TORONTO, March 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- While hockey has been Canada's national pastime for over 100 years, poker is nipping at its heals. PokerStars.net, the largest and most innovative online poker site in the world, announced an exclusive offer for the Canadian poker community with the launch of the PokerStars Team Canada Freeroll. The free-to-play tournament offers Canadian poker players a chance to win one of ten possible positions on Team Canada.
Along with the awesome responsibility of wearing the maple leaf and playing for one's country comes awesome rewards. Team Canada members will receive an all inclusive trip to Las Vegas to compete in the 2007 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event -- a $12,000 prize package.
Launched on March 3 and running through May 12, poker players from across the country will meet online at PokerStars.net for two exciting rounds of fast-paced online poker action. Two talented women have already won their seat to the World Series and will represent their country playing on PokerStars' Team Canada (www.pokerstars.net/canada).
Although there are only eight official spaces left on Team Canada, players will have the chance to win from over 60,000 possible cash prizes, which translates to approximately one winner out of every seven participants.
"Canadian poker players have already proven their poker prowess by winning such high profile events at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, WPT events and the Moneymaker Millionaire Freeroll," said WPT Champ Isabelle Mercier. "The PokerStars Team Canada Freeroll gives each of us Canadians a chance to take center stage, play for our country and even become the next World Series champion."
The tournament is open to all Canadians with a new or existing PokerStars account, and gives participants two, free Round 1 entries that may be used at any time during the 10 week promotion. Players may also choose to enter through one of over a million entry forms that will be available at Ontario Beer Stores from March 8 - March 30.
For more information, please visit www.pokerstars.net/canada.
About PokerStars:
PokerStars (www.pokerstars.net) is the world's largest and most innovative online poker site. PokerStars was the first site to introduce features that became industry standard such as sophisticated multi-table tournaments, integrated game statistics, players' notes, personalized images, time bank for tournaments and big bet ring games, satellite tournaments, multi-table sit and go tournaments, and much more.
To date, PokerStars has dealt out over seven billion hands and run more than 35 million poker tournaments, awarding well over $7 billion in prize money. PokerStars is the world's largest poker room, with over seven million registered player accounts. PokerStars' support team is truly unique, as help and assistance are available around the clock from people who know and understand the game of poker and the importance of impeccable customer service.
The PokerStars site is also one of the most secure. PokerStars uses industry-leading security software to ensure the integrity of the system, including encryption, card shuffle randomness and preventative measures against cheating and collusion. Money covering player's balances is held in segregated accounts managed by one of the leading European banks, ensuring that PokerStars can fulfill its obligations to players at all times.
In February 2006, PokerStars.com became the first poker website ever to reach the 100,000 simultaneous player mark. That watershed achievement marked the largest poker event in history; an event important enough to make the 2007 Guinness Book of World Records. Every week, the PokerStars "Sunday Million" is played, which the largest weekly tournament on the planet with a $1 million guaranteed tournament prize pool.
PokerStars is an official member of the World Poker Tour, and the title sponsor of the European Poker Tour (EPT) and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. In the fall, PokerStars hosts the world's largest online tournament, the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP), which this year featured a record prize pool of over $18 million. PokerStars also sponsors major events around the globe, such as the World Cup of Poker and other exciting tournaments. For more information, go to www.pokerstars.com
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