PokerStars has just kicked off the 2013 edition of the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP). The renowned tournament series will run throughout the month of September and is set to mark one of the most exciting and lucrative events of the year.
                The 2013 WCOOP sports a $40 million guaranteed prize pool that will be distributed amongst more than 60 individual events. These games will have buy-ins set as low as $109 to as high as $10,300. Some of the most interesting features from the enormous games line-up are the competitions embedded within the series as a whole. These include Woman of the Series, a leaderboard race that will provide top-ranked female players with PokerStars Caribbean Adventure prize packages, and Player of the Series, which offers a wide range of PokerStars live tournament prize packages to the top overall WCOOP players. The whole series will be capped off with a $5,200 buy-in no limit hold 'em main event that will take place over two days, provide at least $1.25 million for the first place finisher, and feature no less than $8 million in the table's pot.
                A statement from PokerStars called the World Championship of Online Poker "the longest-running online poker series". The company said that the series is "regarded by players and media as a 'must-play' event [where] world class poker pros [compete] against aspiring recreational players." The 2013 World Championships of Online Poker will run from Sunday, 9th until Sunday, 29th September.

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                With the 2013 edition of PokerStars' World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) fast approaching, the popular online poker network has just released a full schedule for the event. The site previously offered a tentative version of the line-up and solicited members for suggestions for improvements that have now been implemented.
                Now that the final version is complete anyone excited for the tournament series can begin planning to watch or take part in its most exciting events. The 2013 WCOOP features a staggering $40 million guarantee and will kick off on 8th September. Players can buy into the tournaments directly, but may also choose to take advantage of qualifiers. PokerStars has also packed the series with special incentives like Player of the Series and Woman of the Series, two promotions that will provide those with high positions on the tournament leaderboards with lavish Spring Championship of Online Poker, PokerStars Caribbean Adventure and Turbo Championship of Online Poker prize packages. The WCOOP's most anticipated tournament, the no limit hold 'em main event set to take place over two days, sports a $5,200 buy-in and will feature an $8 million prize pool (with $1.25 million reserved for the winner).
                PokerStars  described the WCOOP "which began in 2002" as "the longest-running online poker series [and] also the richest with well over $300 million in prize money awarded to date." The World Championship of Online Poker 2013 will run from Sunday, 8th September to the 29th of the same month.

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                The Queenstown leg of the 2013 PokerStars Australia New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT) has recently come to a stunning conclusion. The tournament's main event was exciting for its high-stakes action, but what is most likely to be remembered is the player who triumphed over the table: a young Australian suffering from cerebral palsy named Jonathan Bredin.
                The ANZPT Queenstown main event marked the first time that Bredin had participated in a major tournament and, given the outcome, it's very unlikely that it will be his last. The Melbourne native came to the main event without much experience at high-profile games and, because of his palsy, also required an iPad and companion in order to properly relay his decisions throughout the landmark game. Despite these limitations, Bredin ended up beating out a pool of 126 players to become the winner of the Queenstown main event. Bredin entered the last day of the games with a chip lead and used this advantage to fight his way to a heads-up showdown against Daniel Laidlaw.
                If his strong poker debut wasn't exciting enough already, Bredin cemented his legend by beating out Laidlaw with a final hand that included a king of clubs and king of spades. While these cards might not have seemed special on their own, Bredin's carer later told the crowd that champion had a picture of those same two cards tattooed on one of his arms. Jonathan Bredin is sure to be talked about for some time to come, his incredible skill and the incredible coincidence of his first major winning hand matching his tattoo marking an highly memorable start to a promising poker career.

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                Now that the 2014 edition of PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA) has been announced, many players are likely looking for a way to win their way into the series. Fortunately, PokerStars is providing just that with the launch of its Mega Path satellite promotion.
                Entering the 2014 PCA directly is expensive, but the Mega Path satellites now available through PokerStars offer an alternative approach that's far gentler on the bankroll. The new satellites are scheduled to run several times every day and can be bought into for four or more Frequent Player Points. Competitors who are able to make their way to the eighth round of the satellites will have a shot at entering one of six Mega Path Finals and winning a fantastic prize package valued at $15,460. This award will provide players with entry to the PCA Main Event, accommodations and extra cash to cover trip expenses. The eight rounds of the Mega Path and the six Mega Path Finals can also be bought into directly.
                David Carrion, PokerStars' Director of Live Operations for PCA and Latin American, promoted the satellite series by detailing how "last year more than 400 players won their seats to the PCA event online." He elaborated on the 2013 satellite winners, telling press that 53 of these satellite players cashed at the PCA, "taking home more than $3.5 million between them." The 2014 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure will take place at the Bahamas' Atlantis Resort from 5th to 13th January, 2014.

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                Fans of online poker who had been looking for a chance at winning some fancy tech were recently given a shot at taking home a 16GB iPad from PokerStars. The popular online poker network has just concluded a short promotion that saw one lucky site member take home a complementary tablet.
                Pokerstars' iPad giveaway promo saw players entering the competition by showing off just how well they could relax while enjoying a spot of online poker. PokerStars members were encouraged to take a snapshot of themselves playing the site's mobile app with their feet up. The picture then had to be uploaded to an Instagram account and marked with the special #PSFeetUp hashtag. The community voted on what they considered the best photo and the ten best shots were then submitted to judges for final consideration. Once Sunday, 28th July rolled around PokerStars awarded the coveted iPad 4 to a player who submitted his photo under the handle, "Bobbytabarsi." According to PokerStars, Bobbytabarsi "took [the competition] down with a torrent of votes" that granted him the attention of the judge's panel. The winner edged out two other popular users, "Fredyekivia" and "Madavaster," who just barely missed taking first prize — and the free iPad 4.
                Those who are interested in checking out some of the iPad giveaway promo pictures can head over to the PokerStars blog to see the winning entry alongside a selection of photos submitted by the runner ups.

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                The recent release of PokerStar's real money mobile application has given most iPhone and iPad owners a great way to play online poker while on the go. Not so for Australians who are unable to access the app now that it has been pulled from Apple's App Store.
                News of the app's removal was reported by the Herald Sun, a paper that attributed Apple's decision to the Australian government's ongoing efforts to further regulate online gambling. The Australian government section responsible for regulating online gambling — the Federal Broadband, Communications and Digital Economy Department — called for the removal of the PokerStars mobile app after determining that its use was illegal in light of the nation's Interactive Gambling Act of 2001. While Apple had contacted the app's developer, asking PokerStars' software creators to rewrite the program in accordance with Australian law, the company eventually decided to simply remove it from their App Store. Apple has responded to complaints and questions regarding the app removal by advising Australian customers to get in touch with local authorities.   
                The legal concern that is currently keeping the app from circulating is especially frustrating to Australian players since the PokerStars software has been continuously offered through the App Store from May 2012 until just now. This annoyance is only worsened by the fact that PokerStars can still be accessed through web browsers and Android-based smartphones.

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                PokerStars' World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is fast approaching, the event capping off the busy summer poker season by taking place at the beginning of September. Now PokerStars has released a preliminary version of the upcoming WCOOP's schedule in order to give fans a look at the kind of games they can expect to watch or play in the near future.
                The latest edition of WCOOP will include a massive 65 events in total that range across a wide variety of gameplay formats. PokerStars has begun discussing the prize pool guarantee, for now saying only that it hopes to exceed the $55 million that was awarded during the 2012 WCOOP. What the site has locked down is the presence of features like two-day tournaments, a $1.5 million main event and buy-ins that range from as low as $215 to as high as $25,500. The poker site is also soliciting feedback on the current, preliminary schedule throughout the coming weeks. PokerStars has asked members to send their thoughts on the current schedule before the final version is unveiled. All feedback will be considered and implemented in an effort to make the 2013 WCOOP the best it can be.
                A statement from PokerStars confirmed that WCOOP "satellites should be live from August 8th" with "the confirmed schedule" being set for release "before then." PokerStars' World Championship of Online Poker will kick off on Sunday, 8th September, 2013.

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                Account security is a significant concern for serious online poker players. PokerStars recognizes how important it is to protect their members' privacy (and bankrolls) and has just launched a new security measure meant to provide complete peace of mind.
                PokerStars has revealed its implementation of a text/short message service (SMS) system that allows players to receive notifications warning them of irregular account usage. The SMS feature is meant to serve as a countermeasure against hackers attempting to access a player's private information or bankroll. After registering their mobile number with the site and turning on the feature PokerStars is able to send out a text if the network detects suspicious activity. When this happens real money actions (like cashing out, transferring or depositing funds, signing up for tournaments or joining cash games) are temporarily blocked. The SMS sent to the user's phone includes a security code that can be input in order to regain full access to their account. Passwords can be changed via text messaging as well, an additional security feature that makes it easier for players to have full control over their accounts at all times.
                A press release from PokerStars called the SMS validation feature "an additional security mechanism to help PokerStars player accounts remain safe and secure against online threats." The new feature is built into PokerStars' most recent software update and can be opted into for free by players in select regions.

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                PokerStars has a history of celebrating its business milestones by providing cash bonuses and other awards to site members lucky enough to be a part of record-breaking games. The site's 100 Billion Hands Celebration has been no different, giving those who happened to be playing as the landmark was reached huge rewards for their good fortune.
                The 100 billionth hand was recently hit, marking a huge accomplishment for the eleven year old PokerStars. The site member who played the hand in question uses the name 'Microulis69' and was awarded more than $103,000 in cash. Microulis69, who hails from Greece, was playing micro-stakes poker on PokerStars' Euryalos XI (at $0.02/$0.05) when the milestone was triggered. While Microsoulis69 took home a $31.55 pot for his win the more impressive prize came from the massive $103,800 awarded by PokerStars for triumphing during the 100 billionth hand. The hand also saw other competitors playing against Microsoulis69 receiving cash awards. 'Mayers666' took away the lowest amount (a still substantial $12,460) while both 'HeyitsClay' and 'doc836' received the highest award ($13,440 each).  
                PokerStars Head of Poker Communications, Lee Jones, revealed that a total of 9,471 site members received part of the stake share ($830,790) set aside to celebrate the 100 billionth hand. The average share provided to this group of players was $84.72. PokerStars will continue to offer 100 Billion Hands Celebration promotional events throughout the coming weeks, extending the festivities beyond the monumental hand itself.

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                PokerStars' Team Online has just grown by one member with the signing of Felix "xflixx" Schneiders. The latest addition to the online poker network's team of professional players comes to the site with plenty of experience in competing against the best of the industry as well as teaching other poker fans how to succeed at the game.
                Schneiders hails from Germany and has been engaged in playing and teaching poker since 2005. xflixx is known as a six-max no-limit hold 'em player who frequents small and mid stakes tables, but he has also found success in coaching other competitors. Schneiders has taught poker with PokerStars' PokerSchoolOnline and IntelliPoker as both a trainer and private coach. Though he has earned a name for himself in competition xflixx is better known in Germany for his work in imparting poker lessons and strategies to other fans of the game, an aspect of his career that he says offers "a great feeling" when compared to the intensity of solo play.  
                Speaking to press about his new position as a member of Team Online, Schneiders said that he feels "honoured to be [included among] great inspiring poker players and proud because [the accomplishment] reflects all the effort and passion" he's put into poker over his career. Felix xflixx Schneiders will be able to continue demonstrating his love of poker by competing in events as a PokerStars' Team Online member.

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                PokerStars has doubled down on its commitment to engage the Asian market with the announcement of a brand new tournament set to take place in Macau next month. The event — the Guangdong Ltd. Asia Millions — is meant to entice some of the region's most talented players with impressive prizes and expensive buy-ins.
                Guangdong Ltd. Asia Millions has been organized in collaboration between online poker site PokerStars and local gaming company, Guangdong Group Macau Ltd (previously known as Neptune Group). The event in question is intended for high rollers, sporting an HK $1,000,000 buy-in (roughly $129,000 USD) and a maximum of two HK $1,000,000 re-buys. If the event manages to achieve its current buy-in forecast the total prize pool will likely be no smaller $30 million USD. Guangdong Ltd. Asia Millions will take place at Macau's City of Dreams venue and will run from Tuesday, 4th June to Friday, 7th June. PokerStars and Guangdong will kick off the festivities with an HK $250,000 (approximately $32,200 USD) "warm up" tournament on the first day of the event.    
                Danny McDonagh, PokerStars' Director of Live Poker Operations for Asia Pacific, told press that his company expects "over 100 players" to compete for "one of the biggest prize pools for a poker tournament outside of the World Series of Poker." Winnie Wong, Guangdong Group's CEO, shared McDonagh's excitement while predicting that the tournament "will leave a mark in Macau poker history" and strengthen the "strong synergy between Guangdong  and PokerStars."

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                PokerStars previously released a placeholder version of the schedule for its upcoming Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). Now, after soliciting suggestions for improvements from its player base the company has finalized and released the official series details.
                The 2013 SCOOP will mark the fifth edition of the popular event and, as mentioned in the unofficial schedule, consist of 44 events. An impressive $40 million prize guarantee is up for grabs through the series' tiered buy-in events. As previously described, these three levels will allow all kinds of players to enter into the games, regardless of the size of their bankroll. Accordingly, the prize pot will range in size, the lowest amount doubling in size for the medium buy-in level and tripling for the highest. The three levels will also be reflected in the buy-ins, which range from $5.50 to $21,000. PokerStars promoted the tiered SCOOP design as providing "the only tournament series in the world to offer the same tournament at three different buy-in levels simultaneously." A statement detailing the series called SCOOP a great way for poker players of all stripes to "have fun competing for life-changing amounts of money."
                The 2013 Spring Championship of Online Poker will kick off on 12th May with a no-limit hold 'em six max tournament (buy-ins set at $27/$215/$2,100) and run for two weeks before concluding with 26th May's main event ($109/$1,050/$10,300). Interested players can buy into events directly or look out for PokerStars range of upcoming qualifying competitions.

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Online poker players excited for some news on PokerStars' annual Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) have just been provided with a first look at the 2013 edition of the series. While the schedule PokerStars has recently released is subject to change in the future, the poker network has offered an initial draft that showcases its current plans for this spring's events.

The tentative 2013 SCOOP schedule looks to drastically expand on previous years offerings, featuring a tremendous 42 events and a total of 126 individual tournaments in all. Aside from this change much of the upcoming SCOOP will remain similar to prior schedules. Players will be able to compete in styles of poker including badugi, Omaha hi-lo, no-limit draw, seven card stud, no-limit hold 'em and more. Each of the games will also allow PokerStars members to compete through either low, medium or high buy-in tiers, a decision meant to make SCOPP inclusive to all contenders, regardless of bankroll size.

In order to make this year's SCOOP the best it can possibly be PokerStars is also asking its fans to send their comments and suggestions to the site. PokerStars plans to incorporate some of these suggestions to the schedule in order to refine its tournament offerings before finalizing in the weeks to come. As it stands now, the 2013 Spring Championship of Online Poker is set to kick off on Sunday 12 May with a six max no-limit hold 'em tourney and wrap up on Sunday 26 May with the main event's conclusion.

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PokerStars has just made three of its players a good deal richer — and happier — through its most recent Sunday Million tournament. The enormous prize pool won by the talented online poker players topped out at $9,857,400 and marked the end of the 327th Sunday Million.

The winners were part of the Sunday Million Seventh Anniversary event, a special version of the typical Sunday Million tournament that promised enormous cash prizes. The three competitors in question, Germany's 'Kasra84', Lithuania's 'benislovas' and Britain's 'sexygee', split an impressive $2.5 million in cash after battling their way across a total pool of nearly 50,000 players over 15 hours of tournament play. More than six thousand players managed to cash, but it was the three PokerStars members mentioned above who benefitted the most from the event. After the dust settled on the final table benislovas received $848,589, sexygee $836,321 and Kasra84 $813,370. While the top three winners took home the most impressive prizes they weren't the only ones to leave the Sunday Million Seventh Anniversary with significantly larger bankrolls. Norway's 'n0rflip' managed fourth place and $358,809, 'stradale430', an Austrian competitor, placed sixth in the event and took home $181,376 while Cyprus' 'pellompogos' placed fifth and received $254,320.

PokerStars' Sunday Million Seventh Anniversary marks the third largest Sunday Million to date. The tournament series saw a total of 49,827 players competing for over $9 million in cash.

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The ongoing Road to 100 Billion promotion is causing plenty of excitement at PokerStars, especially as the popular online poker network inches closer to the monumental goal. Most recently the site managed to hit 95 billion hands dealt and awarded the lucky participants of the hand accordingly.

Nine players sitting down at a PokerStars $0.08/$0.16 no limit hold 'em full ring table game were fortunate enough to be involved with the site's 95 billionth hand. PokerStars celebrated the occasion by awarding each of these members with $10,000 and, if that wasn't enough, extra money matched in proportion to their most recently earned loyalty points. When the 95th billionth hand was started Lee Jones, PokerStars' Head of Poker Communications, helped kick off the festivities. The hand itself saw a British player ('RichB17') win with a straight, a competitor called 'Domy07' take the side pot and 'pacheko23980' emerge as the landmark hand's runner-up. Aside from the 95th billionth hand itself, The Road to 100 Billion promotion awarded nearly $900,000 over a single week of play.

A statement from PokerStars described the company's awarding of "a total of $892,718 over 300 Milestone hands and the final Mega Milestone hand." It went on to kick off the excitement for The Road to 100 Billion's finale by predicting its "[culmination] in June [and] an even bigger prize giveaway" to be "revealed in the spring."

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PokerStars has come a long way from the setbacks that rocked the online poker network following last year’s Black Friday legal indictments. 2012 has seen the company rebounding from its troubles in a major way, breaking records and even earning the honour of being named one of the “Best Workplaces in the UK.”

The first achievement comes following the conclusion of the latest edition of PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP). This year’s SCOOP paid out a total prize pool of $65,332,179 (topping 2010’s $64.2 million) across its 120 tournaments and 40 events, setting the record for the largest online poker tournament series to date. Broken into three bankroll levels, the 20120 SCOOP Main Event recorded 517 members at the High level ($10,300 buy-in), 3, 567 at Medium ($1,050 buy-in) and 22,128 players at Low ($109). These type of numbers — a total of more than 526,000 players overall — helped to break PokerStars’ SCOOP registrant numbers and establish the landmark record.

Adding to the massive success of this year’s SCOOP was the Great Place to Work Institute, a workplace assessment consulting firm, awarding PokerStars as one of the United Kingdom’s best workplaces. The Institute surveyed employees and performs “cultural audits”, scoring company results in credibility, pride, fairness and other factors against other businesses in their nation. PokerStars’ high rank came from the many developmental opportunities it offers employees, its diverse workforce and the generous number of employee benefits and perks it offers.

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Sweden’s Viktor Blom (who plays under the handle ‘Isildur1&rsquo has been making a big name for himself in recent years. With his victory at the 2012 PokerStars’ Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) his career looks to be continuing on an upswing.

Blom took part in this year’s SCOOP as a member of Team PokerStars Pro, making good on his endorsement by winning two events and cashing out more than $407,000 in the process. This year’s edition of the massive online tournament series (which continues to run until Sunday, 20th May) features a total of forty tournament events that allows players of all bankroll sizes to compete — and win big prizes — according to their budget. Blom sat in on a Monday night medium buy-in (Event 2) and beat out more than 8,000 players throughout the $215 No Limit Hold ‘Em event. After cashing $247,200 from his first place win he went on to take down 485 competitors, winning $160,000, at the following evening’s high stakes buy-in (Event 3) No Limit Hold ‘Em 6 Max (with rebuys) event.

The 21 year-old Swedish player, now living in London, England, has had a great year at the tables. Earlier in 2012 Blom won $100,000 in the PCA High Roller tournament series. His recent wins have marked his current 2012 earnings at roughly $1.3 million. Viktor ‘Isildur1’ Blom plans to continue his meteoric rise to poker stardom by competing in his first World Series of Poker this summer where he is sure to be carefully watched by competitors and spectators alike.

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It’s been an interesting year for fans of Full Tilt Poker. Following the Black Friday legal scandals that rocked the online poker world in 2011, Full Tilt Poker found itself in a precarious position where it was left without an operator’s license, trying to reestablish itself as a business and find a way to reimburse site members without the revenue to do so. Now, disgruntled players may get the outstanding money they’ve been waiting for as new developments come to the troubled poker platform.

The latest news regarding Full Tilt Poker will come as quite a shock to many industry observers: renowned online poker network PokerStars may be about to acquire the site. This comes after a deal by Groupe Bernard Tapie — an agreement that looked like it was finally going to bring an end to the Full Tilt story with a purchase of the company — fell through, leaving site members in the lurch. Groupe Bernard Tapie was unable to agree to terms regarding paying back player funds causing the potential deal to fall through. Now reports have come in claiming that PokerStars has picked up where Groupe Bernard Tapie left off, coming to a settlement with the United States Department of Justice (current holders of the Full Tilt license) that would see the site making the purchase and providing wronged Full Tilt Poker members with the money they’re owed.

For now the acquisition is still only rumoured, but, if PokerStars does decide to go through with the purchase they can be expected to pay around $750 million in finalizing the deal. Further details should appear sometime in the near future.

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Winning entry to a live poker event is incentive enough for most players to compete in their favourite sites’ promotions, but PokerStars is looking to do one better by coupling free tournament entry with a trip abroad. The Casino Royale Cup, scheduled to take place toward the end of June, will be held in Goa, India and PokerStars is looking to send the winners of its current promotion abroad to take part.

Members of PokerStars will be able to compete in satellite tournaments that reward the most talented competitors with a fantastic prize package. These satellites will see players duking it out for a shot at taking home a reward that includes buy-in to the Casino Royale Cup’s $1,000 Main Event, reduced rates at Goa, India’s Goa Marriott Resort and Spa (situated on Miramar Beach) and more. Winners will play alongside members of Team PokerStars Pro, including Bryan Huang (the 2010 Asia Player of the Year) who has already confirmed his attendance.

Danny McDonagh, PokerStars’ Asia-Pacific Live Operations Director, released a statement detailing “the rise [of poker] in India” and his company’s delight in “[supporting] this fantastic event in Goa.” The Casino Royale Cup is scheduled to run from 21st to 24th June and will take place on a cruise ship, remodeled to host the luxurious Casino Royale. The Cup’s Main Event will run for three days.

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Fans of popular online poker network, PokerStars, will soon be able to enjoy a brand new way to play their favourite game as the network readies the launch of Zoom Poker. By emphasizing speed, Zoom lets players get the most out of their gaming team through a smart twist on traditional multi-table poker.

Zoom Poker has been heavily refined during the last few weeks through the PokerStars’ test server, but now it will be taking its next step toward coming to the main platform proper: allowing for real-money play. The new style takes notes from Full Tilt Poker’s Rush Poker mode, stressing fast, multi-table play that allows for more hands to be played per hour than any other poker variant. Zoom sees competitors joining a table and playing as much or as little of the ongoing game as they wish. If they choose to fold a hand, they’re moved to another table with an entirely new set of players. The extremely fast playstyle averages 200 hands per hour or more and is currently available in 6 max No Limit Hold ‘Em format (with future variations expected in the near future).

PokerStars currently plans to move Zoom Poker to the next stage of its beta testing sometime in the remaining weeks of March, a change that will let players to compete with real money. After further refinement, it seems likely that the new playstyle will find its way to the main site so it can be enjoyed by as many online poker players as possible.

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Popular online poker network, PokerStars has just announced a brand new tournament series set to play out over the latter half of this month. MicroMillions, the series in question, comes complete with a guaranteed $5 million in cash and a huge number of exciting games for players to compete in.

Buy-ins to MicroMillions start from eleven cents and are offered alongside one dollar buy-in daily tournaments that come complete with $100,000 prize pools. Aside from these events, players are also able to compete in a large number of additional games with buy-ins set at amounts ranging from two to twenty two dollars. In all, PokerStars has prepared an enormous set of 100 events created to accommodate site members of all levels of skill and bankroll. With such a large number of tournaments to enter, games will be running non-stop throughout the promotional period. Regardless of their time-zone, players will be able to enter into Omaha, hold ‘em, stud and other varieties of poker whenever they wish.

Team PokerStars player Lex Veldhuis released a statement praising MicroMillions, describing how the events “actually [offer] players [with low bankrolls] the chance to be a part of a great tournament series” and provide a great complement to “all the different tournament festivals that PokerStars offers.” PokerStars’ MicroMillions tournament series will begin on Thursday, 15th March and end on Sunday, 25th March with a $22 buy-in $1 million guaranteed main event.

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Playing online poker has just become a lot more convenient with the UK introduction of PokerStars mobile application. British poker fans will now be able to download a version of the popular virtual poker network that allows them to experience the same access to a wide suite of games that was previously only available via computer.

PokerStars Mobile has already launched and can be downloaded by owners of either Android or iOS devices. The app comes complete with portable versions of fan favourites like Omaha, Omaha Hi-Lo, Texas Hold ‘Em and a variety of sit-and-go and multi-table tournaments. Players can choose to compete in either fake or real money games as well, the Director of New Platforms for PokerStars’ UK division stating that PokerStars Mobile is “the best, authentic poker experience available for mobile devices today.” Each feature has been carefully optimized for handheld gadgets (like smartphones, tablets and more) so that players can enjoy a traditional PokerStars experience without any slowdown or navigation issues.

In other exciting European news, PokerStars has also revealed that it will soon be able to launch revised domains in both Sweden and Finland. After being given a Malta Lotteries and Gaming Commission license, PokerStars will be able to add to its recently improved Belgian site with updated software that lets Swedish and Finnish poker fans enter into untaxed online poker games. A statement detailing the licensing change assured players from these nations that their accounts will transfer without the loss of loyalty points, cash balances or any other valuable information.

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Team PokerStars Pro, one of the most renowned squads of professional poker players in the online gaming industry, has just lost one of its most valuable players. After the expiration of his contract, England’s John Duthie, long a staple of the PokerStars pro team, has decided to move on from his sponsorship with the company.

The news of Duthie’s departure comes soon after Team PokerStars Pro lost another high-profile professional, Joe Hachem just before the holiday season. On 31st December of last year, Duthie’s contract came up for renewal as well and, to the surprise of many, he decided to let his PokerStars deal expire. Duthie, a 53 year old from Leeds, England, has a storied career, having cashed more than $2.7 million in live tournament prizes (including a single, $1.4 million win at the 2000 edition of the Poker Million) and holding the position of Chief Executive Officer for the European Poker Tour.

Rumours on numerous forums had been forecasting Duthie’s departure before it’s official announcement, claiming that the pro was upset over PokerStars site and VIP program changes. In the press release, reporting John Duthie’s decision to leave Team PokerStars Pro, the player only said that he had “simply [didn’t] want to renew my contract. [I] love the idea of being ‘tribune of the people’ but sadly this is not the case.”

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Online poker network PokerStars has just announced the return of its prestigious Asia Pacific Poker Tour (APPT). Now in its fifth year, the APPT has become a massive success, well-regarded by professionals as a worthwhile showcase and by amateurs one of the most exciting series to watch.

PokerStars has produced one of the poker world’s biggest events with their yearly Asia Pacific Poker Tour and the upcoming edition looks to continue the series’ trend of attracting talented players, eager to make their name in the industry. The details released for the 2012 APPT thus far have revealed that it will consist of five events (taking place from 7th to 11th March) across Asia, with Seoul, South Korea confirmed as one of the stops. The APPT will feature a $2,600 buy-in main event and the return of 2008’s winner, Yoshihiro Tasaka of Japan — a player who has helped to build poker’s popularity in his home country and Korea..

A PokerStars statement detailed how “poker in Korea and Asia overall has grown immensely since Tasaka’s victory” and forecasted a “record field” for this year’s events. The press release also promised the launch of APPT prize packages and satellite games set to come to PokerStars in the near future. The 2012 Asia Pacific Poker Tour will be held at international locations including Seoul, South Korea’s Paradise Walkerhill Casino and will run from 7th to 11th March, 2012.

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PokerStars, not content with its current status as one of the best known names in the online poker industry, is looking to drum up a little extra publicity by attempting a new world record. It’s currently preparing to host a massive set of tournaments that will surpass the scale of anything yet carried out by a virtual poker provider.

The company has already set impressive records in the past: in 2009 PokerStars made its mark by holding the world’s largest online poker tournament. This event attracted 149,196 players through a $1 buy-in and rewarded a German competitor with $50,000 for taking first place. Now PokerStars wants to one-up its previous best with an enormous no-limit hold’em tournament meant to help celebrate its tenth anniversary as a digital poker network. In order to attract as many players as possible, PokerStars is offering up a $250,000 guaranteed prize pool and an additional $50,000 in reserve for the event’s first place winner.

PokerStars’ no-limit hold’em tournament is scheduled to take place on Sunday, 4th December, starting in the late afternoon and featuring another $1 buy-in. Team PokerStars Pro member, Bertrand ‘ElkY’ Grospellier told press that he was excited to take place in the site’s previous record breaking tournament and is “looking forward to doing it again on December 4 . . . and [seeing] so many players come together to make history once again.”

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It’s always great to see a well known online poker network work to innovate its line-up of play styles and PokerStars, with its new tournament style, is looking to do just that. Time Tourneys, a line-up of multi-table tournament offerings, brings members of the site a new range of options for every level of bankroll.

Fans of multi-table play will be excited to find the new tournament style, only just launched through PokerStars. Time Tourneys are set up much like standard multi-table tournaments but feature a crucial difference: a set time period. PokerStars hopes to encourage faster play by limiting the time available in the tournament style, splitting the available prize pool at the end of a session (with amounts being paid out in proportion to stack size). Game lengths currently range from 15 to 180 minutes in order to give players as brief or as lengthy of an experience as they desire. In the press release detailing Time Tourneys, PokerStars described their aim to let “players [fit] in a Time Tourney over breakfast, in a lunch over or over the course of an evening.” The new format is also meant to be inclusive for every level of player, buy-ins starting from as low as one dollar.

To help promote its new tournament style, PokerStars has also announced the addition of Time Tourney to its Saturday Line-Up. The Saturday edition of the multi-tables have a $10,000 prize guarantee, $22 buy-in and a 120 minute time limit. Time Tourneys are available now and can be found through PokerStars’ lobby.

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PokerStars has just bulked up its roster of sponsored poker professionals by signing a new player to its PokerStars Team Online line-up. The latest addition to the team, Mickey Petersen, adds some serious talent to the company and should help PokerStars to grab some more notoriety in the future.

Mickey Petersen (who plays as ‘mement_mori’ on PokerStars) is well known by Denmark’s poker community — the nation he calls home — due to the fact that he currently holds the title of “top-ranked multi-table tournament player” in the nation. The sponsored competitor, who first became interested in card-based games through a love for playing Magic: The Gathering, has banked an enormous sum of money throughout his career (reportedly an amount in excess of four million dollars) and is best known for his proficiency at online-based poker. One of his most noteworthy accomplishments has been Petersen’s performance at the 2010 Spring Championship of Online Poker, a series wherein he netted roughly $300,000 over 16 cashes.

It isn’t surprising that Petersen was signed by PokerStars, given how impressive his career to date has been. Mickey “mement_mori” Petersen’s incredible talent at online poker play should help to boost the reputation of PokerStars Team Online throughout the length of his sponsorship. As Petersen himself says, “hopefully I’ll be able to build on my resume and promote both PokerStars.com and the game in a positive light.”

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The upcoming, fifth instalment of England’s Poker in the Park celebration is fast approaching and, now, a new sponsorship deal has been announced by online poker network, PokerStars. The UK arm of the popular company has told press that it will be acting as a key sponsor to the early autumn event.

Poker in the Park V has signed on as the official sponsor behind the festival’s main stage event, perhaps the most highly anticipated part of the gathering. The main stage line-up plans to have a little something for everyone, from a swing band performance to exhibition matches from renowned chess players (like the current Master and Grand Master, Malcolm Pein and Simon Williams respectively) and the chance for audience members to take on celebrities in games of heads-up poker. PokerStars will also be sponsoring the British Poker Awards, a ceremony set to be awarded through online ballot taking. Aside from the main stage, Poker in the Park V will also see the return of numerous heads-up and sit and go tournaments for attendees to compete in. The event it also expected to be filled with brand new electronic tables to play on and great deals on branded poker merchandise.

Poker in the Park V will take place at Hanover Square (in London) on Friday, 2nd and Saturday, 3rd September. The event, organized and promoted by Lyceum Events, is currently predicted to pull in roughly 20,000 poker enthusiasts, all ready to celebrate their favourite game.

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Despite a troublesome summer, massive online poker network, PokerStars, has just given its staff and fans something positive to celebrate. The good news comes in the form of the company just achieving a milestone business record — more than 65 billion hands dealt.

The landmark, 65 billionth hand was dealt on Sunday, 24th July and provided a lucky player with an unexpected reward. 24-year old New Zealander, Christopher “yllams” Small is just another PokerStars member that was fortunate enough to be sitting down to play at the game wherein the 65 billionth hand was dealt. Small received $68,420 while competing in a six-maximum, no limit game (with $0.10/$0.25 stakes) and winning the landmark hand. He had begun playing earlier in the day, hoping that his timing would pay off when, after several hours, Small received a message explaining that he was currently sitting at the 65 billionth hand table. The good luck continued as Small currently held an ace/king and the flop revealed two more aces, giving him the chance he needed to come out triumphant at the five person table.

PokerStars has been in business for close to ten years and has always sought to give back to its players when history-making landmarks have been reached. Last March, when the network achieved 60 billion hands, it rewarded the winning hand’s player with more than $102,000 in cash.

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The legal scandals that rocked the online poker world over the previous months continue to bring vast ramifications to both affected players and businesses. Most recently PokerStars, one of the industry’s most popular gaming networks, has begun to release details of its plans to reimburse members of its site impacted by its decision to halt American operations.

PokerStars’ most notable action to come is in refunding more than $100 million to United States-based players. After the scandal first hit the company, PokerStars abruptly pulled out of its American operations on 20th April, leaving a vast number of site members to wonder what would become of any money bankrolled at the site during this time. Although many of PokerStars’ non-American sites are still in operation, the company was forced to stop service after the United States FBI indicted founder Isai Scheinberg on money laundering, gambling and bank fraud charges. These legal actions lead to a domain name seizure and, ultimately, a corporate decision to shut down American servers. Now PokerStars is working to navigate the legal red tape that previously made player refunds possible, all in an effort to get its business back on track.

PokerStars isn’t the only American poker site reeling from legal troubles either. Full Tilt Poker has also been greatly affected and is working to address customers in a similar manner to PokerStars, recently announcing its ongoing work toward refunding player funds. While Full Tilt has been unable to offer money back to its customers yet, it has released statements detailing its work at doing so.

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PokerStars, now getting close to the launch of its massive Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP) tournament series, has just announced a few new details regarding the upcoming event. Due to the legal indictments currently being handled by the website’s American operations, some substantial changes have been planned.

The biggest news surrounding PokerStars throughout the last several weeks has been its United States legal troubles, something that is having a bearing on the company’s upcoming SCOOP. While British and Irish players will still be able to compete in SCOOP, the loss of American competitors has forced PokerStars to drop the previous $45 million guaranteed prize pool to $25 million. In another move meant to shift the focus of the SCOOP to European players event times have also been moved back by three hours. Aside from these changes, SCOOP will still be running as previously planned. PokerStars’ SCOOP Leaderboard is going to be available, as detailed before, and will award top competitors with 2011 World Championship of Online Poker, 2010 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure or Grand Final of the European Poker Tour prize packages.

PokerStars’ 2011 Spring Championship of Online Poker is scheduled to take place beginning Sunday, 8th May at 3pm and ending on Sunday, 22nd May through a $10,300 high level buy-in no-limit hold ‘em main event (with $5 million prize pool). The tournament series’ $25 million will be awarded throughout a total of 38, three-set events throughout this month.

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A brand new freeroll has just been launched at PokerStars, giving talented players an ideal avenue for bulking up their bankroll without dropping a penny for entry. Game of Your Life has already started and will go on for most of the spring with regular daily and weekly freerolls up for offer.

Game of Your Life is set to run throughout the majority of April and May and has promised to provide a total of one million dollars in cash prizes. Aside from fantastic monetary rewards, the promo will also award its final two winners with prize packages that send them to a sports event of their choice anywhere in the world (a trip valued at roughly $100,000). Talented competitors will be able to enter daily tournaments and freeroll finals every Sunday evening (with the first taking place on 17th April) and battle it out for the chance at their share of $100,000. The final promo events will be held on 22nd May and, in order to bring the entire series to an appropriate conclusion, winners are set to receive $10,000 along with further sports event packages.

Those players that are lucky enough to win a sports package will receive seats to their event of choice along with free accommodations, travel expenses and the ability to invite as many of their friends as they wish. PokerStars’ Game of Your Life is divided by region but the massive cash rewards and sports event trips are all up for grabs by skilled players from any of the nations supported by the website.

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The immensely popular online poker network, PokerStars, is almost about to make internet history as it gears up to mark a landmark 60 billion hands dealt. A huge number of active members have made PokerStars the web’s biggest online gaming success and now it’s just about to reach an incredible achievement that will set a new record for its industry.

All of the poker site’s players will be able to share in the celebration as the 60 billionth hand looms on the horizon. PokerStars is giving back to the community that has made its accomplishment possible through the Road to 60 Billion promotion, set to begin once hand number 59.7 billion is hit. The Road to 60 Billion will award $50 in cash to each player that participates in every 100 millionth Milestone Hand after the 59.7 billion mark is reached. PokerStars will also be giving an additional $50 for every VIP point that members have earned over their previous 50 hands. Even better yet, the player that wins the cash hand will have their awarded prize money doubled.

PokerStars marked its 50 billionth hands dealt roughly half a year ago and is expected to go on to hit 60 billion in the near future. Fans of the online poker network that want to help their favourite site celebrate — and try their luck at winning some great cash prizes — should log on immediately for their chance to win at the Road to 60 Billion promo.

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PokerStars intends to give its members a great opportunity to compete in the upcoming Greek Poker Cup (GPC) through a series of online qualifiers. The free qualifiers, now on offer at PokerStars, are open for registered players at the site and provide the chance to win seats into the GPC’s main event.

The Greek Poker Cup’s historic venue and PokerStars have recently become business partners and members of the popular poker platform will benefit, most noticeably, with the chance to compete at the GPC for free. PokerStars has announced that it penned a deal with Club Hotel Casino Loutraki that sees both parties organizing the Greek Poker Cup, the largest live tournament series ever to take place in Greece, for this spring.

The GPC is a no-limit Texas hold’em event that will give some 200 players the opportunity to duke it out for fantastic prizes and a greater level of exposure in the international poker community. The series will feature a €1,100 buy-in and is expected to draw the Greek poker world’s top players, giving them the leverage they need to become better known outside of the nation.

The Greek Poker Cup is scheduled to take place from 24th March through to 27th March at the Club Hotel Casino Loutraki and has been developed in partnership between the casino and PokerStars. Club Hotel Casino Loutraki, located just outside of Athens, is equipped with 14 tables and is one of the most influential (and scenic) gaming hubs in Greece, being the first Greek casino to offer Texas hold’em to its visitors.

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PokerStars has enjoyed incredible success with its sponsorship and creation of live and online poker events and now, with its announcement of a brand new tour — the Eureka Poker Tour (EPT — it looks to continue this focus of its business.

The Eureka Poker Tour will begin in Prague, Czech Republic on 16 March. The EPT Prague stop will take place over four days of tournaments and feature a main prize pool that is estimated at roughly €250,000. Further stops of the EPT will include locations in countries including Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia, demonstrating a focus on Eastern Europe that should help to provide popularity in a region of the continent that lacks similar events. Buy-ins to the EPT will start from as low as €800 and fields for each of the tour’s events will be limited to roughly 500 players. PokerStars has confirmed that each leg will be comprised of several tournaments that include a full range of side events.

Online qualifiers (with buy-ins from as low as €2) have also been announced that will give PokerStars members a chance to gain access to any of the EPT’s stops. The Eureka Poker Tour begins at the Card Casino in Prague before moving on to Nova Gorica in Slovenia (11 May), Varna’s Golden Sands in Bulgaria (22 June), an unspecified venue in Croatia (7 September) and a leg in Romania at an as-of-yet unscheduled time and place.

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Team PokerStars Pro is the home of some of the poker world’s finest players but now, with the departure of Greg ‘Fossilman’ Raymer, the site’s collection of professionals has lost one of its best.

Raymer, a 46 year-old American, recently announced his decision to leave PokerStars’ sponsorship on a poker forum, surprising many industry observers and fans. He was one of the founding members of the popular website’s team of pros and has achieved more than $6.8 million in live earnings throughout his career. One of his most recent victories saw Raymer finishing third out of 201 competitors at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and finishing the series with $774,927 in earnings. Trouble became apparent when Greg Raymer’s profile was found missing from the PokerStars team site. He later made a forum thread announcing his departure and went on to confirm his split through a Twitter post. Fellow poker pro, Kathy Liebert, has alleged that Raymer’s decision came about after PokerStars offered to renew his existing contract but with a lower rate (as part of an overall move to reduce spending on sponsorship deals for Team PokerStars Pro).

Greg Raymer is a former lawyer that became a successful poker player after he competed in the 2001 WSOP’s $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split event. Three years later he attended the World Series of Poker again, taking down David Williams in the main event and bringing home approximately five million dollars.

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For some time now, ‘Isildur1’ has been a mysterious presence in the professional poker world, winning events and defeating major competitors in heads-up games without ever revealing his real identity. After he signed to Team PokerStars Pro last month and played a recent, live game, however, PokerStars finally lifted the veil and published his true name along with news of its most recent Team acquisitions.

PokerStars, in an announcement of its newest signings, revealed that ‘Isildur1’ is actually a 20 year-old Swedish man named Viktor Blom. As Blom arrived to play at the recent PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure $10,000 Buy-In Main Event he was immediately identified as the mysterious ‘Isildur1’. PokerStars later confirmed. Not to be overshadowed by Blom’s big reveal, PokerStars also announced that recent World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event winner, Jonathan Duhamel, has been added to the Team PokerStars Pro roster. 23 year-old Duhamel hails from Quebec, Canada and joined the Team alongside Blom after his incredible WSOP performance caught the site’s eye. Duhamel took home roughly $8.9 million after beating out America’s John Racener, becoming the first Canadian to win the event in WSOP history.

Both Jonathan Duhamel and Viktor Blom are serious forces to be reckoned with and their signing is sure to add to the success of Team PokerStars Pro as the season continues. It’s been a big week for PokerStars and the excitement looks to continue as Blom and Duhamel, two of the most promising young players in poker, begin to play games under the website’s sponsorship.

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Pokerstars, one of the online poker industry’s leading gaming platforms, has just announced preliminary details that outline its forthcoming Latin American Poker Tour (LAPT). The fourth edition of its much-anticipated tournament series is also accompanied by the third season of the Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT).

The latest LAPT is set to kick-off on 16th February, 2011 with its first leg being scheduled to take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The series will continue on through Peru, Chile and Argentina before coming to a conclusion in Bogota on 7th August, marking the first time that the tournament has made a stop in Columbia’s capital city. Each of these legs features $1,000 buy-ins and will be joined by the LAPT Awards (which recognizes the best player performances).

Alongside the first look at the upcoming Latin American Poker Tour, PokerStars also accompanied its announcement by providing details for the third season of its Australia and New Zealand Poker Tour (ANZPT). ANZPT will get started from 2nd-6th February in Adelaide and then move through locations that include Perth, Canberra, Queenstown, Gold Coast, Melbourne and Sydney. The ANZPT will also feature a Player of the Year competition that rewards PokerStars players with the highest-points scored throughout the tournament period with sponsorship packages for games at the Asia Pacific Poker Tour and either the PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure or Aussie Millions Main Event.

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PokerStars, being one of the world’s most successful online poker networks, has had to deal with its share of cheaters over the years. Now, with its recent move to restrict the activity of Chinese players at its tables, it has taken some of its most drastic steps to date to protect its players — and itself.

The new restriction at PokerStars has put a limit on tables, allowing only one player from China to compete at any single ring game table. This step, a fairly drastic one that is sure to draw criticism, was come to by PokerStars due to their fear of the site being the victim of collusion — a term that refers to the creation of secret fraudulent conspiracies. PokerStars is not acting entirely without warrant; in late August of this year illegal activity was being conducted at double or nothing games by several China-based players and, in response to this, PokerStars paid out $2.1 million in damages to affected players. This discovery (and financial hit) lead to PokerStars placing a similar player restriction on sit and go tournaments.

PokerStars has been steadfast about its decision to restrict the number of Chinese players at tables thus far but public criticism could sway the new policy in time. Spokespeople from PokerStars have stated that the new policy is the most effective method for maintaining the site’s integrity.
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PokerStars’ sixth World Cup of Poker (WCOP) was a massive success, bringing in poker competitors from across the globe and drumming up plenty of publicity for the organizing company. Now PokerStars has enjoyed yet another highly profitable event with the conclusion of last weekend’s seventh annual WCOP preliminaries.

The latest edition of the WCOP saw participation from players in 56 different nations and tough competition fuelled by a $290,000 cash prize pool. Each region was given the opportunity to advance in teams of four to the top spots in the tournament series. The best seven teams played a divisional qualifying round then were chosen for advancement to an upcoming live finale. Along with being financially rewarded for their success, these lucky seven teams were invited to the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas with PokerStars handling their expenses and accommodation costs. This last step will establish the winner of the 2010 WCOP, providing them with $100,000 and, of course, serious bragging rights.

With PokerStars’ World Cup of Poker continuing to gain steam with each and every instalment, we can look forward to yet another grand tournament next year. For now, the live finale events in the Bahamas is exciting enough; the winners of the 9th to 16th January’s World Cup of Poker VII Main Event will take home $100,000, glory for their nation and the Champion title.

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PokerStars’ Regional Championships of Online Poker (RCOOP) continues to heat up around the world with the announcement of the international tournament series’ upcoming UK and Ireland leg. Details of the British and Irish RCOOP edition have been released from PokerStars and they’re sure to impress prospective players.

The upcoming RCOOP stop has been scheduled for early December and will come with a minimum $512,500 guaranteed prize pool. PokerStars has set up a total of eleven events that begin on 5th December via a $55 buy-in no-limit re-buy six max tournament (with a $40,000 guaranteed prize pool). The kick-off day will also feature a $215 buy-in pot-limit Omaha hi-lo event (with a $10,000 guaranteed prize pool) and continue on with a 6th December no-limit double chance set (with a $25,000 prize pool). PokerStars’ RCOOP stays in Britain and Ireland through until 12th December’s main events: a massive, $320 buy-in pot-limit Omaha tournament ($25,000 guaranteed) and $520 buy-in no-limit event ($150,000). Every one of the days, from kick-off to finale, also comes packed with great tournament games and enormous prize pools.

As with all other legs of the event, the UK and Ireland RCOOP will be open only to legal residents of the host nations. British and Irish players should be sure to enter now for a chance at taking home some of the prize money on offer from PokerStars’ Regional Championships of Online Poker.

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Inspired by the success of its recent World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), PokerStars is at it again with another massive event that looks to get the whole world playing online. The Regional Championships of Online Poker has just been announced by PokerStars and it features a grand scope that is sure to drum up excitement for the international online poker community.

PokerStars’ Regional Championships of Online Poker (RCOOP) will consist of 13 tournaments that will play out across the globe (with full multi-lingual chat room support) and an enormous guaranteed prize pool of seven million dollars total. Each of the tournaments will consist of eleven events that are open to players within set international regions. The first leg of the RCOOP will kick off on 31st October and be available to residents of nations such as Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and more. Events continue in Nordic and Baltic countries on 4th November and will move to Germany, Spain, the UK and North America throughout the rest of the year.

Buy-ins will be set to accommodate a wide variety of bankrolls and PokerStars has also announced that a satellite series will accompany the tournament series. With such a large cash guarantee and comprehensive entry guidelines the RCOOP looks to be a great way to bring lucrative online poker play to audiences that are often overlooked in virtual series.

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One of the fastest growing stars in the professional poker world, Liv Boeree, is now the newest member of Team PokerStars Pro. PokerStars has just announced the addition of Boeree to their roster of professional players, taking her on as a team member fresh off her latest victory at the European Poker Tour’s San Remo leg.

Throughout the last several years Liv “The Iron Maiden” Boeree has become one of the most recognizable faces in the poker world. A 26 year old former model and actress, Boeree was previously working under the sponsorship of Ultimate Bet and has enjoyed the bulk of her success during her affiliation with the online casino and poker network. Now Boeree belongs to Team PokerStars Pro and will make her first appearance as a member of the team at the upcoming £5,000 buy-in European Poker Tour London stop. Boeree is a graduate of the University of Manchester, a heavy metal guitarist and a noted player with over €2.3 million in career earnings and cashes over 26 major tournaments.

PokerStars has likely made a great decision by signing Liv Boeree as one of its players and brand representatives. Last April, Boeree emerged triumphant at the European Poker Tour’s San Remo tournament, cashing €1.25 million and furthering her reputation as one of the most watched young female players in the game.

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PokerStars , one of the internet’s most successful poker networks, recently dealt its 50,000,000,000th hand and celebrated the occasion by rewarding a number of players with cash prizes. One lucky member, the winner of the 50 billionth hand, stands out from the rest, taking home over $56,000 in cash and a place in PokerStars history.

The celebrations at PokerStars gave online poker players a great incentive to log onto the popular website and vie for their chance at hitting the jackpot. As part of its 50 billionth hand promotion, PokerStars had detailed plans to provide the winner of the benchmark turn with an enormous cash prize. The lucky winner, ‘tbvle’, played at a micro-stakes no-limit hold’em table against five competitors and ultimately won with pocket queens. tbvle was only playing in a $0.02/$0.05 hand but ended up ending the game with a $50,500 reward last Wednesday, 22nd September. Aside from the preliminary prize, tbvle was also awarded with an additional $5,640 (an amount based on the points he had earned throughout his previous 50 hands) to make for a total of more than $56,186.

PokerStars spread the love to the rest of the site members at tbvle’s table as well, providing $500 in cash and an extra $500/points gained in their last 50 hands to each. All winners were also gifted free entry to PokerStars’ upcoming World Championship of Online Poker (a $5,200 value).

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PokerStars ’ 2010 World Championships of Online Poker (WCOOP) is looking even more lucrative for skilled competitors as the online poker site recently announced a fantastic main event guarantee that will see the series champion take home at least two million dollars. Already a great tournament series with plenty of excitement, this year’s WCOOP looks to be an even bigger and better event now that the main event will encourage fierce and intense play with one of the largest online poker tournament payouts ever offered.

Since it kicked off last week the WCOOP has been thrilling spectators and participants alike with a line of tournaments that feature world-class players and great prizes. The series’ debut tournament began with a $215 buy-in no-limit hold ‘em six-maximum battle and is currently continuing on with a total prize pool guaranteed at over $50 million. The 2010 WCOOP will spread the $50M minimum across over 62 events. PokerStars has released details of buy-ins that range from $215 to $25,500 (for 18th-19th September’s no-limit hold ‘em high-roller two-day tournament).  
   
Thus far, eight competitors have already won over eleven million dollars with the bulk of the prize money yet to be awarded. The PokerStars 2010 WCOOP main event is scheduled for 26th September. It will consist of a two-day $5,200 buy-in no-limit hold ‘em tournament with a $2M guarantee that should easily overtake the already impressive $1,715,200 sum won by (last year’s WCOOP main event champ) Yevgeniy Timoshenko.

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PokerStars has partnered with other leading industry corporations to bring Mexico its first ever nation-wide poker tournament. Along with equipment manufacturer, PokerTek Incorporated and Spanish gaming company, Cirsa Gaming Corporation SA, PokerStars has organized a fantastic event that will bring plenty of excitement to the nation when the tournament launches late this summer.

The Life Poker Championship is set to take place at the end of the month at Cirsa’s CasinoLife Del Valle in Mexico City and it will feature a celebrity charity event (hosted by Mexican TV star, Monika Sanchez) and a number of great cash tables and enormous prizes. The tournament will make use of ten PokerPro tables (donated by PokerTek), feature software from PokerTek and will be lead up to by a series of PokerStars.net qualifier tournaments. PokerStars currently projects that the tournament will draw over 300 players and provide exceptional exposure for PokerTek, PokerStars and Cirsa. It is planned for live television broadcast throughout Mexico and will see Mexican Team PokerStars Pro player, Angel Guillen making a presence at the tables and around the casino.

Aside from great poker play, the aforementioned celebrity charity event at Life Poker also aims to raise $8,000 for the Mayan Sanchez Foundation, a group that provides assistance for special needs children. PokerStars, Cirsa and PokerTek will host the Life Poker Championship from Mexico City from 18 August to 22 August, 2010.

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Female poker players make up a large presence in the sport— taking titles at some of the industry’s biggest events and acting as important sponsors for various  websites, teams and competitions. With the launch of PokerStars Women’s Poker League female players are being given another great venue for enjoying competition against their colleagues in the game.

The PokerStars Women’s Poker League gives amateur and professional female players the ability to enter into ladies-only competitions that provide great rewards. The renowned poker website has already begun to announce some of the prizes that will be available through the Women’s Poker League schedule, detailing the launch of new daily tournaments and a lucrative points system. PokerStars will feature twice-daily tournaments (at 1.10pm and 9.10pm) with low buy-ins (starting at $5.50) and regular cash and point prize pools. All League entrants receive one point just for playing, an additional five points for cashing and upwards of 20 points for reaching the final table. The woman with the most points at the end of each month will receive either $300 or €200 and the top 50 players will also receive an unspecified monetary reward.

PokerStars has made the Women’s Poker League available to both North American and European players by breaking the new league into US dollar and Euro divisions. The PokerStars Women’s Poker League also gives members access to a yearly competition and satellite tournaments that grant entry to PokerStars numerous live events.

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Tags: poker, PokerStars

Poker fans were amazed by 22 year old Peter Eastgate’s performance at the 2008 World Series of Poker when he took not only the title of Main Event champion but also became the youngest player to do so. Now, less than two years after setting the record, Eastgate is shocking industry spectators again by announcing that he’s retiring from professional poker.

Eastgate hails from Denmark and became an instant star after defeating Russia’s Ivan Demidov at the 2008 WSOP and cashing over nine million dollars. His win broke the previous record for youngest WSOP champion held by Phil Hellmuth (who triumphed in 1989 when he was only 24 years old) and also gave Eastgate access to the lucrative sponsorship opportunities that led to his signing with Team PokerStars Pro. Despite a career that continued to demonstrate a profound level of talent, Eastgate recently announced that he has lost his motivation for playing professional poker. Stating that his goal was always just to become financially independent, Eastgate now feels that the poker world has little left for him.

Neither PokerStars nor Eastgate have spoken to press as to the young player’s future plans but, for better or worse, they won’t include the world of professional poker. Peter Eastgate has only commented that he wants to “. . . try to focus on Peter Eastgate the person” rather than on his career in cards.

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Tags: PokerStars

Team PokerStars Pro has added two new members to its prestigious line-up of players. David Williams and Vanessa Selbst mark the two most recent professionals to sign on with PokerStars , both players bringing years of experience and talent to the team.  

Selbst, a Brooklyn, New York native and current Yale Law School student, is only 25 years old and comes to the PokerStars line-up with an impressive resume. Her credentials include roughly $1.5 million in live tournament wins, a World Series of Poker bracelet and impressive showings at various other international events.

Williams, 30 years old and a Texas native, entered the poker world in earnest in 2004 when he made a splash at that year’s World Series of Poker by fighting his way all the way through PokerStars online satellites and to the main event where he nearly won against Greg Raymer. Williams has raked millions of dollars, a bracelet at the 2006 WSOP and titles from high profile events including the World Championship of Online Poker and the 2010 World Poker Tour’s $25,000 Championship.

The roster of professionals at Team PokerStars Pro is sure to benefit from the addition of Williams and Selbst’s combined skill. The website has revealed that David Williams will play under the handle “Dwilliams” and that Vanessa Selbst will use “V.Selbst” for her online sessions.

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Tags: PokerStars

Amateur poker players looking to break into a professional event will be happy to learn that PokerStars has just revealed its newest satellite series— and a great prize package for its winners. By providing entry to the upcoming EPT Tallinn premier, PokerStars are giving many hopefuls the chance to compete in one of the largest (and most lucrative) poker events to hit the Baltic region.

The satellite qualifying tournaments for EPT Tallinn have already kicked off with PokerStars recently accepting new entries (at as little as €5.45/250 Frequent Player Points) and outlining prize packages. Just under 50 players have already won their way to EPT Tallinn through PokerStars ’ satellites and the recent PokerStars Baltic Adventure but there are still spots for determined players. Those that are able to triumph in the EPT Tallinn satellite will win a €6,000 value prize package that includes Main Event buy-in, a full week of accommodations and a further €770 in spending cash.

Those that win the satellite will still have to face some tough opponents if they want to make a mark in Estonia however. Team PokerStars Pro members and notable professionals (including Katja Thater, Carter Phillips, Max Lykov, Kevin MacPhee and more) have already signed up to take part in the event.

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The PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) has already made waves throughout the continent with its massive prize pools and fierce competition. Now the next event in the series has been announced, bringing the tournament to California and giving PokerStars site members another chance to gain entry.

PokerStars has started to reveal details of the next stop scheduled in its NAPT series, outlining information for this fall’s Los Angeles tour leg. The industry giant has announced that Southern California’s The Bicycle Casino will act as the venue for the fourth event in the NAPT. From 12 November through to 17 November, 2010, poker players will flock to the city to compete in either the $5,000 Buy-In Main Event or a wide variety of side events that have been designed to accommodate any size of bankroll. Team PokerStars Pro, Daniel Negreanu told press of his excitement to compete against California’s local players and the thrill that comes with being part of an event that draws in undiscovered talent from the LA poker community.

As always, PokerStars will be giving its fans the chance to get in on the NAPT excitement through a series of qualifiers and other site-hosted events. The PokerStars North American Poker Tour has previously enjoyed successful events this year as tournaments took place during January (at the Atlantis in Bahamas), February (at Las Vegas’ The Venetian) and, most recently, in April (at the Mohegan Sun in Connecticut).

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The prestigious Team PokerStars Pro has just gained its newest member with the signing of Finnish player, Ville Wahlbeck. PokerStars, one of the most popular online poker websites in the gaming industry, officially announced the addition of Wahlbeck to the team recently and will be promoting him at the upcoming PokerStars.com Baltic Festival.

Wahlbeck is thirty-four years old and has become the first Finnish poker player to join PokerStars’ famous team of professional competitors. Hailing from Helsinki, Wahlbeck has made a name for himself through six outstanding years of professional level play. He finally caught the notice of PokerStars when he took down 193 competitors to win a World Series of Poker bracelet, becoming Finland’s first player to do so, and earning a $492,384 cash prize. His performance at the WSOP also saw Wahlbeck cashing six times, receiving over a million dollars, and becoming the runner-up for the title of WSOP Player of the Year.

Team PokerStars Pro is composed of some of the biggest names in the poker world and Wahlbeck now stands alongside celebrities such as Joe Cada, Daniel Negreanu and Vanessa Rousso. Ville Wahlbeck’s first appearance under PokerStars’ sponsorship will be at upcoming the PokerStars.com Baltic Festival in Tallinn, Estonia. In the 2009 edition of the same event, Wahlbeck won $52,000 at the high roller event.

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After the success enjoyed by PokerStars with its UK and Irish Poker League leaderboards the site has continued to branch out with the announcement of an upcoming tournament series. The UK Poker Open is set to kick off soon in order to provide a little more excitement for the spring before tournament season starts off in earnest this summer.

The Open is a No-Limit Texas Hold ‘Em tournament that gives players from all across the United Kingdom and Ireland the opportunity to win out against stiff competition and take home the guaranteed $50,000 prize pool. The tournament begins on Sunday, March 24th at 7.30pm GMT (3.30pm EST) with the chance to take home the considerable pot.

PokerStars has made the UK Poker Open available for essentially any poker player with the determination to enter and compete in the games regardless of the size of their bankroll. Even without much money to their name, would-be competitors can still prove their worthiness by testing their skills against others in qualifying satellites leading up to the event.

Interested players can buy-in or register to the UK Poker Open through a few different methods. The most up-front manner of gaining Open entrance is via the $111 direct buy-in but poker fans can also get into the tournament by qualifying through the daily cash ($2.20 required) or Frequent Player Point (10 FPP required) satellites.

Tags: PokerStars, poker event