars.com player
who had won his WSOP entry in a $160 PokerStars.com satellite
tournament, defeated 2,575 players for first place in the 2004
WSOP Championships in Las Vegas, taking home the winner's bracelet
and a record $5 million.
And that was not all. Four of the nine final table players, including
runner-up David Williams, qualified on PokerStars.com. In all,
the 2004 WSOP paid out more than $11 million in prize money to
PokerStars.com players.
Raymer attributes the huge numbers of WSOP qualifiers on the
site to the variety and frequency of tournaments and the high
quality of support that PokerStars players receive.
"The World Series of Poker is the biggest and most prestigious
tournament in poker, and it's the one everyone wants to play,"
Raymer said. "PokerStars players can win the poker dream
of a lifetime for as little as $3 - in fact, PokerStars has two
players this year who won $10,000 WSOP entries, cash and hotel
stays for an investment of $6. And when players have questions
or need help, PokerStars is there for them. You can call around
the clock, and get speedy, correct information."
This year, PokerStars.com is giving away more than $2 million
in WSOP entry packages, to 125 players via the site's innovative
Frequent Player Point system (a system similar to airline frequent
flyer points in which players can use their points as a substitute
for real money to enter preliminary WSOP events.) An additional
900 players have qualified via the site's satellite tournament
system. The number of players who have won 2005 WSOP entries on
PokerStars.com exceeds the total number of players who played
in the WSOP in 2003.
About PokerStars
PokerStars (www.pokerstars.com), an official member of the World
Poker Tour, is the world's most innovative online poker site.
PokerStars was the first site to introduce advanced multi-table
tournaments, integrated game statistics, players' notes, personalized
images, time bank for tournaments and ring big bet games, satellite
tournaments, multi-table sit and go tournaments, and much more.
PokerStars' support team is truly unique, as help and support
is available around the clock from people who know and understand
both the game of poker, and the importance of impeccable customer
service.
In four short years, PokerStars has become the world's leading
tournament site. To date, PokerStars has dealt nearly two billion
hands and run more than nine million poker tournaments, awarding
over $1 billion in prize money since its founding. PokerStars
utilizes industry-leading security software to ensure the integrity
of the system, including encryption, card shuffle randomness and
preventative measures against cheating and collusion. Money covering
player's balances is held in segregated accounts managed by the
Royal Bank of Scotland, ensuring that PokerStars can fulfill its
obligations towards players at all times.
PokerStars is the title sponsor of the European Poker Tour and
the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. PokerStars.com also hosts
the World Championship of Online Poker, the world's largest online
poker tournament, with a 2004 prize pool of more than $6 million.
PokerStars is the site where the 2003 and 2004 World Champions
of Poker won entries into the World Series of Poker, thus earning
the trademark -- "Where poker players become World Champions."
CONTACT: The Bohle Company (press only) Craig Sinel / Scott Womer,
310-785-0515 Ext. 211 / 216 craig@bohle.com / scott@bohle.com
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