DOUGLAS, Isle of Man, June 23, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- PokerStars.com (www.PokerStars.com), the world's largest poker tournament website, announced the winner of the Second Annual World Blogger Championship of Online Poker (WBCOOP), Dale "Daleroxxu" Philip. An active online and terrestrial poker player, Dale surpassed all previous accomplishments at the poker table by winning a $10,000 buy-in to this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event, as well as hotel accommodations in Las Vegas, and $1,000 in spending money. This will be Dale's first WSOP appearance.
"Heads up was the first time I've felt so nervous in a game of poker," Philip said. "The difference between first and second place being $10,500 was what got me shaking. I mean, that's a huge difference and a lot of money to me!"
The second installment of this year's free roll, no-limit Texas Hold'em tournament offered exclusively to bloggers saw more than 2200 participants go all in for a chance at blogosphere stardom and poker fame. Many players posted their progress on blogs throughout the tournament, and were happy to congratulate Dale on a remarkable run to his first place finish. For a full recap of the tournament go to www.pokerstarsblog.com
PokerStars.com and the blogging community have enjoyed a long standing relationship for their contributions to the poker industry. The 2006 WBCOOP saw a nearly 50 percent increase in players from the previous year's inaugural tournament as the race to the WSOP heats up. Satellite opportunities to reach the World Series still abound on www.pokerstars.com. The last three WSOP champions, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer, and Chris Moneymaker all play on PokerStars.com.
About PokerStars
PokerStars (www.pokerstars.com) is the world's 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 five billion hands and run more than 25 million poker tournaments, awarding well over $5 billion in prize money. PokerStars is the world's largest poker tournament room, with over 5 million registered player accounts. PokerStars' support team is truly unique, as help and assistance is available around the clock from people who know and understand the game of poker and the importance of impeccable customer service.
The PokerStars.com 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 the Royal Bank of Scotland, 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. Every week, the PokerStars.com "Sunday Million" is played, which is 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). PokerStars also sponsors major events around the globe, such as the World Cup of Poker and other exciting tournaments.
During the last three years, PokerStars.com sent more players to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) than any other source or website. A whopping 1,116 entrants (19 percent of the field) qualified to play in the 2005 WSOP via PokerStars satellites. PokerStars is the site where the 2003 and 2004 World Series of Poker champions won their entries into the WSOP. The reigning world poker champion, Joe Hachem, has also been an active player at PokerStars since 2001. He joined Moneymaker and Raymer as official representatives of PokerStars.com, thus fortifying the company trademark, "Where Poker Players Become World Champions."