ONLINE POKER ROOMS INCREASE USE OF SATELLITES AS WSOP APPROACHES


LAS VEGAS -- June 6, 2006 - Continuing the established practice of using final tables at major tournaments to advance their "ambush marketing" efforts, several online poker rooms are offering players the option to qualify online or via discounted buy-in, for the first open event of the 2006 World Series of Poker (WSOP). As part of the deal, most poker room sponsors will require players to wear a shirt or baseball cap with the site’s logo.

The $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event is scheduled for June 27-29 at the Rio Pavilion Convention Center. Here’s a brief summary of each site’s satellite offerings (all times are Eastern Daylight Time):
Bodog.com is offering 20 $54 buy-in satellites each week, Monday through Friday at 5:05 pm, 7:05 pm, 9:05 pm and 11:05 pm. The winner of each satellite will receive a $1500 buy-in to any $1500 buy-in WSOP preliminary bracelet of his or her choice. The winner will also get $1000 in cash to cover travel expenses.

FullTiltPoker.com is offering 10 satellites each week, daily at 9:00 pm, as well as on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 11:59 pm . Buy-ins range from $26 to $216. Each satellite awards as many $2000 packages as possible, with each package containing three $500 WSOP buy-in chips and $500 in cash to cover travel expenses. The buy-in chips can be used to buy into any 2006 WSOP preliminary bracelet event.

UltimateBet.com is offering $55 buy-in satellites on June 5th at 8:45 pm and June 10th at 1:30 pm. In addition, the site will offer a $33 buy-in, with $30 rebuys and $30 add-on satellite on June 5th at 5:30 pm. Each satellite will award as many $2500 packages as possible, with each package containing a $1500 buy-in to the No Limit Hold'em event June 27-29 and $1000 in cash to cover travel expenses.

PokerStars.com is offering a variety of WSOP "Level 1" sub-satellites around the clock, with buy-ins starting at $2. These tournaments will allow players who have achieved "SilverStar VIP" status to accumulate enough special tournament credits known as W$ in order to buy into nine WSOP preliminary events, including the $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event June 27-29. The winners of each "Level 1" sub-satellite can withdraw from the "Level 2" satellite and accumulate W$ in their account.

Several third party "poker currency trading" websites offer W$ at a discount of $0.90-$0.95 for each W$. This enables PokerStars.com players with "SilverStar VIP" status to buy 1500 W$ with cash at a discount (of 90-95%), and use the W$ to buy-in to the WSOP event.
In order to achieve "SilverStar VIP" status at PokerStars.com, a player must accumulate 1500 "VIP Player Points" each month by playing a combination of cash games and tournaments.

Terms & Conditions
In most cases, players who qualify for a WSOP preliminary bracelet event online are expected to sign a "Terms and Conditions" contract, which requires them to wear a shirt or baseball cap with the logo of the sponsoring online poker room. Compliance with the contract is required before the site will register a player into a WSOP event.

Players who already have an existing logo sponsorship agreement with another online poker room, as well as those who participate in an intercollegiate sports competition sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), are advised to read the "Terms and Conditions" contract displayed by each online poker room before they enter any online satellite tournament to qualify for a WSOP event. Added caution is advised to ensure players avoid running afoul of existing contract agreements and by laws.

It is important to note that the NCAA will vigorously enforce Bylaw 12.5.2.1, which prohibits any student-athlete who participates in an NCAA-sanctioned sport from carrying out any "endorsement activity" without the permission of the NCAA or a member school. In February, the NCAA suspended Sonoma State University golfer Robert Neary, who won more than $520,000 for finishing second at the main event of the 2006 Crown Australian Poker Championship (a.k.a. Aussie Millions). The one match suspension at the start of the 2006 intercollegiate golf season was for wearing a "PartyPoker" logo during the Aussie Millions. Neary arrived at the tournament via an online satellite at PartyPoker.com, where he had agreed to "Terms and Conditions" that required him to wear the "PartyPoker" logo at the Aussie Millions.
According to a source at Harah’s Entertainment, the final table of the first open WSOP event (scheduled for June 29th) is expected to air on ESPN in early October, after ESPN has concluded its coverage of the 2006 WSOP World Championship Main Event on September 26.
According to ESPN's online schedule database, the cable network will air the 2006 WSOP Main Event before it airs any 2006 WSOP preliminary bracelet event so that the broadcast of the Main Event can conclude on September 26, one week prior to the start of the Major League Baseball playoffs. An ESPN spokesperson declined to confirm the information in the schedule database as of June 1.

Once again, the first open WSOP event is expected to be a sell-out. In 2005, 2305 players entered the same opening event, resulting in long lines at the player registration desk, the "will call" window for online qualifiers, and the cashier's cage.

Harrah's Entertainment has a 14-day deadline for online poker rooms to register players using cashier's checks to pay for WSOP tournament buy-ins. The last day to register with a cashier's check for the $1500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event scheduled for June 27-29 is June 13. PokerStars.com in particular has set a deadline of June 7 for players to use W$ to buy into the event.

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