Saturday, December 26, 2009

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)

Global Gaming Directory Profiles

World Poker Tour

PartyGaming

PartyPoker.com

France

Global Gaming

Television

Poker Tournaments

Poker

Events

News

Poker News

Casino News

Online Casino News

Global Gaming News

PartyGaming News

Websites

Club WPT

PartyPoker.com

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.

Websites

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

PartyBingo.com

PartyBets.com

Profiles

PartyGaming

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

World Poker Tour

PartyBingo.com

PartyBets.com

News

PartyGaming News

Casino News

Poker News

Online Casino News

Global Gaming News

Website Network

Global Gaming Directory

Global Gaming Directory.net

Media Man

Media Man International

Poker News Media

Casino News Media

Thursday, December 24, 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.

Website

PokerStars.com

Profiles

PokerStars

Poker

Online Poker

Guinness World Records

News

Poker News

Online Casino News

Casino News

Global Gaming News

Sports News
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."

Profiles

PokerStars

Poker

Online Poker

News

Poker News

Online Casino News

Casino News

Global Gaming News

Community News

Media Man Website Network

Poker News Media

Casino News Media

Global Gaming Directory

Media Man

Media Man International

Tuesday, December 22, 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.

Website

PokerStars.com

Profiles

PokerStars.com

SKYCITY

Burswood Entertainment Complex

Australia

New Zealand

Adelaide

Perth

Joe Hachem

Poker Tours

Poker Tournaments

News

Poker News

Casino News

Online Casino News

Global Gaming News

Australian Casino News
This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.
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.

Global Gaming Directory Profiles

PartyCasino.com

PartyPoker.com

PartyGaming