POKERSTARS PROS PREVAIL AT BRITISH POKER AWARDS

Team PokerStars Pro and staff were recognised for their achievements at the British Poker Awards recently, in an annual ceremony held at The Hippodrome Casino. Tournament director of the European Poker Tour (EPT) and UK & Ireland Poker Tour (UKIPT), Toby Stone, was awarded ‘Best Tournament Director’ for the third consecutive year. Team PokerStars Pro was also well represented as Jake Cody received the award for ‘Best Blogger’ and Daniel Negreanu was named ‘Best International Player’.

On his ‘three-peat’ achievement, Toby Stone said: “I’m absolutely thrilled and humbled to win this again, but I must pay credit to my hard-working floor and dealer team who, without which, none of these events would be possible. They’re among the best in the world and make my job infinitely easier.”

Jake Cody was equally elated after his win: “This was a big surprise and I’m really happy to have won. What makes it even better is that it was a reader’s choice award. To be recognised by the poker fans is amazing.”

EPT London was also nominated for ‘Best UK Tournament’ and ‘PokerStars LIVE at the Hippodrome Casino’ for Best Live Card Room.

Story via PokerStars

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POKERSTARS NAMED BEST ONLINE POKER OPERATOR FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR AT INTERNATIONAL GAMING AWARDS

Rational Group also wins Socially Responsible Operator of the Year Online

PokerStars and Rational Group were both recipients of International Gaming Awards at the annual ceremony held last night in London. For the third year running, PokerStars won the award for ‘Online Poker Operator of the Year’, and Rational Group was recognised for its stringent and ethical responsible gaming policies by being awarded the ‘Socially Responsible Operator of the Year Online’.

Lee Jones, PokerStars’ Director of Poker Communications, was in attendance to accept the awards. After the ceremony he said, “We are extremely proud and honoured that PokerStars won ‘Online Poker Operator of the Year’ and that Rational Group won ‘Socially Responsible Operator of the Year’, both in tough, competitive fields. Personally speaking, I am perhaps most gratified by the responsible gaming award; it recognizes our long-standing and ongoing commitment to providing a safe and responsible environment for our players."

YEAR TO REMEMBER

PokerStars celebrated an historic 2014 that included facilitation of tournament one billion, the launch of the hugely popular Spin & Go tournaments, new gaming licenses in the UK and Bulgaria, and the implementation of casino games in selected markets.

In addition to winning the ‘Online Poker Operator of the Year’ award, PokerStars’ sister site Full Tilt was also a finalist in the same category, as well as ‘Online Casino Operator of the Year’.

It was also a big night for partners of the world’s largest poker site, as the Hippodrome Casino in London won the award for ‘Casino Operator Europe’, and City of Dreams Manila was recognised as the ‘Casino/Integrated Resort of the Year’. Both properties play host to PokerStars LIVE poker rooms.

Story courtesy of PokerStars Press

SKRILL RETURNS AS OFFICIAL PAYMENT PROVIDER FOR THE EUROPEAN POKER TOUR

The European Poker Tour (EPT) announced recently that Skrill will once again act as the official payment provider for EPT Season 11.

Paul Barclay, VP of Gambling & FX at Skrill said: “Skrill is delighted to be working with the European Poker Tour as its official payment provider sponsor for a third year. The EPT is a well-respected and established brand, and this partnership will help to further strengthen our position as the leading digital wallet among poker players, and indeed for the broader spectrum of gamers. We will continue to play an active role as sponsors during season 11 of the EPT and as such, are looking forward to attending the tournaments and interacting directly with players throughout the season.”

EPT President, Edgar Stuchly, said: “We are pleased to have Skrill back on board as official payment provider for the EPT for a third year. Skrill is one of the most popular online deposit and withdrawal methods, providing easy, safe and secure payment options for poker players and EPT players alike.”  
Barclay added: “We are also excited to be able to offer online freeroll promotions throughout the year that give players the chance to win a VIP EPT package.” Skrill will be running 10 online freeroll tournaments throughout the Season, awarding a VIP experience at the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final. For further information got to: www.europeanpokertour.com/skrill.
EPT Season 11 gets under way in Barcelona from August 16-27 and it will mark the tour’s 100th Main Event. For a third successive year the EPT and Estrellas Poker Tours will combine to feature 44 events, providing a fantastic live poker experience for players of all levels and abilities.

About the European Poker Tour
The European Poker Tour (EPT) is the world’s richest and most popular poker tour. Since 2004, the EPT has paid out over EUR617 million in tournament prize pools, and hosted successful festivals across Europe. The EPT also visits the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), which takes place every January in the Bahamas and is the largest poker festival outside of Las Vegas.
Season 11 of the EPT builds on the success of a decade of world-class live poker events, and major poker festivals are being held in Barcelona (which will celebrate the 100th EPT event) London, Prague, and Deauville, with the PokerStars and Monte-Carlo®Casino EPT Grand Final to be held in Monaco.  Further stops for Season 11 will be announced in due course.
Further information on the EPT is available online at http://www.europeanpokertour.com/

 

About Skrill

Skrill is one of Europe's leading online payments companies and among the world's largest independent digital wallet providers with 36 million account holders. Skrill enables any customer to make online payments conveniently and securely without revealing personal financial data, as well as send and receive money online cost-effectively. Skrill’s mission is to become the preferred choice for online payments.
Skrill’s worldwide payment network offers businesses access to direct payment processing via 100 payment options in 200 countries and territories and 40 currencies, through just one integration, allowing everyone to pay and get paid globally.
For more information, visit www.skrill.com

DJ ROGER SANCHEZ SET TO PERFORM AT EPT BARCELONA

Grammy award-winning DJ Roger Sanchez, one of the biggest names in electronic music, will be playing a three-hour set at the spectacular EPT100 celebration party in Barcelona.
The party, which is being sponsored by PokerTracker, will kick-off at 10.30pm on August 20 at Teatre Principal, located in the heart of the city’s famous Las Ramblas boulevard. Teatre Principal is a stunning converted 19th century theatre that plays host to the best club nights in Barcelona. Estrellas and EPT players are invited to attend the party to enjoy an open bar for the first two hours as well as a special VIP area once the club is open to the public.
EPT President Edgar Stuchly said: “We are absolutely thrilled that Roger Sanchez will be helping us celebrate the 100th EPT and also thank PokerTracker, the Official EPT Poker Tracking Partner, for sponsoring the event. EPT100 is one of the most important milestones in our history and we are getting ready to host a record number of online qualifiers. I suspect that Sanchez’s performance will prove an even bigger incentive for players trying to win their seat in the tournament.”

Sanchez is a pioneer of house music and has worked with a string of stars including Diana Ross, Kylie Minogue, Daft Punk and Madonna. Producer and promoter Sanchez, who founded successful house music label Stealth Records, is the biggest star ever to perform at a PokerStars party in Europe. His weekly Release Yourself radio show has a worldwide audience of more than 15 million listeners. For more info about Roger Sanchez, check out his official website http://www.rogersanchez.com/.
EPT100 is set to be one of the most spectacular poker events ever held, marking a milestone in the history of the European Poker Tour. Joining forces with the national Estrellas Poker Tour once again, the EPT Barcelona Poker Festival will run August 16-27, 2014 and is expected to top last year’s staggering 9,000 tournament entries. For more information, please visit http://psta.rs/EPTBCN.

About the European Poker Tour

The European Poker Tour (EPT) is the world’s richest and most popular poker tour. Since 2004, the EPT has paid out over EUR617 million in tournament prize pools, and hosted successful festivals across Europe. The EPT also visits the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure (PCA), which takes place every January in the Bahamas and is the largest poker festival outside of Las Vegas.   Further information on the EPT is available online at europeanpokertour.com

About Roger Sanchez
Grammy Award winning producer, remixer and DJ Roger Sanchez is one of the world’s foremost names in House music. Known as a "DJ’s DJ" and a "Producer’s producer," Sanchez’ unwavering status as a top-global master of the genre is a testament to his robust belief in the power of music to liberate people, physically and mentally. Follow the links below for more information and music:

facebook.com/rogersanchezfanpage
twitter.com/djrogersanchez
youtube.com/rogersanchez
soundcloud.com/rogersanchez

Story via PokerStars Press

EUROPEAN POKER TOUR ANNOUNCES SKULLCANDY AS OFFICIAL AUDIO PARTNER OF SEASON 11

The PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) recently announced that Skullcandy will be the Official Audio Partner of EPT Season 11.

As part of the sponsorship, players will receive a pair of complimentary “Crusher” headphones at the first EPT Season 11 main event they qualify for. In addition, the headphones will be used as prizes for viewers of the EPT Live webcast. 

This marks the first time that the EPT has had an audio partner, and continues the expansion of mainstream brands sponsoring the tour.

In a review of the Crusher headphones, technology news website TechCrunch: "Rather than trying to fake a bunch of bass with digital signal processing, the Crushers use an individually powered second driver to trigger a proprietary (and rather hush-hush) vibration system. Even in the sub-optimal audio testing environment that is the parking lot outside of the Consumer Electronics Show, we all walked away pretty impressed."  

Here's a YouTube video capturing the reaction of celebrities to their first experience of Skullcandy Crusher headphones.

Thierry Peuchot, Skullcandy EMEA Marketing Director, said: “With this PokerStars Live partnership, Skullcandy provides players stylish and comfortable isolation at the table and an immersive way to relax before and during events. Skullcandy has sports in its DNA, and we’re excited to see a different breed of athletes wearing our newest products.”

EPT President Edgar Stuchly said: “These new headphones will be a great benefit to players on the EPT circuit.  The Skullcandy Crusher headphones are highly regarded headphones, and we are very pleased to welcome Skullcandy as the latest mainstream sponsor for the upcoming season.”

For more information about Skullcandy, visit http://www.skullcandy.com/

$10 Million Guaranteed for 2014 WCOOP Main Event

PokerStars announced today that satellites to the 2014 World Championship of Online Poker Main Event – which will feature a $10 million guaranteed prize pool – are now running, with buy-ins starting from just $1.65. The $5,200 Main Event is scheduled to take place September 28, 2014.

The $10 million guaranteed prize pool will ensure that the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event is the biggest online poker tournament of the year and will continue to build on its reputation as one of the most sought-after titles in the poker world.

Past winners of the World Championship include J.C. ‘area23JC’ Tran, Carter ‘ckingusc’ King, Yevgeniy ‘Jovial Gent’ Timoshenko, and Tyson ‘POTTERPOKER’ Marks. The 2012 World Champion, Marat ‘maratik’ Sharafutdinov, even sparked an internet meme with his famous demand of “I WONT MILLION” during the final-table deal discussions. His story was illustrated in a cartoon and blog story.

Players wishing to emulate ‘maratik’s success and qualify for the World Championship of Online Poker Main Event using Frequent Player Points (FPP), can do so via the Mega-Path with Round 1 satellites starting from just 1 FPP. Log on to the PokerStars client and click ‘Events’ > ‘WCOOP’ > ‘FPP Satellites’ for more details.

PokerStars Voted Best Place to Work

The Rational Group, operators of PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, have been selected as one of the best workplaces in the United Kingdom, including their headquarters office in the Isle of Man, for the third consecutive year.

Recently, the Great Place to Work® Institute’s announced its annual ‘Best Workplace’ rankings for large companies in the UK, ranking Rational Group at 14th place, based upon an employee survey conducted by the Institute.  The Great Place to Work Institute is the world’s largest consultancy specialising in workplace assessment and enhancement.

This is the third consecutive year that the UK and Isle of Man offices have been named to the list. Earlier this year, Rational Group offices in Ireland and Costa Rica were also named as some of the Best Workplaces in those countries.

“Once again, we are the only company in our industry to receive this accolade, which speaks volumes for our desire to lead from the front,” said Michael Hazel, Chief Finance Officer of the Rational Group.  “We are working hard to embrace the principles of what makes a great workplace and will never stop listening to our people and acting on their feedback.”

Globally, 6,000 organisations around the world are surveyed, representing approximately 10 million employees. On this occasion, PokerStars offices in both London and the Isle of Man were part of the analysis by The Great Place to Work® Institute. This process included surveying both employees and management to get a holistic view of the organisation’s HR policies and practices and how these are perceived by employees.

“We are delighted to recognise a record 100 organisations which have achieved the coveted status of Best Workplace, one that has high trust and highly engaged employees,” said Tom O’Byrne, the Chief Executive of the Great Place to Work® Institute.  “All Best Workplaces recognise the strategic importance of creating and maintaining high trust, highly engaged workplaces as this can improve business performance and, for many, the bottom line.”

Story Courtesy of PokerStars Press