The Prima Poker Network powered by Microgaming guaranteed the largest
prize pool in European poker tournament history this week with the
announcement that its Monte Carlo Millions tournament will offer a
US$3 million prize pool with US$1 million designated for the champion.
Poker's best and brightest players will fill the 120 seats available
at the luxurious Sporting d'Hiver in Monte Carlo, Monaco from November
20-23 this year. The tournament attracts top professional, celebrity
and online players from around the world by bringing together the
enchantment of the French Riviera, the extravagance of Monte-Carlo
and the excitement of poker.
In 2004, the Monte Carlo Millions played host to such poker idols
as Phil Ivey, Howard
Lederer, Dave
Ulliot, Chris
Ferguson, Phil Laak, Tony Bloom, Mel Judah, and The Hendon Mob.
Seats at the Monte Carlo Millions are acquired in only one of two
ways: by personal invitation from world-renowned Tournament Director,
Matt Savage, or by winning a satellite tournament. The online tournaments
are available now on Prima's network of card rooms through Monte Carlo
Millions.com.
Prima also announced the addition of three new card rooms, bringing
the number of card rooms on the network to 39: BoylesportsPoker.com,
an independent betting and gaming company from Ireland; 24poker.com;
and Purple-Lounge.com.
These card rooms represent growing interest in poker from the online
sports betting, entertainment, and technology sectors, which seek
to take part in the $10 billion online poker industry.
Prima Network staffers were busy this week showcasing the power of
network poker to interested parties at The Wynn in Las Vegas, during
the World Series
of Poker.
In their presentations, Prima explained that many start-up card rooms
struggle to obtain a critical mass of players to guarantee 24-hour
action. The Prima Network instantly provides new operators with everything
required to launch a successful card room including: top online poker
software, thousands of online players from day one, superior marketing
support, the largest variety of poker games for all levels of play,
and some of the largest weekly prize pools on the Net.