The worldwide poker phenomenon is making its way into some of the
world’s most beautiful casinos in some of the world’s
most historic cities as PokerStars European Poker Tour (EPT) makes
its way through Europe.
PokerStars is host to some of the world’s largest online tournaments
and the EPT includes poker tour events in Barcelona, London, Paris,
Vienna and Dublin.
The Grand Final event will be held March 15-19, 2005 in the majestic
Monte Carlo Casino in Monaco. Prize money is expected to be more than
EUR 2 million for the final event alone, with well more than EUR 1
million going to the winner.
“Finally, Europe will host a premier poker tour, as the
EPT is the first pan-European poker tournament series,”
says John Duthie, executive producer of the PokerStars European Poker
Tour and the holder of the Ladbrokes Poker Million title. “All
across Europe, from casinos to online sites like PokerStars, interest
in poker is booming, so it’s only natural to provide a circuit
for the serious European poker player.”
Each event will be televised in 2005 as a 90-minute program, and will
culminate with the airing of the Grand Final in Monte Carlo. Winners
of the preliminary events will win prize packages worth EUR 15,000,
including entry into the finals at the elegant Hermitage Hotel in
Casino Square, Monte Carlo.
The final event in Monte Carlo will include 10 finalists and runners-up
selected from the EPT preliminary events. Those players will then
compete for the title of EPT Series 1 Grand Champion.
Players from all over the world will also have an opportunity to play
in the Grand Final event. Online satellite tournaments for the Grand
Final event in Monaco will be played on PokerStars.com, and winners
of those satellite events will receive the same prize package as winners
of the individual live events on the tour.
“Our affiliation with the EPT shows that PokerStars truly
is the global site where poker players become champions,”
said Nolan Dalla of PokerStars. “This year’s EPT
champion will join an illustrious list of PokerStars champions, which
includes World
Series of Poker champs Greg Raymer and Chris Moneymaker, both
of whom qualified for the World Series of Poker on PokerStars, and
Edgar Skjervold, who won this year’s PokerStars’ World
Championship of Online Poker, which is the largest online poker tournament
in the world.”