Press Release: Vienna calling! qualifiers now online for spring poker festival. Win a package and gain entry into two televised events!
Gibraltar 4th February 2008 -- PartyPoker is pleased to announce that qualifiers are in full swing for the PartyPoker European Challenge II, which takes place between the 11th -14th March at the Concord Card Casino in Vienna during the heart of the Spring Poker Festival. The great value $7,500 package includes a $4,700 buy-in to the main event, six night’s accommodation, transfers to the casino, a special welcome event and $1,100 spending money. In addition, all European based qualifiers get a 1,000 freeroll! They will take part in the special 60 player East versus West Team Cup on the 10th, worth 60,000. Qualifiers for Vienna start from as little as $1 and there are two main $300 + $20 online satellites a week.
Sigi Stockinger, Andreas Krause, Erich Kollmann, Michael Keiner, Nik Jedlicka, Harry Casagrande, Markus Golser, Philip Marmorstein, Sebastian Ruthenberg, Florian Langmann, Ivo Donev, Christian Toboc and Katharine Hartree are just some of the pros who regularly visit the festival and a big group is expected again this year. In 2007, Bruno Brunovic, a trainee lawyer and online qualifier from Croatia, took the European Challenge title and won 190,160 after a tense heads-up battle with top European pro Andreas Krause. In 2006, local legend Sigi Stockinger, who has a fantastic record at the event, took home first prize.
Final details of the PartyPoker East versus West Team Cup II freeroll on the 10th are soon to be finalised but 30 representatives of Eastern Europe will lock horns with 30 from Western Europe. Those who thought the cold war was over may be wrong as Tony G and David “Devilfish” Ulliott are expected to be on opposing sides. Other pros expected to take part include Irish WSOP bracelet holder Ciaran O’Leary, Roland De Wolfe, Kirill Gerasimov and Alexander Kravchenko. Thomas Jensen, a 31 year-old online qualifier from Denmark, was the star of the show last year as Team West grabbed glory. The butcher for a major supermarket from Odense slaughtered his opponents to bag first prize.
A PartyPoker spokesman said: “The 60,000 prize pool for the East versus West Team Cup is a great bonus for qualifiers for the European Challenge. The final table of 10 will share 37,500 while the winning team will get 22,500 split between them so even if you go out first hand in the freeroll you stand to profit from successful team mates.”
“Last year’s main event was dominated by strong Eastern European players but this year we are expecting a large Western European contingent who will shift the balance of power.”
The PartyPoker European Challenge II is the highlight of the 14th annual Austrian Spring Poker Festival and will be held at the Concord Card Casino. It takes place from 11th-14th March 2007, with an estimated prize pool of around $1.1 million. The Spring Poker Festival promises to be every card playing enthusiasts dream. Around 1000 people are expected to flock to the Austrian capital for the week long extravaganza, meaning side action will not be hard to find. The action will be filmed for worldwide television distribution and shown on ITV4 in the UK.
Press release: World Series of Poker Europe finalists join bookies’ favourite Phil Hellmuth in line-up.
Gibraltar 31st January 2008 --The PartyPoker European Open IV kicks-off in London tomorrow (Friday), running until the 8th, with its strongest field to date. The latest news sees confirmations from WSOP Europe winner Annette Obrestad and runner-up John Tabatabai, who play in the same heat as each other! They join a line-up that includes Phil Hellmuth, who will playing and joining Jesse May in the commentary box.
When asked about the Obrestad/Tabatabai rematch Annette said: “I'm looking forward to this for sure. It was great fun playing with John in London. He’s an amazing player and I have a lot of respect for him. I can’t wait to play against him again!”
The Matchroom Sport organised event will be broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK later this year and distributed internationally. This year’s tournament sees the buy-in rise to $7,000 from $5,000 creating a $504,000 prize fund that some of the biggest names in poker have their eye on. Hellmuth will face tough competition from last year’s winner Liam Flood. Last year, Flood triumphed over a final table in convincing style that included former World Open champion Pippa Flanders and John Magill. Wolverhampton’s Darren Hickman finished second. Familiar faces to look out for this year include PartyPoker Premier League title holder Juha Helppi, UK Open Champion Andrew Feldman, recent PartyPoker Irish Poker Championship runner-up Michael McCool, Roland de Wolfe, Andy Black, Marty Smith, Roy Brindley, Ian Frazer, Ian Cox, Neil Channing and Surinder Sunar. Jimmy White, Austin Healey and star of UK soap Coronation Street , Michael Le Vell, will also be taking to the felt.
The winner of each of the 12 heats will progress to the semi-final stage, and, for the first time in the event's history, the runners-up will battle it out for the remaining two semi-final spots in “last chance” turbo heats. PartyBets are betting on the event and currently go 10/1 Phil Hellmuth, 15/1 Ian Frazer, 20/1, Roland de Wolfe, Annette Obrestad, Nick Slade, Phil Curtis, Liam Flood, Juha Helppi. 25/1 bar. Each-way terms are a third of the odds 1st and 2nd. PartyBets.
A PartyBets spokesman said: “There is a lot of excitement about this year’s European Open and Hellmuth is sure to add value in the commentary box. It will be interesting to see the rematch between Obrestad and Tabatabai but there are so many players to look out for who have had success in this format. The money has been for Hellmuth but the likes of Helppi, Frazer and Flood have all been well backed in recent hours.”
The following games are being launched on the 15th of January on the English language versions of Roxy Palace Casino.
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Other new games
- Mark of Medusa Video Slot
- Little Chief, Big Cash Video Slot
- Treasure Ireland AWP Reel Slot
- High Streak European (Blackjack)
Play at Roxy Palace Casino
New software set for showcase at ICEi Jan 2008
ISLE OF MAN - Microgaming announces it is to showcase its latest and most dynamic poker software to date at ICEi 2008. The beta version will be revealed to operators and industry executives as part of a wider Microgaming showcase on the Microgaming stand.
Combining a complete table redesign with the option to re-size tables, plus advanced multi-table capabilities, the new software boasts a series of new, intuitive features designed to get both experienced and novice players to the right tables faster than ever before. The software is expected to roll out across all 40+ operators in the Microgaming Poker Network early in 2008.
The ability to create personal avatars and chat to poker buddies so players can create their own social networks are just a few of the key features of the software - developed following extensive player feedback. In addition, all the features that players love to have are included view chat; best hand; casino games; player calendar and pop-up hand history.
And with all this available in more languages than any other poker network, players from every corner of the globe will reap the benefits.
Roger Raatgever, CEO, Microgaming says, "Extensive player feedback has been at the heart of our development programme for this new poker software, which is why it delivers regardless of whether you are a novice or seasoned pro. By helping players get to the right tables, faster and ensuring they have all the features necessary for a great all round experience when they are there, we are delivering for both the players and our operators. We invite anyone wishing to have a look to come and see the team on Stand 5230 at ICEi we know they won't be disappointed."
