DOUGLAS, Isle of Man, Feb. 18, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PokerStars, the world's largest online poker site, today announced the European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final Season Five schedule -- Europe's largest and richest seven-day poker extravaganza. The PokerStars Monte Carlo EPT Grand Final will run April 27-May 3, offering fourteen separate events making the Grand Final the most exciting poker festival ever held in Europe.
The Fourteen events will stretch across one week to provide non-stop action in one of the most stunning destinations in the world. PokerStars is pulling out all the stops to insure that poker fans from all over the globe have multiple opportunities to win their way to beautiful Monaco. Satellites are already running on PokerStars for the Main Event.
Last year's Main Event attracted over 840 players, with 22-year-old Canadian Glen Chorny clinching the title and taking home over $3.15 million. This year, the $12,633 (EUR10,000) buy-in No Limit Hold'em Championship (NLHE) is set to surpass all records previously set at a European poker tournament. With more than 1,000 players expected to attend, there is an estimated $12 million total prize pool. The Main Event is only one of the attractions -- this year there are two major new tournaments -- the three-day $31,585 (EUR25,000) European High Roller Championship and the two-day $6,316 (EUR5,000) Pot Limit Omaha Championship (PLO). Dedicated satellites will be running for the PLO tournament on PokerStars, offering a special three-day weekend prize package to Monte Carlo for qualifiers.
In addition to the three premier tournaments, a number of side events will be introduced including $6,316 (EUR5,000), $2,526 (EUR2k), $1,263 (EUR1k) and $631 (EUR500) NLHE tournaments as well as a $631 (EUR500) PLO re-buy event. Numerous live satellite tournaments are also scheduled -- including two super satellites each to the Main Event and high roller tournament, plus a unique super satellite tournament enabling players to win seats at any future PokerStars tour destination -- a prize which effectively gives players the chance to win a trip to almost anywhere on the planet.
PokerStars is also planning another Poker Camp during the PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo event due to the huge success of the Poker Camps held in Barcelona and the Bahamas as part of The PokerStars European Tour, Season Five. Members of Team PokerStars Pro will be on hand to provide valuable and interactive coaching sessions focused on slow structure and deep stack tournament play. The camp tournament winner will be awarded a PokerStars EPT Monte Carlo Main Event package. Further details on the schedule of events will be available soon on www.pokerstars.net.
Additional action at the beautiful Monte Carlo Bay Resort and Hotel will include daily battleship poker tournaments -- where players compete online and face-to-face -- and a wide variety of sit n go's available daily.
For the first time on the EPT circuit, in addition to competing in satellites for Monte Carlo, PokerStars players will be able to buy-in online to all scheduled tournaments directly through their PokerStars accounts. Online registration opens on April 20, 2009.
Another first for the tournament offers players who buy-in or qualify online for EPT Monte Carlo events to receive Frequent Player Points (FPP) for rewards in the PokerStars VIP Club.
The other big news this year is that the EPT Grand Final Main Event structure is being changed to 30,000 in chips and 60-minute levels on Day 1, with 75-minute levels from Day 2. This will also be the structure for all Season Six PokerStars EPT Main Events.
PokerStars EPT founder John Duthie said, "It is staggering to think that, at the very first EPT Grand Final in 2005, we had just 211 players and a total prize pool of EUR2 million. Last year, both player numbers and prize pool were four times that and this year, it looks likely that we'll smash the EUR10 million mark for total prize pool. The EPT Grand Final now sits at the very pinnacle of world poker events and will prove a massive draw for top players from all over the globe. The addition of the High Roller event, the new European PLO championship and myriad other side events will provide unending excitement for the players -- it looks set to be an incredible week."
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final Festival of Poker Schedule:
Super Satellite to EPT Grand Final Main Event: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 - April 27
EPT Grand Final Main Event: Buy-in EUR 10,000 + EUR 600 - April 28 - May 3
Super Satellite to EPT Grand Final Main Event Day 1b: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 - April 28
Super Satellite to High Roller Super Satellite: Buy-in EUR 550 + EUR 50 - April 28+29
Pot Limit Omaha - Unlimited Re-buys: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 - April 29
No Limit Hold'em Tournament: Buy-in EUR 5,000 + EUR 250 - April 30 + May 1
Super Satellite to High Roller: Buy-in EUR 2,500 + EUR 200 - April 30
European High Roller Championship: Buy-in EUR 25,000 + EUR 500 - May 1, 2 + 3
No Limit Hold'em Tournament: Buy-in EUR 2,000 + EUR 150 - May 1+2
Super Satellite to any PokerStars Tour - Unlimited Re-buys: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 - May 2
No limit Hold'em Freeze-out: Buy-in EUR 1,000 + EUR 100 - May 2 + 3
European Pot Limit Omaha Championship: Buy-in EUR 5,000 + EUR 250 - May 2 + 3
No Limit Hold'em Freeze-out: Buy-in EUR 500 + EUR 50 - May 3
Battleship Tournaments: Buy-in EUR 100 - unlimited - Daily
Cash SNGs: Buy-in EUR 200 - unlimited -Daily
The PokerStars European Poker Tour Monte Carlo Grand Final Festival of Poker Schedule is also available at http://media.primezone.com/cache/6930/file/6588.pdf
For more information on the EPT Grand Final and all EPT events, please see www.ept.com.
About PokerStars.net
PokerStars is the world's largest poker room with over 19 million members worldwide, and more free-to-play tables than any other site. At PokerStars.net players learn how to play, and practice poker skills for free. As the premier destination for the top players, with numerous tournaments running every day, PokerStars is renowned for offering the best software and security in the online poker world.
PokerStars:
- Has dealt over 25 billion hands
- Has run more than 140 million poker tournaments
- Has entered the Guinness Book of World Records for holding the largest online poker tournament -- 35,000 players
- Had over 275,000 simultaneous players, and entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the first and only poker website to reach the 200,000 simultaneous players mark
PokerStars is the official sponsor of the: European Poker Tour (www.ept.com), PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, Latin American Poker Tour (www.lapt.com), Asia Pacific Poker Tour (www.appt.com) and The World Cup of Poker.
PokerStars is the home of Team PokerStars Pro, a group of over 30 veteran and up-and-coming players from around the world who play online at PokerStars and are sponsored by the site in international tournaments around the world. For more information please visit www.pokerstars.net.
The PokerStars logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3169
CONTACT: Lotus Public Relations Media Contact Matt Clark (212) 922-5885 pokerstars@lotus-pr.com