Wednesday, December 30, 2009

PartyGaming remains confident - 31st December 2009

PartyGaming remains confident

Product suite remains strong: PartyCasino.com, PartyPoker.com, PartyBets.com, PartyGammon.com, PartyBingo.com, World Poker Tour

Strategic purchases and potential mergers on cards for 2010

Leading listed online gaming operator PartyGaming has stated that its revenues since the end of September are expected to be in line with its earlier predictions despite falling over the first nine months of the year.

PartyGaming owns the World Poker Tour land-based poker tournament series and operates popular online poker domain PartyPoker.com alongside leading bingo sites FoxyBingo.com, Mirror Bingo, Think Bingo and Cheeky Bingo.

The operator stated that it would release its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2009 on February 3 and expects clean full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to be ‘slightly ahead’ of its expectations.

“As indicated at the time of our third quarter key performance indicators, our business has continued to perform well across the board during the fourth quarter with a return to net revenue growth across all four of our key product verticals,” said Jim Ryan, Chief Executive Officer for the Gibraltar-based operator.

“Returning poker to growth has been a key focus for us. We are pleased to see that the initiatives introduced throughout the year are now feeding through into both operational and financial performance with increased player numbers and average net daily revenues versus the previous quarter, despite continued competition from illegal US-facing sites and the difficult macroeconomic climate.

“Our casino business has also continued to perform well on the back of new games launched on PartyCasino.com as well as higher jackpots with the most recent Mega Gold jackpot paying out close to five million dollars to the lucky winner earlier this month.

“Bingo continues to show substantial growth on the back of the CashCade acquisition in July of 2009.

“In sportsbetting, our gross win margin has benefited from a good run of sporting results and the introduction of improved risk management tools.

“Despite the challenges presented by the prevailing macroeconomic environment, we have not been distracted from the execution of our strategic plan. With the prospect of a number of new and large regulated markets in front of us, an expanding portfolio of business-to-business customers and a return to growth in our core business, we remain confident about the group’s prospects.”

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

PartyPoker Cash Machine Returns, Features Booster Bonus, by Dan Cypra - 29th December 2009

In January, PartyPoker, one of the world’s longstanding online poker sites, returns the popular Cash Machine promotion. This time, hardcore grinders will earn additional cash as part of a Booster Bonus.

The Cash Machine promotion last ran during the month of September and shelled out a bevy of added funds to PartyPoker players. The promotion returns on January 4th and will run through the end of the month. All players have to do is earn 10 or more PartyPoints on at least 10 days during the 28-day period. Then, PartyPoker officials will take a look at the PartyPoint totals of the 10 highest-earning days and match the lowest one at the rate of $1 per point.

As an example, if a player’s 10 highest PartyPoint total days were 100, 100, 100, 150, 150, 150, 200, 200, 200, and 200, PartyPoker would award a $100 cash bonus, matching the lowest amount. The minimum payout is $10 and there is no maximum amount that PartyPoker will match. For those players who are unable to meet the $10 minimum, a generous consolation prize exists. Text found on PartyPoker’s website explains, “If you can achieve 10 qualifying days of one PartyPoint or more, but fail to earn the minimum cash reward, we’ll give you a seat in our $25,000 Cash Machine freeroll, which takes place at 15:00 ET on Wednesday, 3rd February.”

The Cash Machine Booster Bonus is available to players who earn at least 1,000 PartyPoints per day on 20 out of the 28 days of the promotion. Players who earn between 1,000 and 1,500 PartyPoints for 20 days will earn a $500 Booster Bonus. Players who rack up between 1,500 and 2,000 PartyPoints for 20 days will get a $1,100 Booster Bonus. Players who amass between 2,000 and 2,500 PartyPoints for 20 days will take home a $2,000 Booster Bonus. Players who earn between 2,500 and 3,000 PartyPoints will receive a $3,000 Booster Bonus and those able to surpass 3,000 PartyPoints for 20 days will nab a colossal $5,000 Booster Bonus.

The Cash Machine is an opt-in promotion and players can register for it at any time prior to its conclusion. Once they opt in, PartyPoker will credit players with all PartyPoints earned during the 28 days, regardless of when they sign up. Each qualifying day runs from 00:00 ET to 23:59 ET and days do not have to be consecutive in order to count. All funds earned will be dropped into players’ accounts within 48 hours of the Cash Machine promotion ending.

One day prior to the Cash Machine promotion kicking off, the PartyPoker Monthly Million will play out. The $640 buy-in tournament takes place on the first Sunday of every month and boasts a Championship blind structure. Players begin with 20,000 chips and blinds start at 25-50. The price of poker increases every 20 minutes and antes kick in at Level 6, when blinds are 250-500.

Qualifiers for the Monthly Million run constantly on PartyPoker. Popular ways to enter include a daily Monthly Million Qualifier, a $70 buy-in satellite with at least 19 seats on the line. A Mega Friday Satellite also takes place weekly, featuring a $55 buy-in and 20 seats guaranteed. On Saturdays, two qualifiers take place on PartyPoker offering a combined 18 seats. Country-specific freerolls and daily player point qualifiers also send players to the Monthly Million. Mark your calendars for Sunday, January 3rd, the next running of the Monthly Million.

According to the traffic ranking site PokerScout.com, PartyPoker is the fourth largest site worldwide, with a seven-day running average of 4,500 real money ring game players. It is the second largest not to accept players from the United States, trailing only the massive iPoker Network.

PartyPoker claims World Poker Tour Host and new Poker Hall of Fame inductee Mike Sexton as its ambassador and is currently qualifying players for the L.A. Poker Classic. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Monday, December 28, 2009

PokerStars Guinness World Record Attempt Attracts 149,196 Players, by Dan Cypra - 28th December 2009

On a night when Full Tilt Poker’s software went down much to the dismay of players everywhere, PokerStars set the Guinness World Record for largest online poker tournament ever held. The event weighed in at 149,196 entrants.

The mark to beat was 65,000 players, set by PokerStars back in July, meaning that the site trumped the standing record by nearly 85,000. PokerStars was quick to put its record-shattering attendance into perspective, saying, “It would fill the Rose Bowl or Wembley stadiums and still have another 60,000 people with tickets waiting outside in the tailgating parking lot.” In addition, the attendance represented well over 20 times the field of the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event and 30 times the number of rooms at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The Guinness World Record attempt was a $1 buy-in tournament that guaranteed $300,000 in the prize pool. It played out in less than six hours in a Turbo format and oskar69 earned an amazing $50,000 for first place, or 50,000 times his buy-in. Text found on PokerStars’ website admits, “We're sure oskar69 is happy about the ROI from the win today, as no deal was reached and the entire $50,000.00 was awarded for besting this massive field.” Second place went to Bommel222, who earned a not-so-paltry $30,000. A total of 30,000 players finished in the money.

Others who made the final table in the historic poker tournament included TLWPB (third place for $20,000), willis59 (fourth place for $10,000), kruglay (fifth place for $8,000), madmick62 (sixth place for $6,500), DS1982 (seventh place for $5,250), denmil53 (eighth place for $4,000), and bigsnapper7 (ninth place for $3,000). The top 16 players grabbed at least $1,000 for their 100-penny contribution to the pot.

The PokerStars Sunday Million, the site’s hallmark $215 buy-in weekly high-stakes poker tournament, drew 9,344 entrants yesterday, creating a prize pool of $1.8 million. In the end, PokerStars member coach6999 banked $266,000 for the win, defeating BBOY3110 heads-up. The second place finisher claimed a $196,000 consolation prize and the top 1,350 spots paid out. Others who reached the feature table in the Sunday Million included tsakalias (third place for $139,132), schnaggels19 (fourth place for $93,440), mystinen60 (fifth place for $74,752), OBVAMENTS (sixth place for $56,064), robvleugel (seventh place for $37,376), plusmillion (eighth place for $20,557), and Mr Puckey (ninth place for $13,082).

The Sunday Warm-Up, another $215 buy-in online poker tournament that played out on PokerStars yesterday, generated a field of 4,605 entrants, shattering its $750,000 guaranteed prize pool. In the end, NinjasTyle87 banked $144,000 for first place, while .dmmarquez finished with a $107,000 bankroll boost for second place. The top 675 players finished in the money and others who could be found jumping for joy on Sunday afternoon included JBlaze20 (third place for $75,983), montjeu8 (fourth place for $52,037), Comeback2008 (fifth place for $39,143), Steinapride (sixth place for $29,933), haneferd (seventh place for $20,723), ReadOnYou (eighth place for $11,513), and pokerwille (ninth place for $7,368).

Appropriately, PokerStars is the industry’s largest online poker site, according to PokerScout.com, boasting a seven-day running average of 27,800 real money ring game players. During its peak hours, nearly 50,000 call the site home. PokerScout.com claims that PokerStars’ traffic has grown by 37% year over year and, at the time of writing, which is late morning Eastern Time on Monday, 36,000 cash game players are seated. That figure represents more than double the number of players currently found on Full Tilt Poker, the world’s second largest site.

Full Tilt Poker’s $750,000 Guaranteed, Sunday Mulligan, and Sunday Brawl, among other events, did not play out on Sunday due to a software malfunction. Players were refunded based on their chip counts at the time of the crash. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Sunday, December 27, 2009

TASER Foundation for Fallen Officers Raises More Than $550,000 From the 2009 "Hold'em for Heroes" Celebrity Weekend - 21st December 2009

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 21, 2009 - The TASER Foundation for Fallen Officers generated more than $550,000 in gross donations during its fifth annual "Hold'em for Heroes" celebrity tournament weekend held November 19-21, 2009.

The weekend's events featured three days of poker tournaments at the Fort McDowell Casino, including a "high roller" event filled with more than 35 celebrities from: the World Series of Poker(R) (WSOP), professional sports teams, television, movies, and artists from the country and hip hop genres. Many of these same players also participated in the charity's first celebrity golf tournament played at the beautiful WeKoPa Golf Club in Fountain Hills, Arizona.

The returning hosts for the events were the 11-time WSOP Champion, Phil Hellmuth and Country Music Recording Artist, Mark Wills.

During the weekend's activities, local players had the opportunity to golf with celebrities like Richard Karn of "Home Improvement" and play their best poker hands against champions like Phil Hellmuth, Antonio Esfandiari, Layne Flack, and local poker hero Tom Schneider for the chance to win a $10,000 seat in the 2010 World Series of Poker tournament held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mark Rubin, a local player, won the event, with Jeff Madsen, one of the WSOP celebrity players, taking second.

Kathy Hanrahan, the CEO for the TASER Foundation, commented, "The results achieved for the 2009 'Hold'em for Heroes' event was a great way to end the year. We were encouraged by the level of support achieved in such a tough economy."

"We would like to thank the local community for their continued support of this very worthwhile cause, and our premium corporate sponsors: Fort McDowell Casino, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, Hillard Heintze, TASER International, the Poker Players' Alliance, and Hogue Printing Solutions for underwriting the key expenses and making the event possible," added Hanrahan. "A special thank you is also necessary for the men and women of law enforcement who attended the event, and to the very special family members of our fallen Arizona officers. This weekend was to honor these heroes, and to remind them that the TASER Foundation will be here to help law enforcement and its families in their time of need."

For more information on the event, or to see or purchase photographs from the tournament weekend, please email SupportingtheFamily@TASERFoundation.org.

To learn more about how you can assist the TASER Foundation in its mission to help these families during their time of need, please visit www.TASERFoundation.org, or call 1-800-978-2737, extension 2012. Every dollar raised makes a difference in their lives, and lets the families know how grateful we are for their sacrifice.

About the TASER Foundation

The TASER Foundation distributes financial memorial grants to the families of fallen officers in the United States and Canada through donations and an initial endowment of $1,000,000. More than half of the initial endowment came in direct contribution from TASER International employees with the balance contributed by the company. Onetime grants are available only upon request by chiefs of police and sheriffs as well as federal law enforcement executives in the name of sworn officers killed in the line of duty since August 1, 2004. The TASER Foundation's mission is to honor the service and sacrifice of local and federal law enforcement officers in the United States and Canada lost in the line of duty by providing financial support to their families. TASER International bears all of the administrative costs of the TASER Foundation in order to ensure 100 percent of all donations are distributed to the families of fallen officers. For further information contact Kathy Hanrahan, President and CEO of the TASER Foundation, at Kathy@TASER.com or call 800-978-2737, extension 2012. Visit the TASER Foundation website at www.TASERFoundation.org for facts and video.

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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Qualifiers begin for Party Poker's Premier League IV

GIBRALTAR (PRESS RELEASE) - 17th December 2009 - PartyPoker has introduced online qualifiers for February's PartyPoker.com Premier League IV, which is to be held in Las Vegas for the very first time! The latest news also sees the confirmation that JC Tran will be back to defend his title!

There are a number of different ways to qualify for Premier League IV from as little as $2. This year PartyPoker.com are running qualifiers to find a total of 16 players who will all fly out to Las Vegas to play in a Premier League Poker play-off to see which one of the 16 will be lucky enough to join 11 professional players in Premier League Poker IV. The lucky online qualifiers will play a short series of play-off sit & go's in Las Vegas and the eventual winner will win a $100,000 buy-in to take part in the main Premier League event! Both the play-off and the main event will be filmed for TV and shown across the world.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "One amazing element of this promotion that provides a truly fantastic opportunity is that one of the 16 qualifiers will be chosen by PartyPoker to receive a $100,000 Team Party contract to be a sponsored player. This decision will be made by PartyPoker within two weeks after the event takes place. We will only get a flavour of who we want to sponsor once we have had a chance to meet and interact with the 16 players that make it out to Las Vegas."

More information on the details and structure can be found at PartyPoker.com

JC Tran won PartyPoker.com Premier League III after taking down the most formidable final table in the event's history! Tran, widely regarded as one of the finest and consistent tournament professionals on the circuit scooped the $300,000 first prize in the elite tournament that saw 12 of the world's finest players battle it out for a $1.25 million prize pool! Tom 'Durrrr' Dwan, Juha Helppi, Tony G, Roland de Wolfe and Peter Eastgate all made the final table.

JC said: "I am very much looking forward to defending my Premier League title. It was a fantastic experience last year and is an amazing format. I am certainly not going to be giving up my crown without a fight!"

Three of the 16 players who make it to Las Vegas will come from the exclusive Palladium Lounge points race, which offers a share of prizes worth more than $155,000, as well as competition for $9,000 PartyPoker.com Premier League play-off event packages. A Palladium Lounge member is guaranteed a share of more than $155,000 if they are one of the top 250 PartyPoint earners between 7 th December 2009 – 3rd January 2010. First place is guaranteed a $9,000 Premier League play off package.

Throughout the month you can check on the leaderboard here: PartyPoker.com

To make it even more exciting, PartyPoker.com will be inviting everybody who finishes in the top 600 to play in the Premier League play off freeroll on the 10th January, where there are two more $9,000 packages and even more cash prizes up for grabs. For more information see: PartyPoker.com

This year's Premier League will carry a total prize pool of over $1.5 million. Premier League II was won by Andy Black and the inaugural event was taken down by Juha Helppi. The PartyPoker.com Premier League is organized by Matchroom Sport.

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Grand Prix de Paris Returns to World Poker Tour, by Dan Cypra - 25th December 2009

From May 8th to 13th, the World Poker Tour (WPT) will return to the Aviation Club for the Grand Prix de Paris. The €10,000 buy-in tournament will be filmed for television and beamed around the world.

The Aviation Club opened back in 1907 and makes its home on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, the city’s famous boulevard. The cozy club’s poker consultant, Bruno Fitoussi, commented in a press release distributed by the WPT, "The Aviation Club de France is delighted to welcome back a WPT event in Paris. The WPT Grand Prix de Paris is guaranteed to be a high-class tournament in the highlights of the international poker scene and will, for sure, attract players from all around the world."

The 2010 visit to the Aviation Club marks the first WPT event in Paris since 2006. That year, Christian Grundtvig defeated Finnish poker player Jani Sointula to take home the Grand Prix de Paris title and its corresponding €712,500 first place prize. Sointula earned a €356,250 consolation prize and others at the final table included Thomas Wahlroos (third place for €243,750), Henrik Witt (fourth place for €168,750), Phil Yeh (fifth place for €131,250), and Pat Schuhl (sixth place for €93,750). A total of 232 players entered and the top 27 finished in the money.

Land-based satellites for the 2010 WPT Grand Prix de Paris will kick off on May 1st at the Aviation Club. Adam Pliska, President of the WPT, told Poker News Daily, "France is an important part of WPT's world and will continue to be key for WPT as it expands across Europe and beyond. While WPT's television shows continue to expand their global reach, the introduction of non-televised events will also provide WPT and its partners with even more opportunities to connect with its consumers.” Earlier this year, the WPT was sold to Party Gaming, the parent company of the popular site PartyPoker.

In 2005, Roland de Wolfe bested Juha Helppi in the Grand Prix de Paris, outlasting a field of 160 players. That year, Alan Goehring also made the final table, taking sixth place for €74,950. The 2004 installment was perhaps the most memorable, as it featured runner-up Tony G lambasting eventual winner Surinder Sunar. The Club’s layout was unique in that the assembled audience watched the action from the final table in an adjacent area via television monitors.

Lyndsay Lagree, Senior Public Relations Manager for the WPT, added, “We're thrilled to be back in France for the WPT Grand Prix de Paris. WPT looks forward to building on its longstanding relationship with Aviation Club de France and to welcoming many poker fans through its doors.” The first WPT Grand Prix de Paris took place in 2003 and saw David Benyamine best Jan Boubli for the title. Also at the final table was Full Tilt Poker pro Erick Lindgren, then a relative unknown. Lindgren recorded his second WPT cash at the Paris poker tournament, earning €53,600 during the Season 2 stop.

The Grand Prix de Paris comes one month after the WPT Championship at the Bellagio, the $25,000 buy-in end-of-season event, and the French feature tournament includes two starting days. In March, WPT staff will head to Bucharest for an event at the Regent Casino. The WPT Bucharest Main Event boasts a €3,300 buy-in and begins on March 27th.

Also to be held during the Grand Prix de Paris is a €20,000 buy-in High Roller event that begins on May 15th and runs for three days. WPT representatives noted that French gaming regulations were to blame for the tournament series’ absence from the Aviation Club for the last three years. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Friday, December 25, 2009

Online gaming groups say they are on winning streak - 20th December 2009

Two of Britain’s largest online gaming groups signalled yesterday that punters were returning to the tables.

PartyGaming recorded its best quarter since the second quarter of 2008, while Sportingbet said it had gone from strength to strength.

The fourth quarter of the year is seasonally strong for online gaming companies and PartyGaming did not disappoint after reporting quarter-on-quarter growth across all of its categories, including bingo and casino. KBC Peel Hunt, the stockbroker and advisory house, projected a 24 per cent rise in revenue compared with the same period in 2008, its first year-on-year rise in six quarters.

Yet it was at the poker table that the company played its strongest hand, after revamping its site and working hard to introduce better loyalty offers. It is the first quarter-on-quarter growth that the company, once the largest online poker company in the world, has recorded since 2007.

Jim Ryan, chief executive of PartyGaming, hailed the “return to growth” in the fourth quarter, despite competition from “illegal” US-facing sites.

“Returning poker to growth has been a key focus for us. We are pleased to see that the initiatives introduced throughout the year are now feeding through into both operational and financial performance with increased player numbers and average net daily revenues,” he said.

Meanwhile, Sportingbet also issued a positive trading statement yesterday to coincide with its annual meeting. It said that the strength of its online sportsbook, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of its revenue, has continued to offset weakness at its poker operation.

PartyGaming looks set to play a significant role in industry consolidation during 2010.

It aims to be a top-three player in the online sportsbook market, after its acquisition of Gamebookers three years ago.

PartyGaming secured a new £35 million banking facility that will fund bolt-on deals. However, the company kept its cards close to its chest over its acquisition plans.

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Wednesday, December 23, 2009

PokerStars New Guinness World Record - December 2009

This is your chance to play in the largest online poker tournament in history, and be part of a Guinness World Record. We’re aiming to beat our previous World Record of 65,000 players, set in July 2009. And with a buy-in of just $1, it’s easy for everyone to take part.

Here’s what you need to know about the Guinness World Record attempt tournament:

Sunday, December 27 at 14:45 ET

$300,000 guaranteed prize pool

$1 buy-in

More players than our previous World Record of 65,000, set July 19, 2009

Registration is now open!

Satellites available in a range of buy ins

To find the tournament, go to the PokerStars Lobby and select ‘Tourney’ and ‘All’ or ‘Special’. You can also use the Tourney Filter in the Lobby to search for the tournament name. To use the filter, open the PokerStars Lobby and enter the word ’record’. The Filter will then search all tournaments and provide you with the relevant results.

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Poker priest misses out on a million - 23rd December 2009

Poker playing Florida priest, Fr Andrew Trapp, didn't win the $1 million prize on the PokerStars.net Million Dollar Challenge but says he is "happy with the way things turned out."

Fr Trapp said the finale has been called "one of the most amazing, exciting hours of game show TV ever filmed, and that's why I'm looking forward to watching it with my parish family," the Sun News reports.

Word first leaked to the New York Post that Mike Kosowski, a 21 year NYPD veteran, won the $1 million prize by defeating Trapp and poker star Daniel Negreanu, Trapp confirmed Monday afternoon.

"He ended up beating me and the other two finalists for the shot to play for the million," Trapp said. "I'm disappointed. It's been really tough the past few weeks with everybody asking how I did. I'm happy with the way things turned out. I just think it was meant for Mike to win this."

The church will hold a viewing party Sunday. The episode is worth watching because of Kosowski's inspiring story, Trapp said. It will also include a feature on St Michael's fundraising efforts and show why the church needs a new building.

Kosowski was one of the first responders to arrive at the World Trade Centre during the September 11, 2001, attacks. His story is chronicled in the book "Never Forget: The Oral History of September 11."

"It's a really compelling show," Trapp said. "It's going to be a very emotional show because even after people see Mike knock me out, they are going to start rooting for Mike. He's a September 11 hero. I think we all are going to be cheering him on, everybody across the country."

Though Trapp didn't win the ultimate prize, he did win $100,000, which has already been donated to the St Michael church building fund. The church received the full amount because it is a nonprofit.

"I hate to disappoint all the good people here at St Michael, but I think they'll still be proud of me and it will be a really exciting show to watch."

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Monday, December 21, 2009

Poker News Media: Season 2 Dates Announced For The Pokerstars.Net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) - 21st December 2009

The PokerStars.net Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) is pleased to announce the first six events of its second season. Stops have already been confirmed in Australia and New Zealand.

The first event of Season 2 is in Adelaide, South Australia, from February 9 to 14, 2010 at the beautiful SKYCITY Adelaide Casino.

Perth will follow as a new venue on the tour from March 17 to 21. “We are thrilled to be part of the ANZPT,” said Jason Barry, General Manager of Table Games at Burswood Entertainment Complex “We feel this is just what our players have been waiting for and we expect big numbers will take part in the first PokerStars.net ANZPT Perth tournament.”

PokerStars.net launched the ANZPT, Australia and New Zealand’s first poker tour, in February 2009. Overnight the tournaments became the most successful in each region, welcomed enthusiastically by both local players and visiting poker pros keen to take on the Aussies and Kiwis while seeing the region.

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PKR Partners With Nuts and Loaded

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PartyGaming Sees FY Earnings Up on Poker - 19th December 2009

Online gaming firm PartyGaming said fourth-quarter trading was solid, helped by a return to growth in poker, and that it expected full-year earnings to beat its own expectations.

The company said revenue was in line with its forecasts while clean earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were expected to be slightly ahead of the board's expectations.

PartyGaming said on Friday its casino and bingo businesses were both performing well on the back of new games, higher jackpots and the Cashcade acquisition in July.

In sports betting, the company said it had benefited from a good run of results.

It also said it had agreed a new 35 million pounds three-year banking facility.

Analysts expect PartyGaming to report EBITDA of about $132 million (81.4 million pounds) for 2009, according to a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of eight brokers.

British media on Sunday said the company was in discussions with Austria's bwin Interactive Entertainment AG, but bwin downplayed the report, saying it was not in any advanced talks. PartyGaming said it did not comment on market speculation.

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Sunday, December 20, 2009

2010 World Series of Poker Schedule: Player Reaction, by Brett Collson - 20th December 2009

The 41st annual World Series of Poker (WSOP) is still months away, but the schedule of events was released this week. Poker players have been quick to give their opinions on the changes made by Harrah's and the Player’s Advisory Council for 2010.

The biggest modification to the WSOP schedule was the removal of the prestigious $50,000 HORSE tournament, which will be replaced by a $50,000 Mixed Event. The game will rotate among Limit Hold’em, Omaha High-Low Split Eight or Better, Seven Card Razz, Seven Card Stud, Seven Card Stud High-Low Split Eight or Better, No Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha, and 2-7 Triple Draw Lowball. Then, much like the first year of the $50,000 HORSE event, the final table will be strictly No Limit Hold’em and broadcast by ESPN.

Harrah's also decided to do away with a mid-level buy-in for the Stud High, Stud 8, and Omaha 8 events in 2010, leaving only $1,500 and $10,000 versions of each game. The decision has generated negative feedback from many players, including poker pro and commentator Bart Hanson, who was upset with the lack of non-Hold'em events on the 2010 schedule. "Kind of sucks, I always like other game events at the WSOP," Hanson said. "Still had great value up to a $3,000 buy in. Now, the vast majority of players will only be able to play the small event where starting chips are a joke."

With the elimination of several of the less popular tournaments, a handful of No Limit Hold'em events were added. Last year's $1,000 Stimulus Special attracted 6,102 players, a record for a non-Main Event tournament. In 2010, there are six $1,000 No Limit Hold'em events on the schedule, including five on consecutive weekends from May 29th to June 27th and another on Thursday, July 1st.

Frank Calo, a poker pro who spends the entire summer in Las Vegas for the WSOP, seemed displeased with the changes. "I'm kind of unhappy that there's so many $1Ks and $1.5Ks," uttered Calo. "It causes the WSOP as a whole to be less profitable in terms of the hourly rate. I wish they stuck with one or two $1Ks, some other $1.5Ks, and then added more $2K to $5Ks.”

Two Plus Two member "fanliorel" had a differing view: "Last year, the $1K was new and novel and on the first weekend - everybody and their dog was there. I don't see them getting 6,000 entrants for all six $1Ks this year, just like they don't quite sell out all of the $1,500s either. Still, it's too cheap to not get at least 5,000 players per tourney. I'd guess they sell out the $1Ks on the first and last weekend; the rest range around 5,000 to 5,500. They'll be some great tourneys; last year's $1K was a blast."

Another issue that has the community concerned is the rake increase in the $1,000 and $1,500 buy-in events. Harrah's will take 10% from each of the $1,000 and $1,500 entry fees, compared to 9% from last year. "I guess Harrah's is operating in a different economic environment," said Zac "traction" Gilbert, who finished sixth at the 2009 WSOP Seven Card Stud Hi-Low Event. "I guess the only way players can voice their disgust is not play. Unfortunately, that won't happen."

The 2010 WSOP gets underway on May 27 with the $500 Casino Employees No Limit Hold'em Event and will culminate in November with the final table of the $10,000 Main Event. (Credit: Poker News Daily).

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

QUALIFIERS ONLINE FOR PARTYPOKER.COM PREMIER LEAGUE IV - JC TRAN CONFIRMED - WIN A $100K TEAM PARTY CONTRACT!

Gibraltar - 17th December 2009 PartyPoker.com has introduced online qualifiers for February’s PartyPoker.com Premier League IV, which is to be held in Las Vegas for the very first time! The latest news also sees the confirmation that JC Tran will be back to defend his title!

There are a number of different ways to qualify for Premier League IV from as little as $2. This year PartyPoker.com are running qualifiers to find a total of 16 players who will all fly out to Las Vegas to play in a Premier League Poker play-off to see which one of the 16 will be lucky enough to join 11 professional players in Premier League Poker IV. The lucky online qualifiers will play a short series of play-off sit & go’s in Las Vegas and the eventual winner will win a $100,000 buy-in to take part in the main Premier League event! Both the play-off and the main event will be filmed for TV and shown across the world.

A PartyPoker.com spokesman said: "One amazing element of this promotion that provides a truly fantastic opportunity is that one of the 16 qualifiers will be chosen by PartyPoker to receive a $100,000 Team Party contract to be a sponsored player. This decision will be made by PartyPoker within two weeks after the event takes place. We will only get a flavour of who we want to sponsor once we have had a chance to meet and interact with the 16 players that make it out to Las Vegas."

More information on the details and structure can be found at PartyPoker.com

JC Tran won PartyPoker.com Premier League III after taking down the most formidable final table in the event’s history! Tran, widely regarded as one of the finest and consistent tournament professionals on the circuit scooped the $300,000 first prize in the elite tournament that saw 12 of the world’s finest players battle it out for a $1.25 million prize pool! Tom ‘Durrrr’ Dwan, Juha Helppi, Tony G, Roland de Wolfe and Peter Eastgate all made the final table.

JC said: "I am very much looking forward to defending my Premier League title. It was a fantastic experience last year and is an amazing format. I am certainly not going to be giving up my crown without a fight".

Three of the 16 players who make it to Las Vegas will come from the exclusive Palladium Lounge points race, which offers a share of prizes worth more than $155,000, as well as competition for $9,000 PartyPoker.com Premier League play-off event packages. A Palladium Lounge member is guaranteed a share of more than $155,000 if they are one of the top 250 PartyPoint earners between 7th December 2009 - 3rd January 2010. First place is guaranteed a $9,000 Premier League play off package.

Throughout the month you can check on the leaderboard here: PartyPoker.com

To make it even more exciting, PartyPoker.com will be inviting everybody who finishes in the top 600 to play in the Premier League play off freeroll on the 10th January, where there are two more $9,000 packages and even more cash prizes up for grabs. For more information see: PartyPoker.com

This year’s Premier League will carry a total prize pool of over $1.5 million. Premier League II was won by Andy Black and the inaugural event was taken down by Juha Helppi. The PartyPoker.com Premier League is organized by Matchroom Sport.

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PartyGaming's PartyCasino and PartyPoker in line for more awards, by Greg Tingle - 18th December 2009

As the countdown towards Christmas continues, with just seven days to go, the igaming industry remains as competitive as ever. It shouldn't surprise anyone, punter, newbie or industry veteran, that PartyGaming and its PartyCasino and PartyPoker brands are in line for more industry awards and commendations.

PartyGaming remains the world’s leading listed online gaming company. Founded in 1997, the
Group has its shares listed on The London Stock Exchange.

Coming off a wave of momentum with its successful purchase of World Poker Tour (WPT Enterprises), Cashcade a number of months ago, and the release of a swag of new slot games, the company is tipped to continue domination of the gaming and igaming world.

Party's awards and commendations include eGaming Review Operator Of The Year and Socially Responsible Operator Of The Year.

This month PartyCasino.com has made the shortlist for Media Man - Casino News Media Online Casino Of The Month, and PartyPoker.com gets to the finals for the Media Man - Casino News Media Online Poker website Of The Month.

The company also achieved inclusion in the FTSE4Good Index Series and last month won 'Best Communications by a private sector company' for the second year running at the CorpComms Awards. PartyCasino and PartyPoker also carry the eCOGRA seal of approval.

As the company looks forward to the new year they look to continue innovation, value for money, world class service, and growth into new geographic regions including South America, Indian, France and the Asia Pacific.

PartyGaming will continue to revamp its websites including it's ever growing PartyCasino.com site, thanks to the frequent games being added and its newly acquired Club WTP website, now sporting a PartyGaming look and feel to it.

PartyGaming remains poised to make more inroads into the United States coming off the back of its purchase of WPT Enterprises (U.S residents can play online poker on the Club World Poker Tour website without potential legal complications). PartyPoker.com ambassador, Stewart Scott, has just been doing a fine job promoting the PartyGaming and PartyPoker.com brand on a national and international basis, and will be defending his poker championship at Aussie Millions 2010 this January at Mr Packer's Crown Casino in Melbourne, Australia.

PartyGaming sites are available in a wide array of languages and currencies, and are available for play around the lock. Players can enjoy most games in either free mode or play for money mode. Last month the PartyCasino jackpot of close to $5 million dollars was one, and as we head towards Christmas the jackpot nears $1 million. PartyCasino also offers the Marvel Hero Jackpot, thanks to their business agreement with Marvel Entertainment. Insiders tip that Thor and The Hulk are the most popular Marvel slots at present, and this may be related to a Thor movie in the works and wrestling living legend, Hulk Hogan, being very prominent in the press of late, just returning to the United States after his successful Hulkamania tour of Australia. A bit of history...Hogan bought the rights to use "Hulk" from Marvel in the 1980's for a million dollars or thereabouts. Rumors persist of a potential Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Andre The Giant online slot machine in the new year, but that's another story for another time.

PartyGaming also offers a number of other world class promotions such as Cash Machine, Monthly Million, Slotastic Sundays, and reward offerings, PartyPoints and the very popular Palladium Lounge which has proved to be a must visit destination for PartyGaming VIP's.

It's been a hugely successful year for PartyGaming and the industry and players alike expect more groundbreaking developments from the company as 2010 approaches.

*the writer has a b2b relationship with a number of PartyGaming brands, as they do with dozens of other brands in the gaming and igaming world.

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Monday, December 14, 2009

2009 World Poker Tour Year in Review, by Earl Burton - 14th December 2009

For the World Poker Tour (WPT), 2009 was a year of incredible highs, but the organization was also faced with issues away from the felt that had to be overcome for the company to remain viable in other arenas.

Without a doubt, the biggest news of 2009 for the WPT was the sale of the popular poker tour. In what turned out to be a frenetic bidding war, WPTE, the tour’s parent company, received an offer in August from Gamynia Limited for around $9 million. Officials from the WPT’s parent company accepted the offer from Gamynia, but the battle was just beginning. A second offer from Party Gaming, which upped the ante to $12.3 million, eclipsed Gamynia and made it appear that the former online gaming giant would be the one to take over ownership of the WPT. As a part of this deal, there a $1 million cash advance would allow WPT to opt out of its deal with Gamynia.

As the deal with Party Gaming was moving towards completion, a third bid for the WPT came to light. As stockholders prepared to approve the agreed upon sale to Party Gaming in October, Mandalay Entertainment (not a part of the Mandalay Bay hotel ownership) stunned the poker world by issuing a bid for the WPT to the tune of $36.5 million. After reviewing the respective bids, the stockholders bypassed the Mandalay Entertainment offer and approved the sale of the WPT to Party Gaming. As of the end of 2009, it isn’t known how Party Gaming will utilize its ownership of the WPT.

In news away from the felt, the WPT was looking for an outlet to continue to air its popular tournament schedule. The one-year deal with Fox Sports Net was renegotiated in February and ensured that the WPT would continue to be on television for Season 8. In addition to the deal with Fox Sports Net, the WPT was also able to bring on Full Tilt Poker as a major sponsor of its broadcasts, marking the first time that the tour had aligned itself directly with an online poker room. Previously, sites had been sponsors of individual stops on the WPT, but never the entirety of the tour itself.

At the start of 2009, WPTE was facing a de-listing from the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in New York because its shares were not trading above the required $1 level. WPTE was given an extension due to the travails of the financial world in late 2008 and, by the middle of 2009, it had returned its stock to the required levels to maintain the seat on the NASDAQ. It was officially removed upon the sale to Party Gaming.

On the tables, the WPT continued to provide quality events, albeit with a drop in actual tournament attendance. Numbers for WPT events were down as much as 25%, but this was attributed to the global economic recession for the most part. The smaller numbers ensured that there were quality fields that took part in each stop of the WPT through the end of Season 7 and the beginning of Season 8.

Veterans of the poker world such as Freddy Deeb (WPT Invitational), Steve Brecher (Bay 101 Shooting Star), and Vadim Trincher (Foxwoods Poker Classic), all earned championships as Season 7 began to wind down. In April, the WPT Championship crowned up and coming poker superstar Yevgeniy “Jovial Gent” Timoshenko as its latest winner and also bestowed the title of WPT Player of the Year to Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier.

After taking its traditional summer break, the WPT came back for Season Eight, with players such as Alexandre Gomes (Bellagio Cup) and Prahlad Friedman (Legends of Poker) taking down titles. After a stirring run at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, Tommy Vedes demonstrated why he is considered to be one of the most underrated players in the game when he captured the title at the Festa al Lago in October. In perhaps the best calendar year run on the WPT, Cornel Andrew Cimpan claimed two WPT titles, the L.A. Poker Classic during Season 7 in February and the Foxwoods World Poker Finals during Season 8 in November.

Finally, the WPT put the “World” back into its moniker by hosting several tournaments in Europe. WPT Europe crossed the continent, ranging from such traditional gaming areas as Barcelona and Venice to exotic locales like Cyprus and Marrakech. These tournaments were warmly received, with strong European contingents filling out the fields alongside many of the best in poker from the United States.

With the new ownership of Party Gaming in its pocket, the future for the WPT is definitely bright. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Sunday, December 13, 2009

Shane Warne In Las Vegas Representing 888 Poker At The Five Diamond Poker Classic

Cricket legend Shane Warne began his first day of play today representing 888 Poker in day one of the Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic tournament in Las Vegas.

Held at the famous Bellagio Casino from 14 to 19 December, the US$15,000 buy-in tournament is famous for attracting high rollers, big-name poker professionals and celebrities to compete for a total prize pool expected to be as high as US$10 million.

While the tournament epitomises poker sport, skill and glamour, Warne says it is the fun side of poker that draws him to it.

“Anyone can play. You can be the CEO of a company, a car salesman or a sportsman and you can sit around a table and play. That’s one of the fun things about poker, it’s a really accessible sport,” Warne said prior to the tournament.

“Vegas is pretty amazing. The Five Diamond is a massive tournament with the best players in the world, so I am really excited about it and I want to play well. If I could make the finals I would be more than happy.”

Spin king Warne has proven his all-round sporting expertise since making a seamless and successful transition from cricket to poker in recent years, partnering with 888 Poker, a brand under online entertainment expert group 888.com.

“I've been involved with 888 for a few years now, it’s been great fun,” Warne said.

“888 Poker has a great site and it is easy to work. It is great to be captain of 888’s poker team - I will try to fly the flag for 888, hopefully I will continue to do that well.”

Warne will also be representing 888 Poker at the internationally renowned and celebrity-studded Aussie Millions (Australian Poker Championship) held at Melbourne Crown Casino from 14 to 31 January 2010.

You can follow Warne's professional poker career and give him your message of support through his blog at: www.shanewarne.com or on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/warne888.

Further information about 888 and 888 Poker can be found at: www.888.com.

The Five Diamond World Poker Classic is being held from 27 November to 19 December 2009: www.bellagio.com

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Casino News Media - Media Man - Global Gaming Directory - News Update - 14th December 2009

PartyGaming in talks with Bwin: Merger deal possible

PartyPoker Offering 25 Aussie Millions Prize Packages

Global Gaming Directory rolls out .com, .net and .org, as part of global media and marketing plan

Mission: Impossible slot game is Casino News Media online game of the month

Betfair teams up with Australian cricket industry on Pink Pigeon campaign

Virgin Games release swag of new games, but U.S and Aussie players can't play: Blankety Blank, The Price is Right, The X Factor, Super Hoot Loot, Cubis, Bar-X Magic 7, Bar-X bonus Ladder,
Ramesses Riches, Dragon Master, Irish eyes, Dolphin Reef, Emerald isle, Spiderman, The Hulk,
Fantastic Four, Rubik's Cube, Deal or no Deal and Big Brother


Richard Branson - still chasing Camelot Lottery deal with partners

Calvin Ayre - makes news in National Post

Greg Tingle - makes news via Hulkamania, Tiger Woods and PartyPoker Aussie Millions angle on WotNews

Stewart Scott - PartyPoker.com face for Australia exceeds expectations

Hulk Hogan interested to do more gaming and igaming deals, adding to The Hulkamania Experience slot and history with Marvel "Hulk" purchase; Australia's NextGen Gaming may release Andre The Giant game for online environment

Sylvester Stallone sells his art to casino king Steve Wynn, Sly keen to expand online gaming deals whilst Wynn's not keen on online gambling sector; Could Arnold Schwarzenegger get involved in talks

James Packer remains positive on Macau City Of Dreams project; May purchase U.S casinos while prices are down

Joe Hachem articles in The Age well received; Punters and industry prefers Hachem's articles over The Poker Star TV show on ONE HD

Playtech - Sega teaming expected to product a Sonic online slot game next year

PKR Poker continues to sign up more players to spearhead brand push

Betfair continues with business growth, despite ongoing court cases; Betfair will be available at Australia Post outlets

European gaming companies remain keen to expand into Asia Pacific, Australian region; PartyGaming, PKR, William Hill, Betfair, Centrebet leading the way

Harrah’s Entertainment ramps up online gaming with new online casino and site revamps

Media Man website network expands to 18 website portals with more on the way, Media Man website traffic continues to exceed 3 million hits per month with Google top ten domination and Hitwise status

Search Engines: Players and industry prefer natural and organic results over sponsored listings

Multi Currency Casino big hit with online punters

Global Gaming Directory moves in on World Casino Directory territory

Events - Aussie Millions in Melbourne, Australia January 2010; iGaming SuperShow this June 2010 in Prague

Casino Legal: U.S. Congress’ House Financial Services Committee hears out Barney Frank

Crown Casino, Melbourne, Australia: Detractors point to a series of crimes at Crown over the years, Crown Casino top brass advises press more serious problems fixed; Gambling whale Harry Kakavas looses court casino against Crown and staying quite on matter

Marvel Entertainment - Disney: Investors to vote on offer

Marvel Entertainment: Thor, Captain America, Avengers and Iron Man II upcoming movies expected to further grow Marvel online slot games sector

Mobile gaming: PartyGaming, Playtech, Slotland and others advise mobile gaming market still growing

Las Vegas: Experts advise Vegas casinos should have better adapted to online casino and gaming market

Microgaming Wins Award for Innovation and Independent Thinking

Captain Cooks Casino continues to add more games, Remains a leader in Asia Pacific region

Star City Casino enjoys mainstream positive exposure via boxing champion Danny Green

City Of Dreams may host major pro wrestling event: WWE or TNA in 2010

Jackpots: PartyCasino Gold Mega Jackpot hit for 5 million; CasinoClub player wins €76,000, Virgin Casino ramps up MegaJackpots and overall jackpot offerings, and comp heats up

IGT: International Gaming Technology continues to see games adapted for online casino sector

Casino Kings: Casino billionaire Stanley Ho is recovering, son says

Crown remains interested to build casino at Mildura: $300 million dollar project

Dubai: Marvel Comics themed multi million dollar complex planned but debt may delay construction for years

Live Dealer innovation proves popular for PartyCasino.com

Portals: Internet portal strategy the way forward for casino and online casino sector

PartyCasino wins Casino News Media Online Casino Of The Month; Captain Cooks Casino and Virgin Casino run ups

Media companies further integrate gaming and igaming sector into business model, Early signs of success

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PartyGaming in talks with Bwin - 13th December 2009

PartyGaming is in talks with Bwin, the Austrian-based rival online gambling company, about a potential merger, a move that analysts have long been predicting as a possibility in an industry looking to consolidate.

The close-knit industry has seen a number of companies explore merger options with each other this year, as they wait for new markets to open.

Insiders at PartyGaming said current talks with Bwin went beyond the usual exploratory nature, but emphasised there was no imminent prospect of a deal. Both companies are licensed in Gibraltar.

However, the insiders said PartyGaming was keen that any deal with Bwin would be based on a merger of equals. The market capitalisation of both companies are similar – PartyGaming is worth £1.1bn, while Bwin is valued at around €1.3bn (£1.17bn). Neither PartyGaming nor Bwin would comment on the matter.

The desire for deal-making is likely to strengthen as countries that had turned their faces against regulated online gambling markets (France, Australia, India and United States) begin to step up preparations for liberalisation, albeit limited in some cases.

France is preparing for a partially-liberated market in 2010, Italy is widening its market to include bingo, casino and other games and other European states, with an eye on the potential tax revenues from the industry, are inching towards regulation.

PartyGaming has been preparing the ground for a significant deal, having sealed a non-prosecution agreement with the US department of justice in April over its trading in the US, in return for a forfeiture of $105m.

Jim Ryan, PartyGaming’s chief executive, has repeatedly said that the settlement was a necessary step prior to any merger activity on its part.

Bwin, listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange, is also keen on pushing ahead with merger activity at a time when the company is establishing itself as one of Europe's strongest online gambling companies.

Norbert Teufelberger, co-chief executive of Bwin, last month told the Financial Times that demand from big investment houses was significant and that Bwin would emerge from consolidation as “one of the bigger guys in this industry”.

Bwin, which has 20m registered users, has seen shares rise up 177 per cent in the last 12 months. It is expected to achieve gross gaming revenues of €450m, and adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of €110m.

Bwin strengthened its position in online poker this past September by purchasing Italian operator Gioco Digitale. It has established a strong sports betting product, and is the shirt sponsor of Real Madrid and AC Milan.

Other companies with an eye on events at PartyGaming and Bwin include 888 Holdings, Sportingbet and Unibet.

More details on the PartyGaming - Bwin talks as details come to hand. (Credit: Wires, Google News, Financial Times, Bloomberg, AP).

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PartyPoker Offering 25 Aussie Milllions Prize Packages, by Jessica Welman - 12th December 2009

Ever since the popular online poker room PartyPoker signed 2009 Aussie Millions Main Event winner Stewart Scott as one of its sponsored pros, it has gone out of its way to promote both online and brick and mortar poker in Australia.

This weekend, PartyPoker is offering players a chance to win one of 25 seats in the 2010 Aussie Millions Main Event for just $600. On Sunday, December 13th, the site will host two separate online satellites, one for citizens of Australia and New Zealand and one that is open to the rest of the PartyPoker customer base. Both will feature a $600 + $40 buy-in, although many players will have won their way into the tournaments for much less since the site has been running micro-satellites.

The Aussie-only tournament will give away five tournament packages, each valued at $12,000. The package includes buy-in to the AUD $10,000 Aussie Millions Main Event, hotel accommodations at the Crown Promenade in Melbourne, and $500 to be put towards travel expenses. The tournament will begin at 2:45am ET.

The open field tournament will get underway a little later in the day at 2:30pm ET. It will reward seats to the top 20 finishers and offer a slightly more lucrative version of the Aussie Millions prize package. In addition to the buy-in and the hotel accommodations, the package will also include $3,500 to cover travel expenses. Should a non-Aussie take part in the early tournament, PartyPoker will not offer any additional money to cover travel expenses. Conversely, if a player from Australia or New Zealand wins one of the $15,000 packages, they will still receive the full $3,500 to cover travel.

Stewart Scott commented on the satellite tournaments in an official statement from PartyPoker: “I’ve been playing at PartyPoker.com for five years. These great packages are an amazing opportunity for other players to play in this huge tournament. Claiming the Aussie Millions title has been the highlight of my career and I’d love to see another PartyPoker.com player take the title.”

PartyPoker gave away 96 seats to the Aussie Millions in November as part of the site’s Gladiator promotion. The players who earned at least 1,000 PartyPoints each day in November won their way into the event and the site doled out even more seats as part of a series of online tournaments featuring Scott.

Scott is the reigning Aussie Millions Champion and the first local player to win the tournament since it took on its new moniker and became one of the premiere events on the international tournament circuit. In January, Scott defeated a field of 681 players to take down the AUD $2 million first place prize. Peter Rho of Las Vegas finished in second place and earned AUD $1 million. Other past winners of the Aussie Millions include Alexander Kostritsyn of Russia and Team Full Tilt member Gus Hansen. Last year’s event also played home to one of the biggest live cash games in history with a minimum buy-in of AUD $1 million.

The previous Aussie Millions event boasted a guaranteed first place prize of AUD $2 million. The Crown Casino is expecting an even larger turnout than 2009 and the tournament’s official website is predicting more than 800 runners in the upcoming Main Event. There will also be a host of side events, including an AUD $100,000 buy-in High Rollers Event, a Heads-Up Event, and several Pot Limit Omaha events. In total, the Crown will offer 20 different tournaments from January 14th to 31st, including the Main Event, which will run from January 24th to 30th. (Credit: Poker News Daily)

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Thursday, December 10, 2009

25 LUXURY AUSSIE MILLIONS PACKAGES GUARANTEED AT PARTYPOKER THIS WEEKEND

25 LUXURY AUSSIE MILLIONS PACKAGES GUARANTEED AT PARTYPOKER.COM THIS WEEKEND!

Gibraltar – 10th December 2009 – This weekend marks the last chance to qualify online at PartyPoker.com for the 2010 Aussie Millions in Melbourne. Seen as one of poker’s majors, the Main Event is a highlight of the world live circuit and the leading online poker room is going completely Aussie crazy this Sunday!

PartyPoker.com is offering the chance to win one of 25 luxury Aussie Millions main event packages. These fantastic dream trips will be up for grabs in two amazing $600+40 satellites on Sunday 13th December. One will be timed to suit Australia and New Zealand-based players at 02.45ET with FIVE packages guaranteed worth $12,000, while the other is scheduled at 14.30ET to give players from the rest of the world the chance to win one of 20 guaranteed packages worth $15,000.

PartyPoker.com Australia Ambassador Stewart Scott is the defending champion and there is a chance to emulate his success in Melbourne next year. Stewart said: “I’ve been playing at PartyPoker.com for five years. These great packages are an amazing opportunity for other players to play in this huge tournament. Claiming the Aussie Millions title has been the highlight of my career and I’d love to see another PartyPoker.com player take the title.”

Scott, 37, from Queensland, Australia, made history in January 2009 by becoming the first Australian in the modern era to take down the Aussie Millions Main Event, scooping US$1,865,724. Scott is a loyal member of PartyPoker.com’s VIP club the Palladium Lounge. He made his debut representing the leading online poker room at the PokerNews Cup in Melbourne earlier this month.

Scott is married with one daughter and started life as a gourmet chef in Adelaide, with a period running a small IT business as he honed his skills online. He made his first impact on the live circuit in 2006 by winning a satellite series at SkyCity Casino in Adelaide that awarded him a $30,000 package for the WSOP Main Event. Stewart is a popular figure on the Australian poker circuit and is well known for his relaxed attitude but killer instinct at the table.

® AUSSIE MILLIONS, AUSSIE MILLIONS POKER CHAMPIONSHIP and CROWN Device and associated trade marks are trade marks of Crown Melbourne Limited. No license, affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement, is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not affiliated, licensed, by, or otherwise affiliated with Crown Melbourne Limited in any way.

World Series of Poker”® and “WSOP”®, WSOPE”® are registered trade marks of Harrah’s License Company LLC. No license, affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement is claimed, or should be inferred from the use of these trademarks here. PartyGaming is not licensed by or otherwise affiliated with Harrah’s License Company LLC or the World Series of Poker®, in any way.

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Wednesday, December 09, 2009

Game's growth has been great, and it'll only get bigger, by Joe Hachem - 5th December 2009

With the grand final of the PokerStars.net Asia Pacific Poker Tournament (APPT) rolling into Sydney this week attracting poker players from across the world to the Star City's brand-new poker room, it's an interesting time to reflect on how far poker has come in Australia.

Just 23 years ago there was no poker being played in casinos in this country. As one of the most high-profile and high-stakes casino games, poker is now so prevalent in Australian casinos that it's difficult to believe that it only first hit the floors in 1987.

Even Crown Casino, widely regarded as having the premier poker rooms in this country, only introduced the game in 1997.

Obviously we are yet to reach the heights of popularity that the sport has achieved in America, where every major tournament is televised and attracts thousands of live spectators, but the popularity and the competitors continue to grow.

For a professional player, I always hope we'll get to that point. The growth so far has been satisfying as the standard of the events available in Australia continue to improve, as we attract more international talent as well as retaining our best home-grown players.

I believe the popularity and exposure has come from the internet in the past eight years, as online poker is a great way to learn, polish your game, and even compete in some serious tournaments.

This has led to a culture of amateur and professional poker players coming home from work to practice a few hands, or squeezing in a turbo play game during their lunch break. It's made poker accessible, fun and fast for a wealth of people who may never have considered stepping into a casino.

Once players do make the move from online to live it's the tournament that is king. Australia's tournaments just keep getting better and better. We are finally boasting a schedule of tournaments throughout the year that can hold their head up among the internationals and give a professional a serious challenge. From the Aussie Millions and this weekend's Pokerstars.net APPT, (the largest poker tour in the region) to smaller events that still offer a genuine challenge like the ANZPT, a professional player could quite happily now play a full season in this country and boast an impressive record of events.

For the past two years an Australian has won the PokerStars.net APPT - in 2007 Sydneysider Grant Levy became the first Aussie to win a million dollars on home soil, then in 2008 another Sydney boy, Martin Rowe, repeated the feat.

I'm hoping that the improved tournaments will continue to nurture local talent, so I hope to be there at the final table taking place on stage in the Star City Sports Bar with full viewing capabilities, tomorrow. With more great local wins, more impressive local talent, more people throwing their support behind the scene and more challenging and exciting tournaments, who knows where we'll be in another 20 years.

Until next week, pass the sugar.

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