London's First-Ever Lifestyle Poker Tournament Kicks Off With Glamorous Opening Party

Thursday, August 4th, 2005

The World Poker Exchange London Open and Player Race for a Guaranteed $2 Million Jackpot Begins With Electric Opening Party Featuring London Socialites and International Celebrities, Entertainment and Poker Pros

LONDON, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- World Poker Exchange (http://www.worldpx.com) last
night hosted a glamorous Opening Night Party for more than 1,000 people gathered to kick-off The London Open, the first-ever lifestyle poker tournament. The evening blended high octane Las Vegas-style glamour, a cool London party atmosphere and rare performances by some of the world's most acclaimed musical talent.

Party goers included London society notables and Hollywood's Mimi Rogers, Jennifer Tilly, Nicholas Gonzalez and Willie Garson. Rounding up the VIP guest list were Briton's racing pundit John McCririck, Capital FM presenter Chris Brooks and comedian Dave Gorman. All were treated to sets by "Queen of the Nightclub" Grace Jones, funk act Dirty Vegas and uber club DJ's Guy Preston and Jason Moore.

The Open was launched with a Charity Tournament in which celebrities and industry leaders alike battled it out to secure $44,000 for the London Bombings Relief Charitable Fund. Phil Laak was crowned the winner after putting on his best poker face to beat "Sex & The City's" Willie Garson in the final round. Paul Cheung of Inside Edge took third place, followed by Nicolas Gonzalez of "The O.C."

"I really enjoyed playing for a cause so close to the hearts of Londoners. The atmosphere was electric -- and the London Open poker tournament has only begun!" said Garson. Today, the official lifestyle event begins in earnest as professional poker players and celebrities from around the world hold'em and fold'em for a guaranteed minimum $2 million (US) prize pool. Away from the tables, guests will enjoy exclusive wrap-around activities for participants and 24/7 concierge services provided by Quintessentially.

About the Celebrities

Television horse racing pundit John McCririck has most recently appeared in the 2005 series of Celebrity Big Brother UK. A keen poker player with an insatiable appetite for bluffing, McCririck is also a racing journalist and Grandstand writer.

A documentary-comedian and humorist, Dave Gorman's shows include Are you Dare Gorman? and Dave Gorman's Googlewhack Adventure. This summer, Gorman will be taking part in Carol Vorderman's Sudoku Live and will be recording episodes of the Radio 4's Genius. Formally a stand-up comedian, Gorman is an avid poker player.

Chris Brooks is kicking up a storm on 95.8 Capital FM as presenter for the weekend breakfast shows. He started at the station in July 2002 and is already Foxy and Johnny Vaughn's main cover for "The Big Drive Home" and the "Capital Breakfast Show".

New winner of the World Series Of Poker Ladies Event Jennifer Tilly, will also be competing at the London Open. Tilly is known for her various roles in films, television and stage. She was nominated for a Best Actress in a supporting role in 1995 for Bullets Over Broadway and is also a familiar face in the horror genre as Tiffany on Bride of Chucky and Seed of Chucky.

Among the other notable celebrities who previously announced their intention to play the World Poker Exchange London Open include actress Mimi Rogers who has recently appeared in films such as Stone Cold, Dancing in Twilight and The Door in the Floor. She is also credited with starring roles in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery and "The X Files." Her appearance on "Celebrity Poker Showdown" brought down the house with her coy card-playing for The Dream Foundation.

Willie Garson, who has appeared in approximately 40 television series, is best known for his role as "Stanford Blatch" in HBO's long-running series, "Sex and the City." His acting credits include performances in Fever Pitch with Drew Barrymore, "CSI Miami," and "Monk." A regular at the tables, Garson has made numerous appearances on "Celebrity Blackjack" as well as "Celebrity Poker Showdown," where he plays for his charity, La Casa de las Madres.

Nicholas Gonzalez represents young Hollywood to a tee. America has seen him play Mischa Barton's love interest on "The O.C." Gonzalez has also appeared on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "That '70s Show," and "Walker, Texas Ranger." This year he played in "Celebrity Poker Showdown" for Friends of El Faro.

About the Entertainers

The GRAMMY-winning band Dirty Vegas (Best Dance Single, 2003) has toured with Moby, Tears for Fears and Groove Armanda, packing in fans at gigs from Singapore to Serbia, and Moscow to Milwaukee. The South London-based Dance/Trance/Funky Pop trio continues to build worldwide popularity with their single Walk Into The Sun simultaneously reaching number-one status on the Billboard US Club Chart and number-two on the Billboard Dance Chart. The song held its top position for seven weeks -- a rare feat.

Grace Jones, singer, movie star, fashion model, provocateur and "Queen of the Nightclub" has released two albums, Portfolio featuring hit single I Need a Man, and Slave to the Rhythm with singles Pull Up to the Bumper and My Jamaican Guy. Her acting credits include performances in Conan the Destroyer with Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Boomerang with Eddie Murphy and a turn as a Bond Girl in A View to a Kill.

Sought-after celebrity DJ and creative mix master Guy Preston has played VIP club dates at China White (voted Conde Nast's Best Club in the World/2003), Panagae (Best Club of 2004), and Bungalow 8 in New York City. A favorite among the trendiest of celebrities, Preston has served as the centre attraction at private parties hosted by Jennifer Lopez, Dennis Rodman, and Dallas Austin. Fans around the world follow Preston for his party rock mixes of hip hop, R&B and "good grove." His only demo is the one much-in-demand CD he made for Tom Ford, formerly of Gucci.

Poker made simple: Science meets art

Thursday, August 4th, 2005

By Dave Scharf
Covers.com & PokerFan.com

This is the first of three columns that I have audaciously titled “Poker Made Simple.” In truth, I think that this column and the next two will demonstrate how complex poker is. The basic question is always simple: “Should I raise, call, bet, or fold?” Although the question is simple, arriving at the answer is often quite complex.

Math or psychology?

The uninitiated often hold one of two views about poker. They either think that “it’s all math” or that “it’s all bluffing.” The math school will often ask questions like: “Isn’t it hard to calculate the odds?” The bluffing school will often ask, “How do you keep a poker face? I always give away my hand.” Although neither school is correct, these two extremes are an excellent illustration of the dual nature of poker.

The truth is that poker is a mix of math and psychology — a mix of science and art. In poker, math defines the most profitable play you can make in a given situation if you know all the variables. But poker is not exclusively a game of math because you do not know all the variables — you do not know, for instance, your opponents’ cards or whether the players who act behind you will call, raise, or fold. Thus, in poker, psychology is the skill of accurately guessing at the information you do not know for a fact.

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Full Tilt Poker is Giving Away $310,000 in August

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2005

Los Angeles (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) -– Full Tilt Poker is rewarding its players by giving away a total of $310,000 in the month of August in its “10K A Day”™ promotion.

The “10K A Day”™ promotion is open to anyone playing in one of Full Tilt Poker’s real money ring games, and players are awarded with entries into the daily drawing for every pot they win. The more hands a player wins, the more entries they receive, and there’s no limit to the number of entries they can receive per day.
Full Tilt Poker is awarding 127 individual cash prizes per day totaling $10,000. A new drawing period begins at 12 Midnight ET each day, and winners are announced live on Full Tilt Poker each evening. If a winner is not online at the time his or her name is announced, they receive email notification from Full Tilt Poker. Additionally, the usernames of each winner are posted online daily at www.FullTiltPoker.com.

Normally, to win this kind of money, players need to play in large, multi-player tournaments or high-limit ring games. But now at Full Tilt Poker, players participating in real money games with limits as low as a 5 and 10 cents per hand can win an individual prize worth as much as $2,000 simply for winning a pot.

“The groundbreaking ‘$10K A Day’™ promotion is just another example of how Full Tilt Poker delivers value and excitement to its customers,” said Tiltware LLC CEO Raymond Bitar.

www.FullTiltPoker.com is the only online poker site where players can learn, chat and play with the best poker players in the world, including Team Full Tilt who, as a group, own a total of 38 World Series of Poker bracelets. These champions include: Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon (co-host, Celebrity Poker Showdown,) Clonie Gowen, John Juanda, and Jennifer Harman.

About Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker™ software was developed by TiltWare LLC, a software development and licensing company based in Los Angeles, California and licensed to Kolyma Corporation, A.V.V. which is regulated and licensed by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission in Canada. “Team Full Tilt,” is a select group of the world’s finest professional poker players, including Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Phil Gordon (Co-host, Celebrity Poker Showdown,) Clonie Gowen, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman and others. With innovative graphics, superior customer service and a safe, secure interface, the software is geared to enhance and personalize the online poker experience. Users of all skill levels can download the software at www.fulltiltpoker.com and can play for fun or for real money where online games of skill are permitted by law.

Contact:
Michele Clayborne
EMC-PR (care of Full Tilt Poker)
310-451-1152

Mobile gambling devices may get to Nevada casinos

Empire Online Profit Triples Amid Internet Poker Boom

Monday, August 1st, 2005

Bloomberg -- Empire Online Ltd., an online poker company that directs users to Web sites such as PartyPoker.com, said first-half profit almost tripled as more people started playing games such as Texas Hold'em and Omaha on the Internet.

Net income jumped to $21.2 million from $8.6 million a year earlier as gaming sales advanced to $42 million from $17.3 million, the Tortola, British Virgin Islands-based company said today in a statement. The number of active players -- those who played for real money in the last 90 days, according to Empire Online -- rose to 126,507 from 51,367.

Empire Online, whose shares have risen 32 percent since the company sold stock in an initial public offering last month, is benefiting as more people play poker on line. The size of the online poker market has increased from $90 million in 2002 to $1 billion in 2004, according to Christensen Capital Advisors.

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